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News and Industry Features
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How can advertisers get through to teens?
The first generation to grow up digital is online nearly all the time,emarketer notes in a story this week. According to the “Teen Advertising Study” by Fuse Marketing and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 45% of U.S. teen Internet users were heavy users of the Web. Thirty-eight percent characterized themselves as average users, and 16% were light users. Teen Web users were active users of online media—90% used e-mail, 83% watched online video and 72% were social networkers. Authors of the survey wrote that the most effective ad content for reaching teens had “people like me enjoying the product” and humor. Least effective were ads that caused an emotional response or “personal interaction” with an ad.
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Hyundai's latest marketing promotion: Gas-price deal
Hyundai Motor Co., looking to fuel its recent market share gains in the U.S., is kicking off a new incentive program offering consumers gasoline at $1.49-per-gallon for a year if they buy a car by Aug. 31, The Wall Street Journal reports. Hyundai's offer, dubbed Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock, would save buyers about $1 per gallon of gasoline from current prices, but the value of the offer will fluctuate as gasoline prices rise and fall. Hyundai expects gas prices to crest above $3 per gallon this summer. Chrysler LLC launched a similar campaign a year ago offering $2.99-per-gallon gasoline prices, but buyers opting for the deal lost out because fuel prices came down a few months after their purchase. Gas prices dipped to $1.59 per gallon in late December, according to the Department of Energy, but haven't been as low as $1.49 since January of 2004. "People are really nervous about gas prices. Consumers haven't forgotten about the horror stories from last summer" when gas was at $4 a gallon, said Joel Ewanick, a Hyundai marketing executive. Earlier in the year, Hyundai launched an "Assurance plan" later copied by other automakers allowing buyers to return their car to the dealer if they lose their job within one year of purchase.
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Auto industry's wild ride gets smoother
The state of the auto nation is shaky at the moment, but all is not lost. Offsetting the unrelentingly negative news are 2009 highlights like a 69 percent spike in Sorento model sales, a 48 percent increase in Sedona sales, and the successful launch of the economically priced Hyundai Genesis and Kia Soul, both targeting younger drivers, Brandweek reports. Conversely, luxury vehicles that attract middle-age consumers managed to outpace the market, although the category experienced a long-tail effect, a two- to three-month delay from shopping to closing the sale. Only one domestic car manufacturer -- Lincoln -- outperformed the market, even though sales remained in negative territory on a year-to-year basis. The Nielsen online panel, comprising 250,000 individuals representing the U.S. online population, detected another hopeful sign for new vehicle sales based on Internet new vehicle shopping patterns. While online new car shopping downshifted by 9 percent, this represented a mere fraction of the precipitous 37 percent sales decline, suggesting the existence of pent-up demand. Consumers sought out roadworthy vehicles like the new Ford Fusion, proven gas sippers like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, or buttoned up their wallets and opted to maintain their current car or buy used.
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ActivEngage
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Dealer accused of false ads nears settlement
Out of Spartambirg, S.C., comes a report that attorneys for Joe Gibson Suzuki and its creditors will appear before a federal bankruptcy judge today seeking approval of a settlement agreement. An attorney for Joe Gibson customers, told WYFF News 4 the settlement would force buyers to return their cars in July. After the cars are returned, buyers would have their credit records restored, and many would receive compensation from the dealer. Joe Gibson Suzuki filed for bankrupcy in July of last year. WYFF reported on lawsuits filed against the dealership by customers and complaints that were filed against Joe Gibson's Suzuki because of advertising a state official called "false, misleading and deceptive." The dealership was the subject of more than 50 consumer complaints with the Better Business Bureau and was named as the defendant in more than 14 lawsuits. According to lawsuits already filed, customers were led to believe their monthly car payments would be as low as $47 when they bought a car from the dealership, but were hit with much higher payments after a few months.
