For those dealers still standing as the automotive recession ends its first year, it is important that the proper advertising moves are made to avoid becoming another fatality in this rapidly changing economy. For many years, dealers, general managers, and general sales managers have handled their own advertising, rather than relying on pros that do it for a living. Now, many of those dealers, who felt they were advertising geniuses, are working on their biggest advertising campaign ever—their “going out of business” sale. Could they have avoided this fate? Is there something these dealers could have done to avoid termination? Would good advertising have made a difference? Yes, yes, and yes. 

Dealers who scrimped and tried to save dollars on advertising have always been what I term “weak dealers.” These are the guys who would try and back in to a profit by cutting expenses on advertising. Many of these dealers were recently terminated by GM and Chrysler because they simply did not sell enough cars. Had these dealers been selling a hundred or more cars a month, this would not have happened to them. By paying close attention to advertising and by being aggressive, there is no doubt they would have been able to sell more cars.

Advertising can truly change the entire complexion of your business. The more you spend the more you sell. In this space, for the last five years, I have been telling you over and over that you need to spend a certain amount per car for advertising. Once upon a time, that number was $250 per car; that number is now $750 per car, based on NADA numbers. I guarantee you—the guys that are at the higher side of this equation are the leaders in their market and the guys that are spending $250 or less per vehicle are in trouble or closed.

Dealers wake up! This is the biggest automotive advertising opportunity you will ever see. Right now you can increase your market share to dramatic levels by merely spending half of what you spent during the good times. Rates at newspapers, TV, and radio stations are virtually half of what they once were. This is the time for you to elevate your dealership profile to a new level in your market.

Get back to the basics of good advertising and get creative with your message. Plan your campaigns for each week of the year. Stop letting your staff create ads and TV spots; let the professionals in the business do this for you. It’s been proven that a good ad or spot can draw two to three times more traffic than a weaker ad or spot. Scrimping on the cost of creating powerful advertising is like going to court and handling your own case.

Advertising works, you just need to apply the basic fundamental steps needed to assure that success. We are still facing some tough months ahead in the car business and there will be additional dealers that fail. Make sure you have good strong advertising to assure your survival.

Tom Letizia is the president of Letizia Ad Team-Automotive marketing division, a full-service advertising agency specializing in automotive. He can be reached at 702-870-2362 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .


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