What makes an advertising company good?
I've been approached a few times this month about my thoughts on what local or national advertising companies are most effective. Since I am limited in my knowledge of what makes an advertising company good, I thought I'd ask the dE member community. So I'll simply ask...
- What makes an automotive advertising company good?
- What should be considered in partnering with an ad agency?
- And, is it best to stay local or go national?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Frank Drigotas on -
Just like a dealership, an automotive ad agency is only as good as its people. The best have bright, talented, hard-working people. Look for low turnover in staff, and a proven-track record.
When partnering with an ad agency, the personalities have to fit. Not every agency is right for every dealership. Ask the agency about their philosophies and make sure the way they attack the market will coincide with the personality of your store. Remember what Hank Aaron said: "One man's meat is another man's poison."
As for the local/national issue ... it's my personal opinion that it can work either way ... you should choose the best agency for the dealership whether they are local or national. I'm biased a bit towards the national agency (for reasons too lengthy to get into here) but that's because we work coast to coast with some of America's top dealerships! :-)
Frank Drigotas
CBC Advertising
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Permalink Reply by Gordy O'Connor on
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From a Dealership standpoint, taking into consideration the location,
I find in certain areas you need to grow from the core outwards.
We are in a Metro area with heavy Automotive & Supplier Companies.
Our challenge for an agency would be their competency in those areas.
I would first look for a small agile agency that has a quick turn around
capability as our programs change quickly.
Staff would definitely have to be as industry saavy as possible.
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Permalink Reply by Bobby Compton on
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Awesome topic Mike!!!
Having experience as a dealer and an add agency, it's a must that the dealers agenda be priority and not the add agencies!
In the automotive world, many times add agencies are disconnected from what works and what doesn't. Many time and currently, the adds suggested are out dated, non track able, and repetitive to what other dealers are advertising. In this case, there is no separation of what makes a dealer stand out from the rest.
30 second T.V. advertising is an on the fly method, and great for branding, but falls short on call to action! The days of $99 per month and zero down is not what drives traffic anymore!
I started infomercial production at the dealership level many years ago, and found that this method surpassed any 30 second message created by FAR...
It's amazing the multiple messages that can be included and the focus of the customer who watches these types of productions.
Better yet, the call to action and most importantly the track ability of this method.
Don't take me wrong, 30 second productions are good, but not the ticket to truly driving track able results.
In choosing an add agency, I suggest that you negotiate a flat fee when it comes to purchasing the actual air time from the stations, this will insure that the dealer receives the absolute best rates and times available.
I highly suggest an add agency with a proven and results driven automotive track record...
I hope you find this to be helpful information...
It's always an honor and a privilege to collaborate right here on dealerELITE. B.C.
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Permalink Reply by Sean Wolfington on
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What Makes an Advertising Company Good?
Results. Start by asking them to give you the before and after numbers for at least 5 clients because their history with other dealers will provide clues about their future with your dealership. Ask them for detailed reports on these clients and call the clients to confirm the numbers. If you don’t have time to read the rest, judge agencies based on their results, not just their pitch to your dealership because there are some agencies that are better at marketing to dealerships than they are marketing to consumers on behalf of the dealership. Results are all that matter.
The second criteria for a good agency are their people. Who are the leaders and what are their backgrounds? How much experience do they have in automotive marketing? Have they run dealerships? What dealerships have they worked with? Do they have a personal track record of success in their own company(s)? Are they an expert in all 10 tiers of marketing including traditional, digital and the rest?
The third criteria for a good agency is their strategy. A lot of ad agencies are primarily focused only on the creative side but a great agency needs to be an expert in strategy, creative and technology. What is their marketing methodology? What type of market research do they conduct before recommending a strategy? Do they use technology to identify in-market consumers to target based on your markets historical data or do they shoot from the hip? Do they focus more on mass marketing that has shorter, less measurable results or targeted marketing that generates more measurable results for less money. Are they limited to only traditional advertising? Are they an old school agency that primarily recommends TV and Radio and minimizes the impact of the web or do they have deep digital know how to help you market where consumers are shopping - the internet. Do they only focus on sales or do they create a strategy that promotes all of your dealerships profit centers: New, Used, CPO, F&I, Service, Parts, Body, Rental and others.
