Make mine pink

[JimD]

Mary Kay, GM sitting pretty with partnership

Pink Cadillacs present a golden opportunity for automaker

11:38 PM CDT on Friday, August 4, 2006

By TERRY BOX / The Dallas Morning News

Bruce Springsteen immortalized the pop power of pink Cadillacs.

But the luminous cars are also at the center of one of the oldest, most

unusual business relationships in the auto industry – the one between

Addison-based Mary Kay Inc. and General Motors Corp.

This week, Mary Kay concluded its annual sales seminars in Dallas with the

ritual rewarding of hundreds of big pink Cadillacs to the cosmetic

company's top salespeople. At a time when many companies are downsizing,

cost-cutting, laying off and buying out, Mary Kay's "trophies on wheels"

continue to grow as part of one of the biggest corporate award programs in

the United States.

MONA REEDER/DMN

Robyn Cartmill (left) and Julia Mundy have both earned several pink

Cadillacs as Mary Kay consultants. "The cars are a billboard for the

company as well as for success in our industry," said Sean Key, vice

president of sales development and administration at Mary Kay. "When a

woman drives down the street in a pink Cadillac, everyone takes notice –

from truck drivers to teenagers."

Julia Mundy of Decatur, who recently qualified for her sixth pink

Cadillac, recalls how she felt the first time she wrapped her fingers

around the steering wheel.

"Like Miss America, like the queen of everything," she said.

Even better for GM, Mary Kay is "not even considering another car to

replace the Cadillac," Mr. Key said – though Cadillac's cachet has waned a

bit over the years.

Mary Kay is the automaker's longest-running commercial account. Smile if

you like at the sight of a pink Cadillac DTS or STS, but GM considers the

cosmetics company a serious "cornerstone" account, said Sharon

Dudley-Parham, fleet account manager.

"They have purchased over 80,000 vehicles since 1968," Ms. Dudley-Parham

said. "Suffice it to say we want to support Mary Kay in any way we can."

'Pink Tuesday'

Once a week in Detroit, GM has "pink Tuesday" – a day in the fleet

division devoted to Mary Kay's automotive needs. Many staffers dress

accordingly.

It's not a Top 10 corporation in revenue, but Mary Kay is still big

business. The company had $2.2 billion in sales last year. While sales in

the U.S. have been flat, those outside the U.S. – about $900 million of

the total – were the best ever last year, Mr. Key said.

"We have a team at GM that pays close attention to this account," Ms.

Dudley-Parham said. "A vice president monitors it on an ongoing basis. We

do conference calls. Sometimes we go there. Sometimes they come here. But

we get together every Tuesday to talk about issues."

Moreover, Mary Kay's Cadillacs are not white sedans wearing a couple of

coats of aftermarket pink. GM and Mary Kay jointly developed the current

shade of pale pearl pink. Every few months, vats of the special paint are

opened in Cadillac factories in Lansing and Detroit and applied to the

Mary Kay Cadillacs.

It has become such an integral account that at the Detroit Hamtramck

Cadillac plant, a separate line has been set up for Mary Kay, Ms.

Dudley-Parham said.

Mary Kay buys the cars on two-year leases, GM officials said. After the

lease expires, Mary Kay requires GM to repaint each car something other

than pink before it's sent to auction.

"The paint is only available to Mary Kay," said Robert Minton, a spokesman

for GM's fleet and commercial operations.

A driving force

Neither Mary Kay nor GM will divulge many details about revenue from the

relationship. Mary Kay salespeople can earn three cars: red Pontiac Vibes

as entry-level awards, silver Pontiac Grand Prixs at the middle level and

pink Caddies at the top.

About 2,000 women drive Cadillacs, and 10,000 more have received the

Pontiacs. None of the executives at Mary Kay drive pink Cadillacs, said

Mr. Key, the company's vice president.

"We want to reserve them for our sales directors," he said.

Mr. Springsteen was still a teenager when company founder Mary Kay Ash

bought her first pink Cadillac in 1968. Ms. Ash told the dealership that

she wanted her Cadillac painted the same shade of pink as her makeup

compact.

"She fell in love with it," said Courtney Roush, manager of corporate

communications at Mary Kay. "She often told us that whenever she would

attempt to enter a busy street, people would simply stop and motion for

her to go."

The car was an instant hit with Ms. Ash's sales force as well, and in

1969, she awarded the first five pink Caddies – all of them 1970 Coupe

DeVilles – to her top salespeople.

Today, a sales director and her team must sell at least $96,000 in

cosmetics in a six-month period for the director to qualify for a

Cadillac. Directors start out as salespeople and work their way up.

Any winner can turn down the pink Caddy for $900 a month to buy or lease

another vehicle. Most opt for the Cadillac, Mary Kay officials said.

"My friends who have chosen the cash option have regretted it," said Ms.

Mundy, who drives 30,000 miles a year. "Even though I wasn't interested in

winning a car just to do it, I realized this is the ultimate symbol.

Everyone knows what it means."

Symbol of success

Robyn Cartmill of Fort Worth, who qualified for her fourth Cadillac,

remembers how thrilled she was to get her first car. Ms. Cartmill has won

10 Mary Kay cars in all.

"We didn't have a garage," she said. "We had a carport. And I would get up

every morning and just look out the window at it. It probably did more for

my confidence than anything."

The 2,000 Mary Kay Caddies on the road now account for less than 1 percent

of GM's total Cadillac sales. But the division also gets a boost from

being associated with Mary Kay's positive image, GM officials said.

"It's been good for us," said Brian McVeigh, general manager of GM's fleet

and commercial operations. "The women at the seminars line up for photos

with the cars. It's like the cars are rock stars."

Industry consultant Todd Turner doubts that GM reaps any big overall

benefits from the Mary Kay account, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

"The biggest advantage is everyone knows when they see that pink Cadillac

that it is an award," said Mr. Turner, president of Car Concepts of

Thousand Oaks, Calif.

"It's a clear message. People think winner and see Cadillac."

© 2006 The Dallas Morning News Co.