Why Be One of Many When You Can Be the One and Only?

In the past we have written that, in most markets, heavy radio listeners are better prospects for car dealers than heavy TV viewers. From a data standpoint, radio is often a better choice to impact potential car buyers than TV.

However, it doesn’t stop there.

There is another issue that has become even more apparent, which is not data driven, but simple logic.

Now that the election ads have ceased, many of the more standard TV advertisers are back on the air. Most prevalent are the auto ads. Manufacturers, dealer groups, and individual car dealers are flooding television with ads. Holiday auto ads have added to the oversaturation.

Forget seeing a single auto ad in every commercial break. There are times when three or four auto ads can be in a single break. I don’t care how creative the ad is, or how cute the dealer’s kids are, your brand and message will get lost in the clutter. How can someone remember your ad when you have competitors on both sides?

Simply put, you are spending money that is getting lost among multiple auto TV ads.

Does your station or cluster offer category separation? If so, emphasize this massive advantage. Ask the dealer if they want to have their message stand out, or if they want to be one of many sandwiched in between numerous competitors. Do they want to be remembered, or lost in the clutter?

It would be beneficial to document the clutter that auto dealers are subjecting themselves to. By capturing a complete TV commercial break, one can show the back-to-back-to-back car ads that are being run on local stations. Even a list of dealers per break from a monitoring service can show how their valuable message is being missed.

It is important to be able to promise to the advertiser that TV reduces their presence, but utilizing your radio station will offer them an opportunity to not be grouped into the same break with other auto dealers. Separation of messages between competitors is a value that is not represented in any cost-per-point.

Just ask the question, “Do you want to be one of many, or stand out from the competition?”