Auto Show Marketing: What Dealerships Can Learn From Auto Expos

Auto Shows are a grand affair. Top brands from all corners of the US gather together to show off new models, talk about new technology, and explore new trends in the industry with experts, innovators, and car enthusiasts alike. With so much coverage and exposure, it’s no surprise that brands have taken auto show marketing seriously. But should they?

This article will go on to explore the declining trend in car shows, take a closer look at why so many major carmakers are bailing-out, and even suggest a better way to invest those marketing dollars.

Auto Show Marketing: A Fading Trend

At the time of this article’s release, the New York International Auto Show is just beginning. It is just one of many big annual car shows that, like the NAIAS or The Chicago Auto Show; attract hundreds of thousands of visitors, and feature hundreds of new models each year. Usually, those numbers are nothing to scoff at – however for the first time ever some major car brands are thinking twice about attending.

It’s not because of cost, but rather practicality.

Some of these larger automotive shows really push marketing budgets. Cost of attendance at these things can cost upwards of millions for a single week! Bigger brands don’t have trouble putting forth the money, but regardless of whether or not they can afford it, the question becomes “is it really worth it?”

The Growing Problem with Car Shows

The people who purchase spaces at these events spare no expense. It’s go big, or go home- So of course it’s going to cost millions for the space, the stage, and all of the lights, carpeting, and furniture – all of which are brandedbrand-consistent, and designed to stand out and steal the splotlight. The problem? So is everyone else’s space.

Some of the major carmakers who are backing out of these grand auto shows are citing the presence of competition on the show floor as being the reason for calling it quits. It just isn’t worth it – not when they could be getting better mileage out of those millions outside of the show. As a result? The major brands are looking for new ways to invest their money, and achieve true ROI.

A Better Use for your Auto Show Marketing Budget

The same energy, flare, and attention that goes into sprucing up your space at one of these big auto shows could go a long way at your brand’s dealership locations. Making sure the people you have attracted to the door enjoy their visits, and ultimately decide to purchase from you is of the utmost importance. And it’s something you can likely achieve for much less.

By investing that time and money into improving your waiting areas, show floor, and amenities, you’re improving the things that really make a lasting impression on the people who are visiting your dealerships – which are really the people you want to impress, and please, to get them to purchase. Customers are the ones driving your product around, they’re the ones who will buy from you again, and they’re the ones who will talk positively about your brand, for free, and recommend you to friends and family. The right approach, and the right message, go a long way.

Getting the Message Across with It’s Relevant TV

If you’re investing some of your marketing budget on branding and enhancing visitor experience, the TV is a great place to start. How you get your message across to visitors is just as important as the message itself. TVs are effective at getting people’s attention. If you put something on a TV people are watching, 9 times out of 10 someone is going to see it.

It’s Relevant TV is a television service that more and more dealerships are switching to. It doesn’t come with the high monthly cost, lack of control, or risk of competitor ads that cable does. It replaces all of those things with a custom channel that’s easy to manage, is fully customizable, and allows you to showcase your own personal videos, messaging, social media and brand. It’s a great way to get all the things you want noticed, and all the content that comes with it is designed to keep people entertained, and informed. All while keeping brand consistency across the board.

Competitive Ad Block® for Customer Retention and Business Loss Prevention

What’s on Your Business TV?

Televisions are becoming a fixture in businesses throughout the United States. While many business owners have decided to buy TVs, not many put much thought into what is displayed on them. TVs can help visitors pass the time but they can also draw customers away from you, and to competing businesses and products.