The fourth criteria are creative and design. Either you have great creative or you don't. If they are great it will be obvious. If it is not obvious to you it certainly won't be to your consumers. Dealers spend generations building their names, reputation and too often this brand equity is hurt by average creative that feeds the stereotype that consumers have about dealerships with cheesy, poor production, unprofessional design and messaging that does not build trust. Does the creative get and keep your attention? Does it build trust? Does it inspire call to action? How does the creative set your dealership apart from the competitors who sell the same vehicle at a similar or even lower price? All creative talent is not created equal so make sure you pick a partner that is at the top of the creative food chain. Does the creative design look more like factory design or local advertising campaigns that are less than professional? More than half the dealerships image is what people see so the design is the biggest part of your message to the market. The easiest way to test the design work of an agency is to invite friends over and ask them their opinion of the design work of the different agencies you are considering.
The fifth criteria is technology. Since over 90% of consumers use the internet to shop before they buy it is essential that your agency be digital marketing experts. This does not mean that they can talk at a high level about the internet while presenting a power point. They need to be digital subject matter experts. You need to ask them exactly what their digital strategy is, what they have done and why it works better than your competitors. Ask them how they plan to generate more traffic, convert visitors to leads and profitable sales and service revenue. Be aware of the generalists who are educated enough to convince you but not experienced enough to compete with other digital experts that your competitors may have on their side of the field. To know how good they really are you need to dig deep and ask a lot of questions. You should ask all the agencies you consider what their digital goals are how they plan to achieve them. Ask them about their experience - how many websites have they designed and built? How many email, search and banner ad campaigns they have implemented? How have they used mobile marketing and text campaigns to reach more customers for less?
The sixth criteria is Branding. What is their strategy to help your dealership differentiate your brand over your competitors? What reasons do they give your consumers to do business with you over the competition? How do they communicate these advantages through all advertising and marketing in and outside of the dealership?
The seventh criteria is their scope of capabilities. Are they just an old school traditional agency that is trying to pretend that they do more than they really do or are they a full service marketing company that delivers all 10 Tiers of Marketing? Are they experts in traditional advertising on TV, Radio, print and outdoor? Are they digital experts with extensive experience in search engines, email, banner ads, mobile marketing, websites and micro sites? Do they have a market dominated social media strategy that leverages Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networks to reach more customers through the happy customers you already have? What social media marketing campaigns have they done and what are the results? Do they manage your online and offline reputation? Do they have the right plan and tools to protect and promote your positive reputation on search engines, review sites, social networks and blogs? Do they have a full service publicity team who gets you as much free tv, radio and print coverage as the paid coverage they buy on your behalf. Do they create and deliver direct mail, email and text campaigns that drive more customers to your site, phones and showroom? What type of list building technology do they use to target in-market consumers who have a high probability of buying and servicing with your dealership? Do they own variable printers that customize each mailer with the exact sales and service offers that relates to each particular customer at their stage of the ownership cycle. Do they have a strategy to attract, sell and service groups, companies and employees of large organizations that have offices in your market? Do they give you point of sale merchandising that echoes your campaigns and builds confidence with consumers who see the same message in all the marketing and merchandising? Do they have a complete retention and renewal strategy with campaigns to attract, sell, service and retain more customers, more often. Do they integrate all 10 Tiers of marketing into one complete strategy that has the same look, feel and messaging?
