Tag: automotive advertising

It’s All About the Story

Over the last 14 years, I’ve met with hundreds of business owners. It’s my job to learn as much as I can about the business, figure out what’s special about it, and effectively communicate that story to customers and prospects.

A couple of guys named Rhett and Link somehow crossed paths with TDM Auto Sales in High Point, North Carolina. The business itself appears to be nothing out of the ordinary — it’s just another used car lot in a small town. But Rhett and Link found something special: Rudy, a Cuban immigrant with a thick accent. Rudy’s last name is never given. He may or may not be the owner.

But Rudy has a story — he was once a gynecologist in Cuba — and a sense of humor.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b5CKSqlz60&feature=fvw]

Don Fitzgibbons, the Guru of Ads, likes to say that there’s only one way to tell a good ad from a bad one — find out if it worked. So I’m asking:

If I have any readers in the High Point, NC area, please advise — is this commercial driving genuine car-buying traffic to TDM Auto Sales?

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Auto Advertising Case Study

How many different ways can you say, “Big Car Sale This Weekend”?

I’ve been working with Joe Khorasani, the President of Premier Auto Group, since 2001. I did the math recently, and realized I’ve probably written more than 500 auto commercials in eight years.

Joe’s got a great sense of humor, and he’s allowed me to create a character using tightly-written copy, along with Matt Jones’ creative genius in the production studio.

There are two requirements for each spot: it must keep the listener engaged, and it MUST deliver a sales message.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaGM222g7HI]

 

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Check out Phil Bernstein’s Facebook Fan Page here

Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein, Portland’s Advertising Expert, at 503-323-6553.

Ford Hands Over the Keys to Fiesta Marketing

When I started working for the New York Mets in 1986, there was a nice clean line between the fans and the game:

1. The players played the game

2. The fans watched.

There were exceptions — I remember a particularly violent Upper-Deck encounter between a group of intoxicated corrections officers and everyone around them — but in general, the customers were expected to buy their tickets, watch, and go home.

By the mid-90’s, things had begun to change. Fans were demanding more opportunities to interact with the team, and we had responded with baby steps such as letting them run the bases after some games. Our VP of Operations, who had worked for the team since 1962, was not happy about it.

“All of a sudden, the fans think they’re part of the show,” he said. “They’re not the show. Why can’t they just watch and enjoy it?”

I was reminded of this, and how it has played out in marketing since then, when I read this article about Ford’s new campaign to market the Fiesta:

The company has picked 100 young, Web-savvy drivers to get behind the wheel of its new Ford Fiesta subcompact for six months and post their impressions on sites such as YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.

The marketing campaign starts later this month, almost a year before U.S. consumers will be able to buy the Fiesta. Since the Fiesta name has been absent from the U.S. market for years and Ford hasn’t been in the subcompact market for a long time, the company has to find a way of turning heads away from top-selling small cars like Toyota Motor Corp.’s Yaris and Honda Motor Co.’s Fit.

The most interesting part of this to me is that Ford has accepted, and perhaps embraced, the fact that although they’re paying for the whole thing,

[Ford] will have no control over the online material posted by the 100 participants. That means some could be bluntly critical of the car and Ford won’t be able to stop it.

The marketing world has changed from the days when it was the advertiser’s job to broadcast the commercial, and the consumer’s job to watch it. Like it or not, your customers are now part of the show.

Ford deserves congratulations for recognizing this — here’s hoping the Fiesta is good enough to justify their faith.

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Click here to learn the shocking truth about Phil Bernstein

Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.