Block Out the Competing Ads with Competitive Ad Block®

It’s Relevant TV blocks out all competitive ads from your television. In a car dealership, you will never see another car dealership message on your screen. In a restaurant, It’s Relevant TV will not show any other dining establishments. IRTV’s proprietary technology takes care of the blocking automatically and infuses your TV with more relevant TV programming in place of lengthy ad breaks. It’s Relevant TV shuts off ads that could be harmful to your business, while reducing the number of overall ads significantly to make your customers happier viewers. The average hour of cable television includes between 16 and 22 minutes of advertisements. It’s Relevant TV limits ads to 3 minutes, making sure that the focus of the television is on the satisfaction of your customers. You can learn more about the differences between cable TV and It’s Relevant TV on the official site.

Blocking Competition in Car Dealerships

Imagine you are sitting in a Ford Dealership getting your car serviced. You may be waiting a few hours and have a TV in front of you. The television, like many, is tuned to a local news station. In the time you are there you will not only see the TV programming that the channel offers, but also countless ads for other car dealerships. Chevy, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, Mazda… all appearing on the screen as you wait. Catchy Ads showing happy customers, great lease specials, low financing rates, credit guarantees– all much more attractive than the car you are waiting to get back.

This is a real problem for the business. As you certainly know, cars are big ticket items. They are generally the second largest purchases people make in their lives. If only one or two people in the service center are pulled towards another brand over the course of a year, the negative impact on the dealership is in the thousands of dollars.

Blocking Competition in Restaurants

Now imagine you are in a restaurant eating your meal.  On the TV, you see an ad for a competing establishment offering great prices and appetizing food. While the ad may not keep you from your current purchase, it could very well give you an alternative idea for your next meal, instead of coming back to the restaurant you are in.

As silly as the quick video we prepared above may seem, the effect is very real. Regular TV exposes customers to competitors when they are most impressionable. As a business owner, you would never welcome a competitor to walk in at your business location to hand out their coupons, offer better deals, or speak directly to your customers. So why allow it to happen through your TV?

The answer is simple: Up until now there wasn’t much of a choice. If you wanted to entertain customers with your TV you had to deal with the ads. But with It’s Relevant TV‘s Competitive Ad Block®, you block the competing ads, and keep great TV programming.

Facebook Video Ad Viewing Times Inflated, ROI Questioned

Recent news has broken about the inaccurate reporting of video playback times on the Facebook platform.  Facebook’s reporting suggested higher message playback than actually happened.  In a post on the Facebook advertising help site, Facebook announced the discrepancy and explained the difference between how it defined the statistic, and what was actually measured.

We had previously defined the Average Duration of Video Viewed as “total time spent watching a video divided by the total number of people who have played the video.” But we erroneously had calculated the Average Duration of Video Viewed as “the total time spent watching a video divided by only the number of people who have viewed a video for three or more seconds.

New Changes In Place

Then in response to this discovery, Facebook says it’s introducing two new metrics in hopes to save face:

Video Average Watch Time: the total watch time for your video, divided by the total number of video plays. This includes plays that start automatically and on click. This will replace the Average Duration of Video Viewed metric.

Video Percentage Watched: reflects the percentage of your video somebody watches per session, averaged across all sessions of your video where the video auto-played or was clicked to play. This will replace the Average % Video Viewed metric.

What does this mean for you as an advertiser? It means that if you advertised on Facebook over the past couple of years you have likely been misled. You likely have an unrealistic ROI measure if you were using the “average duration of video views” metric. Most noteworthy is that Facebook is never aiming for a 100% playback of your video. The platform operates with distracted individuals in mind and is not the place to deliver a real ad message.

A Facebook Ad Alternative

TV Advertising Digital SIgnage Business Television
TV Advertising on It’s Relevant TV

Instead of playing back fractions of your video ads to viewers that may be largely irrelevant to your messaging, you could be utilizing It’s Relevant TV’s Advertising Platform. It’s Relevant TV puts your video messages on television in public places and only charges you for FULL PLAYBACKS. The price is about 1/100 of what standard TV ads cost. Advertisers can target by geographic location and business type.

For more information you can call the toll free office line: (855) ITS-RELE or visit online at: http://www.itsrelevant.com/advertising.