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Selling the World: Public Relations and the Global Expansion of General Motors, 1922–1940

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2018

Jacob Anbinder
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Abstract

General Motors (GM) became the world's dominant automaker in the 1920s and 1930s thanks in part to a dynamic, centralized public relations operation. The intended audience of this marketing included GM's own overseas employees. As the company opened new plants in foreign countries, it used media such as General Motors World, an employee newspaper, to communicate that it understood the needs of different foreign consumers and to advocate against protectionist economic policies that hindered its ability to sell cars. The messages of General Motors World shaped global perceptions of GM's corporate structure and brand, and were a core element of the automaker's overseas activity.

Keywords

General Motorstransportationglobalizationpublic relationsbranding
Type
Research Article
Information
Business History Review , Volume 92 , Issue 3 , Autumn 2018 , pp. 483 - 507
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 2018 

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Footnotes

The author would like to thank Christo Datini for his generosity in arranging access to the General Motors Heritage Center, Dan Bertwell for his help in securing a grant that made the research possible, and Drew Morrison and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.

References

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