Digital Dealer - March 2018 - 26

A D V E RT I S I N G & M A R K E T I N G

Continued from pg. 24

Faith is not a psychic.
She's a woman with great
intuition who understands
the concept of 'content
analysis.' Simply, not just
keeping an ear to the
ground, but keeping all
senses open to what is
happening in real time.
On social media, at the
coffee shop, at the point
of purchase in multiple
venues. The key to her
success is a constant
pulse of what is happening in real-time with a
reasonable extrapolation
to future trends. 30 years
ago, the late Bob Tasca
Sr. told me that he placed
radio time on the basis of
his research as to what
kind of cars came over the
bridge to his dealership.
Bob found out the best
time to advertise to used
vehicle customers was
between 6am and 8am.
The best time to advertise
to new vehicle customers
was between 8am and
10am. His methodology
was based on what kinds
of vehicles were coming
over the bridge at those
times. The late Ron Tonkin
told me he had great success running a number of
ads in 'old movies'. Why?
Because with newer
movies people wait for the
commercial break to go to
the bathroom, but with old
movies people take their
breaks while the movie is
on..(because they've seen
it so many times)...and
they tend to sit thru more
commercial breaks! A
client I worked with in the
suburbs of Philadelphia
laughed when I suggested
a country music station,
but when we walked thru
the dealership and asked
26

MARCH 2018

every customer and
employee we met, the
country channel came up
in the top three. In Michigan a dealer asked for my
thoughts on putting a new
vehicle point in a small
adjacent town. I told him I
thought he'd do better with
used cars in that market
because the Walmart
had more oil stains in the
parking spaces than most,
there were very few banks
and several check cashing
and furniture rental stores.

The CU is getting counter
point-of-purchase at
the dealership. Another
dealership has partnered
with one of the largest
HVAC companies in his
market with over 30 vans
on the road. As part of the
negotiation for vehicles,
dealership signage is
painted on every van.
Several dealerships with
the land and site control have partnered with
premium drive-thru coffee
shops on an out-parcel

OFTEN THE THINGS
WE OVERLOOK ARE THE
MOST CRITICAL TO OUR
COMPLETE SUCCESS."
The used car operation he
opened in that town was
one of his top producing
deals.
4. PARTNERING AND
PRODUCT PLACEMENT.

It's interesting that some
of the new 'streaming'
shows on digital channels have no commercial
breaks. Instead, they are
being funded by natural
'product' placement. No
more fake labels or hidden
brands. The viewer sees
a product in use that is
an unspoken endorsement. Are there video
opportunities for content
created in your market?
Recently a dealer shared
a successful program
developed with a local
credit union, where the
dealer is not only financing used vehicles through
the credit union but is
disposing of CU repos and
getting attractive signage
at the CUs 3 locations.

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

with an attractive lease in
exchange for the additional traffic the shops draw to
the dealership.

5. MODELING AFTER
OTHER SUCCESSFUL
RETAILERS. Who are the

most successful retailers
in your marketplace in
other categories. Where
do you enjoy shopping for
furniture, jewelry, clothing?
What are your favorite
restaurants? Consider
talking with some of the
people you respect most
for their 'experiential' marketing. Ask them for advice on your signage, lot
display, employee dress,
etc. One of the top dealerships in Michigan has their
showroom 'dressed' by a
leading retail store decorator several times a year in
traditional themes. Never
be afraid to entertain
constructive criticism from
other circles. Often the
things we overlook are the

most critical to our complete
success. Several years ago,
I enjoyed the opportunity to
partner in the founding of a
casino. Wow, what lessons
I learned. In this industry
there are consultants for
every customer touch-point
you can imagine. The scent
in the air, the temperature,
the lighting, the music, the
colors of the walls, rugs and
ceilings, the bathrooms, the
display layout of the machines, the overall ambient
sound level. The casino
world is geared to total
experience. And of course,
good grosses. Here is an
easy one. Ask the spouses
of your top managers to
visit the dealership and
write a report on what they
would change if they were
in charge. Give them a
reward for their time. It will
be a worthwhile, and often
eye-opening investment.
The automobile industry
continues to undergo constant competitive challenges
from both digital and brick/
mortar start-ups who have
tuned into customer wants
and needs. The good news
is, there is nothing any of
these competitors can offer
than will totally disrupt the
long-term success of those
dealers who focus on being
the best they can be and
master the 'experiential'
marketing opportunities of
their enterprise.
JIM BOLDEBOOK is Founder
of CBC Automotive Marketing,
an advertising/marketing agency
working with some of America's
most successful dealerships. He
has been in the broadcasting,
advertising and marketing fields
for almost 50 years. EMAIL:
jim@cbcads.com
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - March 2018
