AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Super Bowl Advertising

Super Bowl Advertising Down Among Auto Manufacturers

JKRAdvertising / Auto Industry in the News, Automotive Advertising /

December 4, 2014

Super Bowl advertising among automobile manufacturers looks to be on the sharp decline this year. In last January’s 2014 Super Bowl, there were a total of 24 automotive advertisements that aired on FOX, the network fortunate enough to gain the rights to the big game.

This year’s gridiron championship showdown will be seen on NBC, and thus far only 13 auto-related advertisements have been secured. During the game, a 30-second spot costs $4.5 million, up about $500,000 (or 12.5 percent) from last year. There are currently 12 of those scheduled, and Ford has signed up for a 90-second spot that will run between the coin toss and the game’s opening kickoff (they got a reduced rate because this is technically not an in-game spot).

Super Bowl Advertising = Maximum Exposure

Why would any company in its right mind pay so much for one Super Bowl advertising spot? Last year’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos was the most-watched television program in United States history, with 111.5 million viewers tuned in according to this article by Forbes. And despite the one-sided score (43-8 in favor of Seattle), for the most part people stayed around for the entire game (even at its end, the audience was only five percent less than at the beginning).

Still, that’s a lot of money to invest no matter who you are … and companies like Volkswagen, Jaguar and Lincoln have said publicly that they are using their advertising budget for other things. (That means you won’t be seeing any of those Matthew McConaughey Lincoln ads that have received so much attention.) Conversely, Nissan is dipping its toes into the Super Bowl advertising pool for the first time in nearly two decades. And other than Nissan and the aforementioned Ford ad, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are the only manufacturers to publicly say “we’re in” for sure.

So far, NBC is said to have sold about 80% of the 30-second in-game spots. So if you happen to have $4.5 million bucks to spare, it isn’t too late to get in on the Super Bowl Advertising fun! Oh, and by the way, NBC is offering a discount if you purchase more than one; you’ll only have to pay $4.4 million each.

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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