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Auto dealership management program motors on
General Motors and Chrysler may be cutting their ranks of U.S. automobile dealerships as they ponder life after bankruptcy, but that isn't stopping a influential program in automotive marketing at Northwood University, Michigan Business Review reports. Officials acknowledge that the automakers' efforts to jettison some 2,700 dealers are having an impact on the four-year undergraduate degree program at Midland-based Northwood. Applications for the school's undergraduate program are off roughly 10 percent, said John Young, vice president for marketing and enrollment. "We're constantly innovating in that program and you have to because the market was changing long before the bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors and the dealer cuts that have come from that. Our program I think is very innovative," said Keith Pretty, Northwood's president. The private, nonprofit college, which focuses on managerial and entrepreneurial curriculum, offers bachelor's of business administration degrees in automotive marketing as well as dealership executive MBA programs. The program began in 1963 and claims more than 3,000 alumni dealers around the world.
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Coming to an ex–car dealer near you: Pickups from India
U.S. automakers in the next few years are likely to be challenged on their home turf by car manufacturers from the developing world, Time.com reports this week. But while the Chinese were expected to be the first to land in North America, it now looks like India will beat China to the U.S. market — and not with cars, but with light trucks. By the end of the year, Mumbai-based conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra — best known outside India for manufacturing tractors — plans to launch two-door and four-door compact pickups that would compete with established brands such as the Toyota Tacoma, the best-selling compact truck in the U.S., and the Ford Ranger. Powered by clean-burning diesel engines and tailored for U.S. buyers, prices for the as-yet-unnamed pickups will range from $20,000 to $30,000, says Pawan Goenka, president of Mahindra & Mahindra's automotive business. The company also plans to launch two SUVs, called the Scorpio and the Bolero, in the U.S. next year.
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Auto news aggregator High Gear Media gets $5.5M second round
Car news and reviews site network High Gear Media has raised a $5.5 million in second round funding, Reuters reports. It will use the money to improve its technology platform and build on its collection of 38 auto-related Web sites. The round was led by DAG Ventures, a new investor. Previous backers Accel Partners and Greylock Partners also participated. The Palo Alto-based company raised a $6.5 million first round in November 2007, bringing the total raised to $12 million. Although all automakers are struggling mightily in the recession, HGM’s promise of delivering in-market car buyers could be enough to attract some advertising from struggling car makers and related marketers. HGN says that it is now profitable.
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Sonic Automotive awards veteran exec
Sonic Automotive bestowed its top honor, the O. Bruton Smith Award, to long-time company executive Hugh Whiles. The award, which was named for Sonic Automotive founder O. Bruton Smith, is given annually to the employee who best exemplifies the qualities championed by its namesake: a sterling character, genuine enthusiasm for work, a drive to succeed, appreciation and respect for all members of the team, a heart for helping others, a vision of what can be done, and constant determination to take the high road.
[FULL STORY]
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In Digital Dealer
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Get your dealership into the minds of car shoppers
by Paige Presley
When it comes to the success of your dealership in this day and age, it’s critical to have a sound yet adaptive .jpg?i=070609114538) online presence. While clean design, updated specials and multiple inventory listings are certainly vital parts of an effective web site; it is crucial to pay close attention to how shoppers get to your site in the first place. Including your URL on every ad, marketing piece and promotional item is, of course, the simplest way to promote your site and encourage visitors. But, according to the most recent Automotive Internet Shopper Study by J.D. Power and Associates, 86 percent of auto shoppers are going online to search for their next vehicle. With so many people looking to dealer web sites for information, you need to consider how and where your web site appears in lists of relevant search results. If you’re following online basic best practices, then you already have the information that car shoppers want in your vehicle research tools such as the ability to configure a vehicle, compare several vehicles, view relevant rebates and incentives, and access trade valuation information. Read more
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ARCHIVE
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Issue 46
June 24, 2009
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April 8, 2009
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April 1, 2009
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March 25, 2009
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March 18, 2009
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March 11, 2009
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Issue 30
March 4, 2009
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February 25, 2009
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February 18, 2009
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Issue 27
February 11, 2009
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