Omni Automotive Advertising Blog

Naughty Volvos and the All-New S60

Barry — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:25:54 +0000

The All-New Volvo S60

Volvo has launched the “Naughty Volvo” campaign featuring the All-New Volvo S60. The campaign challenges you to be “as naughty as you want to be”.

The campaign will expand through the year. For now, you can find more information at www.naughty.volvocars.us. The interactive website employs several video of the S60 driving through tests like the “Elk Test” and the “Slalom Test”. More tests, such as the “Pedestrian Detection Test” will be coming soon.

Volvo is also backing up the campaign with the release today of the Volvo Cars US Facebook page. Drawing on the use of social networks for advertising is a growing trend in automotive advertising. If you twitter, you can follow the campaign through the VolvoCars_US twitter page.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hyundai at The Academy Awards

Barry — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:48:35 +0000

Hyundai is planning on a big night at this years Academy Awards show. The car manufacturer will air eight 30 second spots, each reportedly at a cost of $2.5 million to $2.8 million, a price similar to the commercials that ran during the Super Bowl. Long-time Hyundai spokesperson Jeff Bridges will not be in the commercials due to strict Academy rules which bar nominees from appearing in in-show creative. Replacing Bridges will be actors Martin Sheen, Richard Dreyfuss, Kim Basinger, David Duchovny, Catherine Keener, Michael Madsen, and Mandy Patinkin. The spots will highlighting the 2011 Sonata and 2010 Genesis models.

Superbowl Auto Ads

Barry — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:07:48 +0000

What was usually a mecca for auto ads, this years Super Bowl was missing some of the normal suspects. Here are a couple of videos for those who did show up.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Let It Shine – Honda Insight Commercial

Barry — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:44:36 +0000

Here’s a Honda commercial you won’t see in the states. This comes from Honda Motor Europe Ltd. to help launch the Insight.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Toyota Commits to Fixing Problems

Barry — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:35:13 +0000

Much attention is being paid to the recent admission by Toyota over the recalls. If you haven’t seen the commercial yet, here it is.

Click here to view the embedded video.

New Site up for Omni Advertising

Barry — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:26:51 +0000

In case you haven’t seen it yet, the new corporate site for Omni Advertising is up and running. The site has been redesigned from top to bottom, including a new look, and all the latest and greatest mods you’d look for in a brand new 2010 model.

Built on the popular Drupal web management system, the new site allows the Omni team to keep the site fresh and up to date with their most recent news. Unlike this site, which is focused more on automotive advertising, Omni-Advertising.com showcases the work of our ever growing client base.

News at Omni Advertising

Barry — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:05:42 +0000

Omni’s arsenal of kick ass auto marketers just got more lethal. We recently snagged two of the most dangerous dudes in automotive advertising this side of the western hemisphere and we’re about to unleash them as members of our Honda team.

Brett Butz and Chris Martin have more than 20 years combined automotive marketing experience. Over the past few years they worked at 22squared where they racked up close relationships (read: inside scoops) with over 90 Southeast Toyota dealers. These boys educated their dealers, they trained and consulted them, strategized for them, maximized their online presence, branded them, and then sent them off smiling with a slew of market share.

Besides Toyota, Brett and Chris have managed all aspects of Chevy Association and Dodge Association accounts. Their expertise includes developing fully integrated digital marketing plans – from paid search and display advertising, search engine optimization and social media strategies to email marketing and pay per click campaigns – that will knock your socks off. And now they’re bringing it all to Omni’s Honda Associations. So, eh hem, if you’re not Honda, be afraid. Be very afraid.

On a more civilized note…

Omni has a new artist! His name is Dave Cochran and he isn’t just any artist, either. This guy draws storyboards. Do you have any idea what that means? It means he can take the chicken scratch, stick figure, indecipherable-to-the-untrained-eye scribbles that come spilling from the curious minds lurking in our creative department and turn them into a series of communicable diagrams! He’s got over 20 years of experience in advertising design, he’s super talented and we’re proud to have him under Omni’s roof.

2012 Ford Focus Introduced at Detroit Auto Show

Barry — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:28:20 +0000

On Monday morning, Alan Mulally, president and chief executive of the Ford Motor Company, introduced the 2012 Ford Focus at the Detroit Auto Show. The Focus is being touted as the savior for Ford, akin to what the K-car was for Chrysler.

In the US, the Focus will be powered by a new 2-liter direct-injection gas engine whereas in Europe it will be diesel powered. Sedan and hatchback models will arrive in 2011. Updated designs will sport “a European look”.

Read the NY Times article here.

Ford is also counting on the Focus’ fuel efficiency to encourage consumers to switch to the Ford line. The redesigned Focus features a small bump on the vehicle’s taillights that reduces air turbulence and allows the car to travel further on a tank of gas.

Read the Wall Street Journal article here.

November Car Sales Improving

Barry — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:54:04 +0000

New-car sales figures released today seem to indicate a growing increase. According to the nytimes.com article, In November, Car Sales Show Signs of Stability, General Motors, Ford Motor, Toyota and Honda said their sales were about the same last month as they were a year ago. The only major carmaker to report a large drop was Chrysler, whose sales fell 25 percent. Hyundai, in contrast, reported a 46 percent increase. Estimates from G.M. and Chrysler were selling at a rate of about 11 million in November, slightly higher that October’s rate of about 10.5 million. This is much higher than the low rate of about 9 million seen in the early part of 2009.

In response to rising demand, G.M. said it would build 75 percent more vehicles in the first quarter than it did a year earlier, and Ford said it would raise first-quarter production by 58 percent. Both companies had been drastically cutting production since the middle of last year.

While sales figures for the months of July and August were significantly higher, mostly due to the Cash for Clunkers program, November sales were the third highest for 2009.

This article posted by AFP, noted that Chrysler sales in the U.S were down 25 percent compared with a year earlier to 63,560. Sales were down modestly compared with October’s figure of 65,803, and the company said this was a positive sign.

Ford meanwhile said increased sales of passenger cars and newer “crossover” vehicles offset weak demand for trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Ford said it sold 123,167 new vehicles in the month, marginally lower than the 123,222 in November 2008. The figure was down from 136,920 in October.

“We can see now that a modest economic recovery is under way,” Emily Kolinski Morris, Ford’s senior United States economist, said on a conference call Tuesday. “It won’t begin to feel like a recovery until the labor market has begun to improve materially.”

Hyundai was the industry leader last month, as it has been through most of 2009 as consumers look for lower-priced but reliable alternatives to some more popular vehicles. The Environmental Protection Agency released a report Tuesday citing Hyundai topping Honda as the most fuel-efficient vehicle lineup.

Black Friday Best Car Buying Day

Barry — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:52:24 +0000

According to a article on cnnmoney.com, the best day of the year to buy a car is on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Based on data by analysts on Truecar.com, discounts on that day will, on the average, be the biggest of the year.

“The discounts from dealerships, as well as manufacturers’ incentives, generate the highest discounts of the year on Black Friday,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Truecar.com.

The average new car discount on Nov. 27 is projected to be 7.5%. The average discount the day before and after is expected to be just over 6%. On a typical day throughout the year, car shoppers usually pay about 4.7% less than the sticker price.

The article cites some dealers going to less-traditional measures to bring in customers. For instance, Paragon Honda will send bicycle riders dressed in gorilla costumes to a nearby Best Buy store.

Other dealers, like Bob Goldberg, general manager of Premium Nissan in New Rochelle, NY, denied that Black Friday is particularly special at his dealership. “Every day is important to us,” he said. “I don’t consider it different from any other day.”

Read the entire article at cnnmoney.com