It’s true that this article, about how 28-year-old Veda Partalo is leading Cadillac’s rebranding effort, reads like an advertorial. Despite that, I liked that it described one method Partalo and her Fallon colleagues researched luxury car drivers:

“…I traveled to nice restaurants around Chicago, Detroit, L.A., and New York. I interviewed the valets, those pimply 18-year-olds. What makes car drivers different? They dress and tip the same. It’s in how they react when the valet scratches their car. I heard consistent stories: Lexus owners don’t say anything and immediately call the police and insurance company. BMW owners scream at him - ‘I’ll have your job!’ That sort of thing. But Cadillac owners pat him on the back, say, ‘It’s gonna be all right, kid; we’ll figure something out,’ and then tip him anyway and drive off.”

Like the article says, this could be true or not. After all, we don’t have direct access to that research. It could be a ploy to flatter Cadillac owners or woo would-be Cadillac owners into thinking they would definitely be the good guy in the good vs. evil car owner anecdote.

That said, it shows a clever method of research. Get out and talk to those guys who deal with luxury car drivers all the time and whom these drivers may forget about when it comes to how they behave “when no one is watching.”