There are two basic types of advertising: branding and traffic now. Each has its own objectives and potential pitfalls. How can you avoid common mistakes made in each form?
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There is a big debate about SEO, or "Search Engine Optimization." Is it worth the time and financial investment? The recent Google Hummingbird update has confused the debate even further. Watch this week's video and then tell me what you think.
The cross promotion ad, It Comes Standard produced by Will Ferrell, touts all the great features of the glove box, and has been picked by AdWeek as one of their top ten for the week. I'm still partial to the ad that picks on the horse. Great marketing campaign!
More than anything, you want traffic in your showroom. Most shoppers will view five dealer websites before ever making the effort to visit just one of them. How do you make sure your inventory entices them to take the extra step and choose your lot above all others? Find out in this weeks Hard Facts.
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On this week's Think Tank Tuesday learn how to keep your cool and avoid panic marketing. Without a plan and without a process you could find yourself left in a panic. These three tips will ensure that you have a plan in place to start strong so you always end strong and profitable.
Yume and IPG Media Lab just released a really interesting study regarding how viewers engage with online video ads differently than they do with television ads. To draw their conclusions, they took measurements of facial expressions, eye movement and placement and biometrics to determine the interaction and engagement levels of both TV and online video...and the winner is...
Do Viewers Interact With Online Video Ads Differently From TV?
First thing first: the what, why, and how. They set out to answer three major questions in their research:
Do people pay attention to online video differently than they do when watching TV?
If they are different, should an online video ad impression be valued the same way that TV ads are?
What are the quantitative and qualitative differences between TV watching and online video?
It seems that these guys really got it because their basic assumptions included the fact that a controlled environment adds bias to the behavior. Ad avoidance is normal; an ad on-screen doesn't mean a view. How people watch is as important (or more) than what.
Now this was a very limited study, there were only 48 participants who were chosen based on demographic diversity and their viewing of online and traditional TV.
They they showed them an hour of video and did facial tracking analysis and some biometric analysis.
That's as technical as I'll get for you. Let's get to the results!
Online Video Ad Recall Vs. TV: The Results!
It seems that short attention spans and instant gratification needs have teamed up in Americans to show that we can't just watch most shows for their entire length. Or maybe the content of the shows just isn't totally engrossing and so we fill the attention gap with other media. Our mobile phones are the biggest distraction in regards to ad avoidance with 60.4% of subjects using it and DVRs play a big part of that as well with 45.8% using that. Having a laptop in the room is also a major distraction for TV viewers.
For online media, the phone still reigns supreme but surprisingly, 27% of the subjects had no distractions while online. One might say that online video content is far more engaging, or it could have been a fluke (remember, only 48 subjects in the test).
Using a DVR often brought attention levels up, but that was mainly to actively avoid commercials by skipping over them.
Overall, online ad retention and recall were far higher for online than they were for TV. This is mostly because of the DVR-memory gap effect (my term) where people are actively avoiding ads with the DVR, after all, that's half the reason to use one right?
Catch programs you might miss and skip the ads.
This graph is really quite strange if you think about it and shows that DVR memory gap effect. For TV the unremembered ads is increased by the DVR and yet, unaided ad recall is about the same level while aided ad recall is lower than both. It almost seems counter-intuitive. Perhaps what's happening is that people are actually seeing the ad images while DVR ad-skipping and because they weren't completely bored, as they didn't have to sit through the whole ad, they remembered a single frame with branding on it which flashed by as they were fast forwarding.
The New TV Ad Format?
That could be something really interesting to investigate more thoroughly. I've noticed a lot of remotes don't have ad-skip buttons so that means if you're actively ad-skipping you're going to push the FF button until you see a frame of the show you're watching and then hit play.
What if advertisers were to know exactly how many frames were generally skipped, how often a frame showed up on screen and how often a viewer stopped short? Those would then be the ideal places to stick big, branded, static images because then those frames would be seen, even somewhat passively, by the viewers and could be far more effective than fancy live-action ads which don't show the brand much of the time.
This might be the new way to start designing ads for TV.
