ADVERTISING AND MEDIA INVESTMENT

People who know the advertising space a little bit would think of Automotive marketing Pros as a media agency. What that means for us is a strategic and planning driven agency that also looks at communications planning and how to connect with audiences that our customers – the car dealership businesses we deal with – want to sell their cars too.

Automotive marketing Pros converts these insights into a media buying strategy, which includes traditional media such as TV and outdoor, as well as digital media like Meta and Google. It also works with clients to analyse data in order to understand consumers.

On a very simplistic level, our clients are looking for a return on their investment. People often talk about ‘media spend’, but we’re really talking about advertising and media investment. Depending on the type of client and their approach, they need to drive sales either now, in the short term, or sometimes they’re looking at the longer term – how do they create advertising that will benefit their business over the next few years.

The most recent studies show that sales are generally driven by taking a broad and long-term approach. This contradicts many business cycles, however, where results are needed within much shorter timescales.

The most important thing is actually understanding what we’re trying to achieve. Sometimes that gets lost…

And it becomes about advertising, reaching people with a message, and creating awareness. For a client of ours, that’s not what we’re actually trying to achieve. What we’re trying to achieve is their business goals.

Although these business goals all boil down to sales, in some shape or form, there are plenty of nuances within the needs of each client, such as timeline or price. This means that Automotive Marketing Pros must make sure it understands exactly what needs to be delivered.

It’s also measuring that from the very beginning to the very end of the campaign. Often advertising gets put out there without people understanding what they’re trying to achieve.

In terms of the details, it’s about identifying a specific audience which will respond to tailored messaging, whilst also understanding the wider audience the brand needs to reach. ATP works out how to do that in the most effective way and identifies which channels offer the best means to do so.

It’s about understanding what we’re trying to achieve, the most efficient way of delivering that in terms of targeting people, and then negotiating with those media owners to get the best quality, the best placement, and the best rates.

We believe companies are actually in control of more than they have been over the last 3-4 years, where the COVID-19 pandemic, the talent crisis in USA, and other factors put a lot of uncontrollable pressure on businesses. We’re now in a market where we’re in tough times, but we’re also in control of our own destiny within that. So it’s difficult, but it’s not impossible. There are sectors that are actually on the up within these economic environments as well.

Evidence suggests companies that invest during such a downturn have a greater market share at the end of the downturn. As soon an upturn begins again, those with the biggest market share always see a disproportionately large return in terms of sales and income.

Many private car dealerships across the USA continue to invest through downturns because they know in the long term they are going to make significantly more money, significantly more sales, and gain significantly more market share by taking that approach. The only challenge they have is that it is a long term strategy that will pay off in several years’ time. This can be difficult for companies where a quarter is often their maximum timeframe.

In terms of the industry as a whole, the current Privacy Law reviews are an area that will change the landscape in the coming months. A recent report published will drive changes in the law to ensure greater privacy for consumers.

At the same time though, that will change the level of targeting, especially in digital media, that companies and advertisers can use. It’s important for companies to understand what’s going on in that space in the next 2 or 3 years. The risk of people having data breaches within the first party data – the information consumers share when contacting your business directly – is probably high.

This means that all businesses, big and small, will be well advised to keep an eye on happenings with the new data privacy laws. In terms of risk assessment, this will be an area under a lot of scrutiny over the next few years.

Built on a culture of smart strategic thinking, creativity and innovation, Automotive Marketing Pros delivers effective solutions for the business needs of a car dealerships across the USA, Europe and Australia.