It’s an Odd Time for Automotive Marketers

Joey Watson is an automotive marketer at a tough time.

It’s when many auto dealers doubt the need to spend marketing money. After all, vehicle demand currently exceeds supply during a nationwide inventory shortage.

Clients say, “Why should I market now?” says Watson, a vice president for automotive marketing services at Equifax.

The company’s flagship business is as a credit bureau. But it has’s branched into other areas, such as creating consumer financial profiles used in personalized digital advertising.  

“We’re also a consumer-marketing services company,” Watson says of Equifax. “We provide third-party data and insights on customers for the deployment of applicable messages to the right person at the right place and the right time.”

The inventory dearth, sparked by an industrywide microchip shortage, has spurred Equifax to seek and consider new revenue streams.

In a Wards Q&A, Watson talks about that, what’s he’s hearing from dealers, the future of modern marketing and what’s it’s like being an automotive marketer these days.  

Here’s an edited version of the interview:      

Wards: What are dealers telling you these days?

Watson: It’s a mixed bag. They’re happy and concerned. Their profits are through the roof. The challenge is low inventory. They’re looking to diversify and find revenue streams other than moving metal.

From a marketing standpoint, unfortunately we’re presently hearing, “We’re not spending money on marketing; we might as well burn cash (if we do). Why generate a demand we can’t fulfill?”     

Wards: What are those additional dealer revenue streams you mentioned?

Watson: For example, a dealer told me they want to monetize their ability to clean cars with the equipment they already have. He spoke of cleaning and detailing cars as a revenue stream, peeling away business from car-wash companies.

Obvious other revenue streams are accessories and service. Service is a mixed bag, though. In many cases dealer service departments are backlogged. A lot of people are holding on to their cars during the inventory shortage, maintaining and servicing them more often.  

Dealers are smiling but they’re trying to wrap their heads around the inventory situation.   

Wards: What’s the status of automaker marketing?

Watson: They haven’t stopped marketing but there is certainly less of it. Obviously, there’s always going to be branding and awareness because you need to be top of mind.

But if you listen to the messages today, it’s “Order your car now.” They’ve pivoted.

All the OEM people I’ve talked to are uncertain as to when the inventory shortage will end. Everyone has a guess. I’ve heard as early as Q3 this year, to as long as 2024, to “I’ve no idea.”  

Wards: What’s it like being a marketer in the current environment?

Watson: It’s tough when clients say, “Why would I spend marketing dollars during this inventory situation?” Touché. I don’t have an answer to that.

But it’s part opportunity too.  For example, people say, “We don’t need help here but what can you do for us in, say, used-car acquisitions?”

It's forced us to think outside the box and identify other partners in the ecosystem. It’s helped Equifax innovate.    

Wards: With used-car acquisitions, how would you work that?

Watson: We’ve gone at it a couple of ways. One is just mining their own customer data and marrying it with our assets to identify opportunities.

This is a really out-of-the-box pilot: I can’t name the company, but it is a partner that tracks cell phones with geolocation.

Using that technology, we said let’s look at the country, and at who was commuting a lot pre-COVID, but now is no longer showing as much driving behavior.

There’s a good chance someone like that has a vehicle they don’t need as much as before. They might want to go from two vehicles to one. As far as a potential vehicle acquisition, they are worth digitally marketing to. When we brought that to the table, dealers said it’s worth a shot.        

Wards: Do you get the person’s name and contact info? 

Watson: No. It has to be anonymized. You must be careful with that data. You use device ID and all the information that’s married to that device.  

Wards: So, the pitch would be an ad on that person’s device?

Watson: Typically, it is online display advertising.

Wards: What is the future of automotive marketing?

Watson: A lot of it will be personalization.

Wards: It already is.

Watson: Right, but I’d say it is relatively rudimentary to where it could be.

How is Equifax more than a credit bureau? We have insights into consumers' financial capabilities.

It’s relative: $100,000 in New York is different than $100,000 in Wichita, KS. Some people make $300,000 and spend it like crazy. Others make $300,000 and spend it conservatively.

My point is that an ordinary marketer would say they are essentially the same people, then serve up advertising accordingly. That’s incredibly false.

We have a lot of differentiators allowing us to speak to big spenders and thrifty people differently, even though they are in the same income bracket.  Personalization on steroids is where we are going.

Steve Finlay is a retired Wards senior editor. He can be reached at [email protected].