Digital Dealer - August 2017 - 17

TV/video ads should
pace the listener/viewer
in the same manner as
a showroom face-to-face
presentation.
The right delivery energy. The perfect advertising message delivery
is about 10% above a
'face-to-face' delivery.
You need a little more
enthusiasm/excitement...but you should
never be screaming or
shouting.
The right 'voice.'
Research proves the
most effective 'voice'
is the most believable
voice. It has nothing to
do with tonality or even
pitch. You don't need a
big deep 'James Earl
Jones' voice. It's good
to have a 'unique' voice.
One that isn't heard
on a bunch of different
advertisements in your
marketplace.
Stay away from
celebrities. With rare
exception, one of the
worst mistakes you'll
ever make is paying big
money to a celebrity to
endorse your product
or service. Especially
today when 'celebrities'
love to take very public
positions on social or
political issues. Don't
let an outsider define or
alienate your potential
customer base. Celebrities are human beings
with human failings. Why
do you think the postal
service doesn't put living
people on stamps?
And by the way, do you

'STOP! SMILE! IT'S SHOWTIME!'
THAT'S SETTING THE STAGE FOR
THE RIGHT ATTITUDE."
think anyone listening or
viewing your ad believes
the celebrity is endorsing
you because they are a
'normal' customer?
The best 'celebrity' is
your customer! Customer
testimonials remain some
of the most powerful tools
in the advertising tool
box. Especially when they
are done without written
scripts or cue cards.
'Real' people saying 'real'
things in 'real' ways are
powerful referral tools.
Nudges can be more
powerful than advertising
beat-downs. "Every dealer says they will sell for
less. We're so confident,
we say why not shop us
first. Get our price. Get
our trade allowance.
Then at least you'll have
something to shop with."
Don't drown the message in music. Music and
sound effects are okay,
but they can obliterate and overpower the
message. Don't try to let
'music' carry your advertisement. You're not in the
entertainment business.
You're in the business of
selling cars.
Make an advertising
'promise' you can live
with. Remember the
dealer I mentioned in the
beginning of this article?
Once when a new Cougar model was released
by Lincoln Mercury,

sales were disappointing
nationally. The dealer told
me to bring a camera and
microphone. He got in
front of the camera and
said this: "Folks you've
known me for 40 years.
You know I stand by
my word. I believe this
new Cougar is one of
the best built cars we've
ever sold. Come see it.
Drive it. And if you buy it
and don't like it after 30
days, bring it back and
I'll give you every dime
of your money back." I
asked the dealer what
he would like for disclosures. He said "NONE."
That month the dealer
sold more Cougars than
the other top two dealers
in the nation combined.
He also set a record for
Mercury sales nationally
that month. And he didn't
buy one single car back.
It was the most powerful
'attitude' advertisement
I've ever been involved
with. I know many of you
reading this know who
that dealer was.
Last month I wrote
about an article sharing
the research that 40%
of walk-in customers
buy that same day. 70%
do it within 72 hours!
Obviously, the task of
our marketing efforts
is to convince as many
people as possible to
walk through that door.

Marketing is 'conception
to consumption.' Everything your customer sees
and hears the moment he
or she walks through the
door is affected by pointof-purchase marketing.
How is the 'atttitude'
of that experience? Is
it fresh, clear, inviting,
clean? Does your internal
marketing experience;
what they see and hear,
how they are greeted, tell
your customer they made
the right decision. They
came to the right place?
If so, there is a good
chance every third customer that walks through
your doors is going to be
driving a vehicle with your
name on the back.
One of the top hotel
chains in the world has
a little sign in the office
area behind the reception
desk, so that when a
customer comes in, the
person going to greet
them sees a sign that
says 'STOP! SMILE!
IT'S SHOWTIME!' That's
setting the stage for the
right attitude.
JIM BOLDEBOOK is
founder of Creative Broadcast Concepts (CBC),
an advertising/marketing
agency working with some of
America's most successful
dealerships. He has been
involved in the broadcasting,
advertising and marketing
fields for almost 50 years.
EMAIL: jim@cbcads.com

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

AUGUST 2017

17
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - August 2017
