Earned & PaidGeneral Motors
General Motors spent $5.50B on advertising and marketing in fiscal 2013, up 1.9% on the year before. That's 3.5% of revenue.
Marketing spend by year
Bars: advertising and marketing expense, $B (10-K). Line: spend as a share of revenue.
Say vs do
We found no statement about the size of General Motors's marketing budget on its earnings calls or in its 10-Ks, so here is its record against its peers.
What they said
No statement about the size of its marketing budget.
What they did
| Year | Marketing spend | Change | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2013 | $5.50B | +1.9% | 3.5% |
| FY2012 | $5.40B | +3.8% | 3.5% |
| FY2011 | $5.20B | +9.7% | 3.5% |
Against its peers. Compared with the 2 other Auto advertisers we track (Ford, Tesla): last year +1.9% (median +7.4%).
In interviews, its leaders made 85 statements about marketing: 5 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting.
How we check: a statement gets a verdict only when it's clearly about the size of the whole company's marketing budget over a full fiscal year; we compare it with the advertising and marketing expense in that year's 10-K. Statements about one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix between brand and performance can't be checked against annual filings.
What they say about media
The marketing channels it talks about using for itself on earnings calls and in its 10-Ks and 10-Qs, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Sponsorships & athletes “The recent announcement that Apple will broadcast F1 exclusively in the U.S. will put the Cadillac brand in homes of multiple audiences and help us build even stronger connections to an estimated fan base of 52 million people in the U.S. alone.” Mary Barra on the earnings call · Jan 26, 2026 · source
- Creative campaigns “To creatively illustrate how fun and liberating Super Cruise can be, Cadillac recently wrapped up its Time to Let Go campaign.” Mary Barra on the earnings call · May 5, 2021 · source
In the news
- Chevrolet Asks What Makes a Chevy in Latest Canadian Campaign Little Black Book | LBBOnline · Sep 21, 2026 · campaign