AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

First TV Advertisement

Where Was the First TV Advertisement?

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News, TV Advertising /

December 10, 2014

Where did the first TV advertisement air in the United States? Much like the first radio advertisement, it’s really up for debate. Many people say the first television commercial aired on July 1, 1941, and advertised Bulova watches. This particular spot was 10 seconds long and cost $9 to air, during a day and age when there were very few TV sets to be found.

Others believe the first-ever TV commercial aired much earlier, on December 7, 1930; during which video was telecast from a CBS radio orchestra show called The Fox Trappers. This was more than a decade before the Bulova watch commercial, and it featured the I. J. Fox Furrier Company of Boston sponsoring a program on W1XAV. At the time, the station broadcast on 2.1-2.2 mHz, with 500 watts of power; and 60 lines and 20 frames per second.

First TV Advertisement Debate

It could be simply a matter of semantics, meaning some consider a sponsorship to be an actual TV advertisement, while others just consider it a sponsorship. It could also be that the 1930 Fox Furrier commercial is not recognized as the first TV advertisement because it was an “illegal” ad (simply because it was a spot for the fur industry) and therefore was subject to a fine after it aired.

Despite the many changes in technology since the first TV advertisement, the basic premise of running ads on television remains the same. Do you want to find out what it takes to get your automotive dealership on the airwaves in your community? JKR Automotive Advertising is offering a FREE TV advertising review, no strings attached. Simply pick up the phone and call Eric Tigner at (321) 397-0777 today. In doing so, you’ll get complimentary input from JKR, one of the automotive industry’s advertising giants.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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Post-Pandemic Dealer Gross Profits are Down – But They Don’t Have to Stay There!
March 13, 2024
It is no secret that dealer gross profits per vehicle are down sharply in the post-COVID automotive world. According to a recent article in Automotive News, gross profits of the six largest publicly traded dealership groups plunged significantly from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. One of them was actually down 35% per vehicle!

The article explains: High interest rates, more expensive vehicles and a steadier post-pandemic supply chain continue to soften demand and bring it closer to pre-pandemic levels. Still, new-car buying has remained strong overall …

This means that, while sales volume is similar, overall bottom lines are lower for many dealers due to the reduced gross profits. What about your dealership?

Being Realistic
It’s time to turn the page! The time for dealers to simply be order takers for people willing to pay MSRP for a vehicle (and in some cases more) has passed and dealers have to work hard once again to achieve acceptable gross profits.

Selling a high volume of cars doesn’t control gross profits, no matter how much you wish this was the case. Correct processes and menu pricing – and strict adherence to them – do!

What kind of processes?
∙ Slow down the transaction! Your sales staff has to once again sell the customer on the features and benefits of every new and pre-owned vehicle on your lot.

∙ Your salespeople and managers should devalue the customers’ trade-in value (politely, of course) as much as possible. After all, if the customer expects you to lower your price, shouldn’t you be able to do the same on their trade? Remember, you’ll have to fix it up, put your name on it and resell it to someone else with all the tenacity you would a brand-new car. So make sure you buy it right … because the profit is made when you buy it, not when you sell it!

∙ To that end, management should be ready and willing to leave the desk and do thorough walk-arounds on each trade to ensure the best outcome for the dealership.

The Cure for Low Gross Profits
If you are like a lot of dealers these days, you could use some good news. Here it is: while you may not have the capability to achieve profit margins similar to those you enjoyed during the pandemic, they could likely be improved. JKR’s clients enjoy the benefit of attracting not only more customers, but better ones, too!

If meeting and exceeding your sales goals (and increasing gross profits at the same time) sounds great to you, you need to call us. Don’t settle for reduced gross profits when help is out there to get you closer to where you’d like to be.

Want to know how we do it? Reach out to Senior Partner Richard Brauns (407) 701-4233 or Partner/Vice President Jon Albert (407) 718-2494 today.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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