The Big Win for Online Video Ads
For the online video crowd, i.e. us, this is far easier to deal with. Anytime a video is fast-forwarded over an ad or where an ad would be placed, the ad simply plays when the viewer stops scrubbing or presses play. I've seen this on places like Hulu, who actually show you where the ad will be. Since Hulu is giving me the content free, I don't even bother skipping the ads (see how tolerant I am sometimes).
Here are the big results from the survey if you ask me: online ad recall was twice as high as TV ad recall, both aided and unaided. Check out the chart below.
Perhaps that's the anti-DVR effect. You generally can't get past the ads online whether you're scrubbing or fast forwarding, so it means you'll see them more often. However, I think that the ads also need to still maintain both a short length (15 seconds) or be entertaining and not too frequent.
Because the other thing this research shows is just how easy we, as online video viewers, might simply start multi-tasking far more and mentally blocking out the ads. So advertisers...be warned.
Source: Video Advertising Recall 2X Higher Than TV, According to Study http://www.reelseo.com/tv-online-video-attention-levels/#ixzz2giggkbFw
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I'm joined on this week's Think Tank Tuesday by auto industry thought leader, Cory Mosley, to discuss how to keep your customers engaged in your dealership with all five senses. It's time to hear, feel, smell, touch and taste why you need to know about sensory marketing. Tweet along with hashtag #alonetimewithcory and tell us how your dealership enhances the experience!
It's that time again! AutoUSA is collecting responses to its annual Fall Internet Marketing survey. Sales Managers, Sales Directors, Internet Sales Managers, BDC Managers, Internet Directors, General Managers, dealer principals and others involved in auto dealership Internet Marketing are invited to participate.
The survey is just 15 questions and will take less than 15 minutes to complete. When all responses are collected, we will randomly select one survey participant to receive a $300 Visa gift card. But you can't win if you don't answer the questions! Please click on the link below to get started, and in less time than it takes to finish your cup of coffee, you will be entered into the prize drawing. In order to be eligible for the prize, you must work at a dealership and be a resident of the U.S. or Canada.
Thank you so much for your time and participation!
Click here to get started:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AutoUSAFall2013AIS
Edmunds just announced their Hackomotive 2014 contest where folks come up with ideas on how to improve the car buying process etc., and as a former employee I was initially excited to see this but within 60 seconds something caught my eye that was disappointing.
Last year's #1 Winner - My Motive which paints the picture that up until now the Dealer has made the consumer their "Bitch" yes, that's in there, and that this new My Motive lets the consumer turn the tables and finally make the Dealer their "Bitch" (yes it really says that).
Why does this bother me so much? We'll frankly because I was with them and helped launch their direct to dealer program and when I went to work there I remember in my interview saying: "I've been a dealer and for years we really haven't had much love for Edmunds so how are you going to fix that because, as a dealer, I need to know you're there for me if I buy your program."
My boss at the time shared the vision of Edmunds still maintaining their integrity with consumers but not really being focused on creating more content like 'confessions of a car salesman' anymore.
I bought into the idea that they would finally respect the dealer community and helped enroll well over 100 dealerships in their program in my first year with them.
Apparently I was wrong about their true motives and if all of this doesn't tick you off as a dealer, you need to get your head examined.
You can see the award of $10,000 they paid for a 1st place idea in hackomotive 2013 right here http://www.hackomotive.com/presentations/06_my_motive/mymotive.pdf
If you don't want to click over to their site, here are actual screen shots (Note - I've added the arrows and comments on the side)
In my not so humble opinion, vendors should work to help Dealers do two things: Get and Keep Customers. Rewarding a "Make the dealer my bitch" idea only furthers what many already believe about Edmunds.
Simply put, they don't care about your dealership, they only want your money and behind the scenes they're all still high fiving each other when they disrespect the dealer.
In this case, the high-five had a $10,000 bonus.
What's the best idea for 2014 going to be: "F@€K Dealers, buy direct from Edmunds" ?!?!?
I'd love to hear your feedback and please everyone, share this with other dealers ASAP but really I have a question for everyone seeing this:
ARE YOU DONE BEING Edmunds"BIT¢H"?
