General Motors told CNBC that it anticipates investing close to $22 billion through 2025 developing its electric vehicle (EV) program, which begins with Cadillac’s first entrant into the luxury EV market. Cadillac’s newly unveiled crossover SUV, the LYRIQ is part of the manufacturer’s mission to transition to “all-electric” by 2030.
In doing so, Cadillac can hopefully reset its “athleticism” in comparison to its competitors like the Tesla Model Y, Audi e-tron, and the Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes-Benz EQC, and BMW iX, which have all embraced today’s newest technologies. There’s no question the American luxury brand has struggled over the years in competing, simply due to price and technological advancement.
The crossover SUV, which you may have seen from a Super Bowl LIV commercial back in February, appeared alongside comedians Awkwafina, Kenan Thompson, and Will Ferrellis Cadillac’s first fully electric vehicle, and the second GM electric vehicle (EV) sold in North America, after the Chevrolet Bolt. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the vehicle has been delayed, being planned for an initial release in China followed by a U.S. release for 2022.
Genpact company Rightpoint is currently working on designing the user interface for LYRIQ, which will feature a massive 33-inch diagonal advanced LED display, similar to the new 2021 Escalade, serving as both the EV’s infotainment system and the driver’s gauge display. Its new user interface design, according to Andrew Rossow at International Business Times, is courtesy of the Genpact company, which will hopefully deliver a high-end user experience, tailored to fit the driver’s mood and personality.
Rossow, 31, is the CEO of AR Media Consulting, as well as a licensed attorney who believes that the steps necessary in nurturing an already established brand is never-ending, given today’s rapid advancement in technology. “Think of your product line as a newborn child. You need to constantly attend to it, feed it, rear it, and inject some form of discipline to help ensure the child grows up to be as ready for the world as possible. No difference with products.”
Back in February, GM filed to trademark “GM EV FOR ME”, which according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), lists “promoting the sale of electric vehicles” under the Goods and Services category, foreshadowing what can only be expected to be an upcoming marketing campaign surrounding the “Everybody In” electric vehicle announcement. Specifically, the “Everybody In” campaign, according to GM Authority, sets an inclusive tone for the company’s EV future, with GM set to launch 30 new EV models globally by the 2025 model year.
Rightpoint CEO, Ross Freedman believes the biggest opportunity currently available to the auto-industry is to look at what adjacent industries have done. “A vehicle’s user experience is quickly becoming one of the most important and differentiating parts of the overall experience,” Freedman says. “In fact, many automotive insiders believe that software will make up 90% of automotive innovation by the end of the decade.”
Acquired by Genpact in October 2019, Rightpoint shares what Freedman calls a “joint purpose in the relentless pursuit of a world that works better for people, and an alignment of vision and culture.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly accelerated the need for innovation and digital transformation, which according to Freedman substantially altered the products, channels, and services consumers deem essential. “Those new perceptions will likely last beyond 2021,” he explained. “Consumer perceptions of importance, priority, and essentiality have been redefined. Brands that respond to the shift in consumer sensibilities will be poised to earn their loyalty.”
Diving into Rightpoint’s current work with Cadillac, Freedman shared that the automobile manufacturer announced its intentions “to transform into an all-electric, digital brand.”
“Put simply, the new experience for the LYRIC is the most important product from Cadillac in over half a century. Rightpoint was brought in to question every part of that experience. By leveraging technology new to the automotive industry, Rightpoint is helping to reimagine the user experience of the Cadillac brand, and redefine what luxury is in a digitally enabled world.
When we think about luxury in today’s digital age, the world of streaming and product placement are certainly at the forefront, presenting unique opportunities for brand integration. Brands, like Cadillac, now have the ability to be immortalized, simply because of strategic placements, thanks to companies like Rightpoint and others that guard brand immortality.
But the ways in which we are absorbing content and products today, still present a challenge for placements. “Brands are forever immortalized in these works, but simple placement isn’t enough,” Hollywood product placement executive Lorenzo Rusin explained in a previous interview with True Hollywood Talk. “The placement must be tasteful at every stage.” Rusin, who's been in the product placement sector for over 25 years, also works with automobile manufacturers when it comes to placement in films, such as The Irishman, Bad Boys For Life, and Terminator: Dark Fate.
And to Freedman’s point, reimagining the user experience of Cadillac as an overall brand, the meaning of “luxury” is indeed being transformed.
“A vehicle’s user experience is quickly becoming one of the most important and differentiating parts of the overall experience,” the Rightpoint CEO said. “In fact, many automotive insiders believe that software will make up 90% of automotive innovation by the end of the decade.
As for the future, luxury brands need to begin looking to the future. “It is essential that every physical or digital touchpoint of the Cadillac LYRIC does not just reflect, but actually redefine what a luxury experience is. Rightpoint and Cadillac are creating an experience that sweats every pixel, interaction and design element in an effort to deliver a truly compelling and unique experience.”
Freedman says the biggest success of Rightpoint to date as it involves Cadillac, is the consumer-facing interior of the LYRIQ vehicle. “We collaborated with Cadillac’s design studio to reflect and amplify the LYRIQ’s inspiring and luxurious interior often becoming an extension of the industrial design that was being formed by hand in the studio. The result was a visual language of subtle tension, simplicity, and moments of data-driven beauty.”
This article was written in cooperation with Rightpoint.