Omni Automotive Advertising Blog

Here’s a problem car dealers face, they try to be all things to all people. Every advertisement has to be chock full of goodies, like biggest selection, best service, etc. Now this is fine when done in moderation, but put it all together the ad becomes a huge mess.

But how about being all things to a specific market. Like this dealer in Milwaukee. He decided to go after the hybrid niche market. The dealer started focusing on selling hybrids in 1998 and now he sells more hybrids than any other dealer in the nation. Plus his hybrids sales are 10 times higher than any other Honda dealer in the nation.

Now, I’m not saying that dealers should try to go after hybrid sales. What I am saying is that there is a problem that is unique to your customers that you can fulfill (saying your the “Ford Headquarters” does not suffice). By finding this niche you can really make a connection to your customers and you’ll stand out in the crowd.

The introduction of the new 2008 Honda Accord was bound to start a round of comparisons. And what better vehicle to be compared to the eigth-generation Accord than the Toyota Camry in this review by MotorTrend.

Well here’s something I think everyone in the automotive industry knew, American car buyers perceive American made cars to be inferior to imports.

CNW Market Research conducted a study in which they took all the brand logos off the cars and told some people it’s a domestic car and some people it’s an import. Their reactions would greatly different depending on what they were told.

For example, CNW would take off the badges of a new Chevy and tell people it’s an import. The people’s reactions would be positive to the car. However if they said it was an American car, the people would react negatively to the car.

Art Spinella, vice president of the Bandon, Ore.-based firm summed it up by saying:

“If they think it’s an American car, the perception of the vehicle falls dramatically. Detroit really gets a bum rap in the U.S.”

For years the Big 3 pretty much ignored the car market and focused on trucks and sport utilities. Now with gas prices up and the push to go green, they’ve really started making better cars. But no one really is looking at the Big 3. They’re still paying for cars they made years earlier.

But all is not lost. Just look at the transformation Hyundai is in. For a long time they were known as a cheap automaker. Now they’ve upped the ante and created better cars coupled with better advertising.

However,  perceptions change over time. The Big 3 need to continue producing quality products and really advertise them.

Ford seems to have gotten the message.

The new Smart Cars will soon arrive in the states. These little buggers, more than 3 feet shorter than the Mini, get around 40 miles per gallon and run as clean as they come.

Plus, with the new Vermont ruling and push to be green, these cars could not come at a better time.

It still remains to be see just how small Americans are willing to go in their vehicle selection, especially when the Smart car is expected to get 4 out 5 stars in safety. Although 20,000 people in America have already signed up.

Smart Car dealerships will be announced later this year.

I was recently skimming over this article on Ad Week, when I was struck by a thought. Viral advertising doesn’t work unless you actually create something that people want to share with their friends.

Just putting up a commercial or infomercial you ran last month on youtube, really doesn’t have an impact, especially if just have offers without branding.

The only spots you should post, should be written specifically for the internet. Viral Ads should be memorable, yet say something about your dealership. Like this one…

The spot is memorable, informative and timeless (it came out a couple of months ago). I sent this video out to a bunch of people when I first saw it.

The only problem I have is this dealership is in Massachusetts. I live in South Florida. So obviously with viral videos it’s hard for dealers to target just their market. Which means, just because your video has almost 100,000 views doesn’t mean 100,000 potential customers are watched it. But that’s a thought for another post.