The eight criteria is Media Buying. First of all, are they incentivized to buy more traditional media because they are getting paid commissions or given perks for buying media with any particular media company? Ask them if they can guarantee in writing that they do not receive perks, incentives or commissions from media companies to place your buys. This is the most important part because if they are getting paid on the other side they may direct you to buy more where they get paid more. Do they charge you more if you spend more? That is not good because then their incentive is to increase your ad budget rather than helping you spend less to get more. If they have a completely transparent media buying policy than you need to ask them who buys, how they buy, where and why they suggest you should buy to reach your target audience in your market. Do they start at retail and work down or do they start at wholesale and work up? Do they utilize technology to identify remnant ad inventory that you can buy for up to 80% off or are they buying retail from friends who bring them to nice dinners and a ball game? Do they maximize buys by securing all the extras possible, including publicity value, extra coverage, online advertising etc? Most importantly, make sure they are on your side and your side only, without the back door incentives that too often direct agencies to where they make the most even if it costs you more.
The ninth criteria is campaign management. There are a lot of details that go into creating and implementing a campaign that integrates all 10 Tiers of marketing so the agency must have an in-depth campaign management system to ensure no details fall through the cracks. Are they using technology to manage their campaigns? Do they allow you and your team to view campaign components 24/7 and use online collaboration tools that distribute their comments and approvals to the right people in both organizations? Do they have campaign management tools to view, edit, approve and manage all the campaigns in one location that is easy to use? If they don't then they probably are not implementing campaigns that integrate all 10 tiers of marketing because it would be impossible to manage all the details without the use of technology that helps manage and measure the campaigns to ensure everything gets done.
The 10th criteria is measurement and constant never ending improvement. If an advertising campaign is implemented flawlessly but does'nt get results does it matter? This discussion starts and ends with what matters most - results. To ensure positive results your agency needs to measure and improve constantly. So the question is, what do they do to measure the effectiveness of the advertising strategy? Do they use a marketing dashboard that measures the response rates through online traffic, leads, phone calls, traffic to sales and service, closing %, avg gross profits and dollars per RO, cost per lead, cost per sale by ad source. Do they dial into your DMS to reconcile what customers buy, service, and are active or inactive? Do they listen in on every call that comes into your dealership so they can track the advertising, your people and process so they can alert management when a customer is mishandled and identify training opportunities to improve how customers are handled in the future?
In summary, a modern marketing company must realize that consumers have dramatically changed the way they shop so dealers must change the way they market. A dealer can no longer waste money on big budget mass marketing that does not work. The best dealers recognize that they need to integrate all 10 tiers of marketing with a consistent message, look and feel that attracts, sells, services and retains more customers for less money.There are a lot more things to consider but the most important criteria are Results. Good intentioned people will disagree about methods but results are the best indicator for what works and what does not.
Written by: Sean Wolfington, www.Tier10Marketing.com. Excerpt taken from article submitted to Dealer Magazine.
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Permalink Reply by Frank Drigotas on
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I think Sean makes good points from his Dealer Magazine article. Spiral Integration is the way to go. Would love to talk more but I've got clients calling! Things seem to be heating up out there in the showrooms ... hopefully this will be a great weekend to help propel everybody to a great month!
In the end, there are many good agencies out there ... find one that has a proven track record and matches your business philosophy ... and understands HOW the world has changed in regards to consumer behavior.
Frank Drigotas
CBC Advertising
www.cbcads.com
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Permalink Reply by Jack E Curenton on
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In this day of relatively limited dollars available for promotions and advertising, a dealer must determine what is going to get them the true "Bang for their Buck" and the highest ROI.
Everyone in "Advertising" is vying for those limited dollars and promising the pie in the sky return from their venues...be it Print, TV, Internet, Direct Mail, Phone Banks...
If you use or are considering TV advertising, then maybe you need to take a trip “Back to the Future” for your campaign.
