How to Get More Bang for Your Buck from Advertising

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Why Your Website Needs a Video Walk-Around for Each Vehicle

Today’s car shoppers decide what car they want to buy while they are still searching on the internet, long before they set foot in your dealership. When they do drop by your lot, they usually know what kind of car they want already. Currently their method of gathering the information to make this decision is to read the stats and look at the still photos that are on the site. As dealers, we know that the best way to move the car shop...

Why Your Website Needs a Video Walk-Around for Each Vehicle

The internet has become a staple of the automotive marketing diet. Dealers invest tens of thousands of dollars every month on their internet activities (i.e. website, Facebook, YouTube videos, blogging, Tweeting, live chats, etc.). Many automotive experts now say that the average dealer spends 40-50 percent (if not more) of their marketing budget directly on internet activities. Are you? While initial reports on ROI are positive and will only get better as dealers learn what works and what doesn’t, the internet is still somewhat of a shotgun approach to reach and connect with targ...

Relationship Marketing—Going Beyond Traditional Advertising

In today’s economy, every dealer is looking to get more out of their advertising dollars. Leveraging your media money for lower rates and increased added value is just the beginning. Here is a simple tip that will help you sell five to ten more cars next month, and every month, through your current media partners without increasing your advertising budget. It is called Relationship Marketing and, properly executed, will deliver incremental sales immediately. Dealers spend tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, each and every month with local media in exchange for ad time or s...

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How to Get More Bang for Your Buck from Advertising

Written by Tom Letizia

Wednesday, 05 May 2010 13:34

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Every dealership is tasked to develop a strategy to cut waste when buying media. Most dealerships will increase ad spending in 2010 and are looking for ways to maximize efficiency, as automotive ad spending continues to rebound. Auto ad spending dropped 23% in 2009, from $14.5 billion in 2008 to about $11 billion last year, automotive ad spending is on the rebound—it fell just 0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2009 and is expected to reach $14 billion to $16 billion in 2010. This rebound in auto advertising comes as auto sales are on the rise again. Vehicle sales in the U.S. jumped 24.3% in March to 1.07 million units, the best month since Cash for Clunkers.

Dealers have learned that TV advertising far more than any medium will increase customer brand awareness for one dealership versus another and reach thousands. Unlike in the past, however, in order for you to realize the most benefit from advertising on TV, you will need a professional media buyer. Good strong media buyers not only maximize cost per rating point, but a good buying firm will find added value on top of your expenditures. Additionally, a good media buyer will reconcile media buys to make sure the stations are giving you exactly what they promised.

Make sure your media buyer is properly planning and doing detailed research on your dealership by studying the different cars you offer, as well as reviewing your target market and demographics. Your media buyer should propose a media plan that includes demographic research, recommendations on media placement, and an estimated media budget and expected results.

If you are thinking about buying your own media, think again. As a dealer, you do not have the tools to buy media effectively. Have you analyzed a good day-part distribution? Do you have a good idea of what a good cost per point is for your market? Do you know how much money it will take to properly penetrate your market? Chances are, if you are a dealer handling your own media, you don’t know enough about these important ingredients in a good media buy and you are most likely throwing away thousands of dollars every month.

Media buying is more complicated than ever and there are numerous tools effective advertising agencies use to make sure dealers get more for their money. If your ad agency is not subscribing to Nielson and media buying software and just relying on the information provided from the TV stations, you are less likely to achieve success.

Advertising and marketing strategies that worked three years ago will not work today. Rethink everything. Buying patterns have changed. Viewer numbers have shifted and prices are more negotiable than ever. I have changed my firm’s entire strategy for each of our clients this year. Aggressive media reps, a friend’s suggestion, and emotional decisions based on your habits, will lead to failure. Every dealership, no matter the size, needs a strategic approach to media buying in order to succeed. Ask yourself this: are you getting the best bang for your buck?

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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