New Super Bowl Advertising Strategies for Auto Dealers

The kickoff to Super Bowl LVI is right around the corner, and automotive marketers have been laser-focused on the game, clamoring for any remaining commercial time knowing NBC has virtually sold out all spots.

Advertising in any format, particularly on television, is extremely competitive and costly, driving most dealers and their agency partners out of the ad game. However, with the rapid rise of connected television (CTV) and OTT platforms such as Hulu Live, dealers and agency partners may have a way to play in the big game.

Why CTV Is Gaining in Popularity With Dealers

In many cases, dealers that begin to explore a reallocation of portions of their traditional media investments over to CTV see significant improvement in the performance of their overall media mix and experience a positive impact on their cost per unit sold and serviced.

During the Super Bowl this greater return potential means dealers can leverage television media while also continuing with other digital media spend, such as search and social.

Overcoming Blind Spots: Elimination of Media Waste During Super Bowl

Reducing advertising waste is a key element to boosting dealership profitability at any point of the year, especially during a heavy advertising period such as the Super Bowl. Today’s advanced advertising data and marketing technology helps dealers follow and capture demand during the Super Bowl by identifying which vehicles they should be aggressively marketing – all with the goal of optimizing to the lowest cost per sale and RO, rather than vanity metrics such as cost-per-click and impression volume.

Dealers should also take advantage of the tools, technologies and resources available to them via CTV. They should be leveraging uniquely personalized ads targeted at specific households with messaging during Super Bowl week and even during the game; offering to buy someone’s car, or to utilize CTV technology that allows a person to click their remote to either schedule a service visit or get a quote on a trade, are just two examples.

OTT ads can now leverage clickability interactivity that could give viewers access to a trade tool or a payment calculator on a dealer’s website allowing them to get pre-qualified and match them to real-time inventory while instantly negotiating payment terms.

Specific Opportunities for Tier 3 Dealers

National OEM ad buys will spur interest in the model(s) and/or initiative(s) featured in their spots during the Big Game. Dealers should capitalize on the modern-day phenomenon of “second screen syndrome,” where television viewers are prompted to search for more information on the ad they were served, with a Super Bowl Sunday-specific ad budget and strategy. 

If dealers are aware their manufacturer is investing in a Super Bowl television spot (e.g., Ford, Audi and more), or if dealers would like to proactively counter against used-car threats (e.g., Vroom), clever dealers will increase paid search (Google, Bing) and retargeting (social, display) budgets during and after the Big Game.

This will ensure dealers capitalize on a stimulated in-market audience in their area. Once the initial audience is captured, dealers will have a larger and smarter prospecting audience to target via additional Google properties (Discovery Ads, YouTube) as well as proven video channels (social, video, CTV).

Lauren-Donalson SQUARE_0

With local dealers utilizing all these resources they should begin to leverage Super Bowl advertising opportunities like never before, helping new customers connect, engage and transact with them on a more personalized level. It’s hard to believe today’s digital advertising opportunities for local dealers are possible during one of the biggest advertising weeks of the year, but a bevy of new technology has now made it all possible!

Lauren Donalson (pictured, above left) is vice president-Client Experience and Strategic Partnerships for PureCars, an automotive dealer advertising and attribution technology provider.