Last year, we began just such an approach to a Targeted Regional Ad Campaign for clients that mirrored a TV commercial series by one of the most successful Spokesmen in advertising history: Actor Jim Varney's beloved character, Ernest P Worrell...of "Ya Know What I Mean, Vern?" fame. Jim did over 3200 regional ads, with only 2 national campaigns! That's a LOT OF RECOGNITION, AND VIEWER LOYALITY!!!
The approach uses an EXCLUSIVE spokesperson for a business/dealer/dealer group in a city/television Advertising region. The character becomes a household name and, because of the "Humor and the Hook" (story) in the ongoing campaign, folks watch the entire ad to see the outcome of the storyline and look forward to the next one. That results in the highest full watch rate for regional ads, resulting in increased dealer name recognition, higher showroom traffic and increased sales.
We collaborated with the inventor of "Ernest" to determine what worked and how to update and make it work for today's consumers. The testimonials of current dealers speaks volumes:
>>>"The District is up 10%. We are up 40%, and we use Dr. Dollar as our spokesperson. With this creative advertising approach, you get noticed without breaking the bank to do it."-Tom Hunt, GM, Klein Honda, Everett, Washington.
>>>John Elway’s Crown Toyota sales jumped from 3% of the total Los Angeles market share to 4%….a whopping 25% increase since the Doc campaign began…Paxton G, GM
People don't always remember what you say...but they'll remember how you made them feel. And the end results can only be explained by what others say about you and your results. A happy customer will tell 3 people, an unhappy one tells 23!!
The big difference in our current series for a client is that we tape the individual spots 2-4 weeks before they air, as opposed to months in advance, thus the message is current, fresh and timely.
Checkout the website to see some commercials and also testimonials of results.
For more information, questions or to discuss how it could work for your, email me on dE or at jack@docdrip.com
Jack Curenton, aka Dr IP Dollar PhD, BS
www.docdrip.com
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Dones on
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Mike,
I love your choice of topic! The best way to tell if an advertising agency is good is through repeat business. When a client uses the same company more than once to work on their advertising needs it tells you they are gatting it done right. So many times, vendors and dealers alike switch advertising methods searching for an honest, trustworthy company. Repeat business speaks volumes, along with recomendations.
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Permalink Reply by Denale A. Powell on
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And advertising company that can generate good quality leads and have a proven ROI ( return of investment for your business. You should at least give a new advertising product 6 months of solid results and have it dealer and demographic centric to what you are trying to achieve.
Partnering can be a good idea so you can get a more customized effort towards your specific advertisng needs.
I would say local for for dealerships
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Denale,
Your are absolutely correct. When a new advertising client begins to advertise in my publication A Dealer's Journal, I always recommend giving it a minimum of three months to really get the attention of the readers. Besides advertising is the best way to achieve brand recognition.
Michelle Dones
Publisher
A Dealer's Journal
Denale A. Powell said:And advertising company that can generate good quality leads and have a proven ROI ( return of investment for your business. You should at least give a new advertising product 6 months of solid results and have it dealer and demographic centric to what you are trying to achieve.
Partnering can be a good idea so you can get a more customized effort towards your specific advertisng needs.
I would say local for for dealerships
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Permalink Reply by Paul Accinno on
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A lot of good advise has been provided here…so rather than being redundant, I’ll just throw in what I think are the important points and share my thoughts.
Results/References – At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter how the agency got there…just as long as they did. Dealer references should handle the results part as well as the intangibles like…”what kind of folks are they”.
Chemistry - After 30 years in the business I’ve seen a lot of relationships go down the tubes because the egos involved couldn’t get along…so spend some “non-business” time with your prospective agency to see if you can stand each other for the next 10 years! Open-mindedness is a key ingredient. A lot of dealers may not be proficient at putting their marketing strategy in to words …however, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea…it just needs fleshed out.
Compensation – Commission based plans do not favor the dealer…for a lot of reasons. Fee based with a performance incentive is best.
