AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Elements of a Great Ad in the Post-COVID World

Elements of a Great Ad in the Post-COVID World

JKRAdvertising / Automotive Advertising Advice /

June 30, 2020

A great ad during the COVID-19 pandemic is obviously not the same as a great ad under normal circumstances. Although we’re not completely out of the woods yet in terms of what’s happening with the coronavirus, things continue returning to normal. As such, it’s time to examine some of the key elements to a successful post-COVID ad campaign.

Great Ad Elements

Keep it Simple: When you only have 30 or 60 seconds, less is more. Focusing on a smaller number of things ensures your audience will remember what you said – and it could even leave them wanting to know more.

Make it Easily Identifiable: Be sure your dealership’s name and logo (in video productions) are mentioned and displayed often.

Make it Interesting: You can use facts, emotion, entertainment or a number of other tactics … but if your audience isn’t moved by it, it’s going to be less effective.

Make it Memorable: Think about how much advertising you’re exposed to on a daily basis. Make your dealership’s ads stand out from the crowd and you’ll reap the benefits.

Be Consistent: Spread the same message in all your platforms. This helps avoid confusion – the last thing you want when there are others nearby who sell the same products as you. Clearly representing your dealership and its mission ensures consistency.

Make it Credible: Believability is a big part of what makes people take notice of an ad. Potential customers won’t buy from you if they don’t think they can trust you.

Make Sure it Reaches the Right Audience: Reach and frequency must be sufficient for an advertisement to truly be effective. Getting the most people you can to see your messages (reach) is great, but that isn’t the only element involved. It typically takes multiple exposures (frequency) to your message before you can expect any kind of response.

Want to find out if your marketing dollars are being spent efficiently? Contact JKR and we’ll provide you with a no-strings-attached, FREE Advertising Review. We’ll take a close look at what you (and your competition) are doing, and give you our expert feedback. Call us at (321) 397-0777 today to get things started.

JKR Automotive Advertising: The car dealer ad agency.

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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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