Helping the best get better,
Mat Koenig
CEO & Founder
KonigCo & iCarMedia
Let me tell you about 7 key things you are likely doing that is costing you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. These are the real budget killers, the ones that keep you up at night. I assure you that this is an episode of Think Tank Tuesday you cannot afford to miss!
Want to learn how to market to your existing customers through facebook?
I am just wanting to see if I have enough interest in a webinar on setting up and marketing to your existing customer base.
It will cover start to finish how to setup and administer a facebook marketing campaign to your existing customers.
Please message me to show your interest.
Want to learn how to benchmark your throughput time? Dennis will show you how in this week's HARD FACTS.
What does over 50% of the US population and 70% of Canada do every day? To find out, watch this week's Think Tank Tuesday!
Make sure you keep an eye out for a special offer on how you can learn more about increasing leads and sales. See Paul speak at DD15 October 15-17.
You don’t want to miss this as Dennis Galbraith shares the hard facts about our industry on September 20, at 1:37 PM. Subscribe to the Hard Facts here!
It's that time again! AutoUSA is collecting responses to its annual Fall Internet Marketing survey. Sales Managers, Sales Directors, Internet Sales Managers, BDC Managers, Internet Directors, General Managers, dealer principals and others involved in auto dealership Internet Marketing are invited to participate.
The survey is just 15 questions and will take less than 15 minutes to complete. When all responses are collected, we will randomly select one survey participant to receive a $300 Visa gift card. But you can't win if you don't answer the questions! Please click on the link below to get started, and in less time than it takes to finish your cup of coffee, you will be entered into the prize drawing. In order to be eligible for the prize, you must work at a dealership and be a resident of the U.S. or Canada.
Thank you so much for your time and participation!
Click here to get started:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AutoUSAFall2013AIS
Dealerships need good reviews to sell cars, or do they? Are you confused about the discussions surrounding the importance of reviews? When you read reviews are you reading about the product or about where you are buying the product? Be Honest (I won't tell).
This week on Think Tank Tuesday, learn the truth behind all the effort you've given to working on your dealership's reviews.
Watch the video below and find out the truth behind dealership reviews.
In a continuing effort to bring on the best new talent, Potratz has hired on dealer research and business intelligence expert Dennis Galbraith, founder of Dennis Galbraith Enterprises, Revenueguru.com, former vice president of Cars.com and former executive director of Automotive Internet Practice at J.D. Power and Associates. In his prior position at Drivingsales.com, he served as a leading resource for dealers and auto groups offering research-driven blogs and information. As new chief marketing officer for Potratz, Dennis carries more than 21 years of experience in operations, marketing, and market research along with him.
During his tenure at J.D. Power and Associates, Dennis ran the automotive Internet division of J.D. Power and Associates from 2003 to 2006. At Cars.com, he was responsible for over $300,000,000 in advertising products. His proven track record of successful business start-ups and leadership roles has made him one of the go-to dealer research and marketing experts in the automotive industry.
To add to his accolades, Dennis is an accomplished writer and the author of two successful books entitled Sales Integration and Online Vehicle Merchandising. He is also an award-winning speaker who has been featured as a keynote speaker in many of the largest dealer events nationwide including, Driving Sales Executive Summit, J.D. Power Internet Roundtable, Digital Strategies Marketing Conference and has been featured at dozens of other dealer events.
Dennis’ ability to share his wisdom is what separates him from others in the industry; he has a knack for delivering insightful and invaluable lessons. Having facilitated marketing trainings at Revenueguru.com and taught marketing courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level, he is no stranger to teaching and is sure to be an influential addition to the Potratz team.
Potratz employees have taken kindly to his friendly demeanor and founders Paul and Christy Potratz embraced Dennis as a valuable asset to the team and “a person who will help edge Potratz ahead of the competition in the automotive digital marketing industry.”
Learn how you can double your income digitally by choosing a positive attitude. Find out how you can market yourself with out any cash. Stop waiting for outside forces to change your future use your positive energy and develop your own personal marketing strategy. Watch this week's Think Tank Tuesday and learn how to focus that positivity into productive leads.
Watch Think Tank Tuesday this week to see the final key touch points to keep your service bays full and clients coming back for more!