Local v National – I don’t know that there is a definitive answer here. Obviously local can be “high-touch”…but there is Skype and Go to Meeting etc. if you really need a face to face with your agency pronto. On the National side it’s like having a 20-Group mentality where your agency can provide thoughts and ideas from other dealers in other parts of the country. I think it’s up to the dealer and what they are more comfortable with…
The Work – Do you like the creative product? And if you do then a brief discussion on the strategy, execution and results is appropriate. And are they a “creative boutique” or a full service agency? You know what is takes to be successful in this business…make sure they do too! This includes specifics on how they plan to “service the account”.
Multi-Platform – As others have pointed out…the majority of your customers are on the web…so your agency has to be proficient at working across all media platforms. This means they must be able to seamlessly integrate your traditional (TV, Radio, Print, DM…etc) with your Digital marketing (Website, Micro-Sites, Search, Social, Email, Mobile, Text...etc) so your dealership goes to market with “one-consistent-voice”.
There are a lot of things to consider when selecting an agency…national versus local…bigger versus smaller…more strategic versus more creative. So talk to several and try to mix it up so you get a good cross section of types that have a proven track record, the right “corporate personality” a solid plan to service your business and a fair compensation plan. Because when it’s all said and done…the best strategy is to pick one that is the “right fit” for your organization.
Sincerely
Paul Accinno - President/CEO
WorldDealer Advertising
www.worlddealer.net
paul@worlddealer.net
Cell – 215-357-2343
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Permalink Reply by Doug Kennedy on
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Great topic as we find a degree of complacency in the marketplace where even small dealers spend considerable sums every month.
Looking at all the comments below, one critical point seems hidden or missing: RESEARCH.
Having been heavily involved in auto ad agencies for the past year and finding research to be perhaps the single most important missing criteria for most dealers, we were puzzled. Some research can easily be done by dealers while other information requires professional involvement. For instance, in Florida, where registrations are reported monthly, has the dealer measured his sales against DIRECT COMPETITORS in his markets by zip code? We’ve found instances where there are several hundred registrations of like makes in dealership backyards where they only sold 5 or less vehicles ---real opportunity being missed.
Other research requires resources most ad agencies lack but are of critical value to dealer budgeting. Want to spend more wisely and get more results for the buck? Would it help if you knew—every month—
Real Demographics—age, income, gender, previous owner, leased vs.buy %, etc…
• What radio stations and what TV networks –broken down by the catagories above—do these folks watch and listen to—like truck buyers, or young buyers with incomes over $25k, or females favorite stations in YOUR MARKET by age and income.
• What are the most listened to /watch stations at specific times during the day?
• For those that watch specific TV news shows, what models are they buying? (you like CBS but most of your buyers watch ABC, and they’re buying XXX models….)
• Do any of your buyers read the paper before they buy? If so, which one? What day?
• How many and what % of your buyers visited your website. Did they look at other sites? Which ones by % did they visit?
• What about search engines---which ones did your buyers use? AND MORE……
If the dealer had this kind of data MONTHLY, would he/she make smarter buying decisions? Armed with this data, would an agency be able to prove the best buys and placement of ad dollars. Of course---and yet most dealers don’t have this data. They think it’s valuable but too expensive to obtain and yet the Top Ford dealer in the country, the top chain in the Northeast and even a small dealer in WVA all have it. Cost is zero if you have the right agency. Savings annually are enormous.
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Permalink Reply by Wayne Harris on
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All of these comments seem well in line with the modern car world. It seems that results, references, multi- tiers of marketing are important. One would think that good marketing and advertising wouldn't limit you to a specific demographic or segment of buyers, but open your store up to a wider variety of potential customers. After all the person not actively shopping for a car would like one too. My only thought is not to limit the size of the pond you fish in. If any agency tries to limit the target market I would be greatly concerned. Sure the active shoppers are surfing the net, but a good agency will tap in to those that aren't actively shopping and provide true growth.
Wayne Harris
Chief Rich Dealer Adviser
richdealers.com
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