Dealer Creative

Check out this graphic in an article by Marketing Daily.

Interesting that even with inventory shortages, ad spend on TV has actually increased. Maybe it's the programming, maybe it's new products.

But my biggest takeaway is that the OEMs are not hiding. They're still pushing to stay top of mind, because they know (or suspect) it won't last forever.

And so... dealers and agencies should follow suit. Don't be invisible. You can gain market share now and when the market improves.

Throw a bunch of spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.

This is not a good creative strategy.

But we see it all the time, ""let's put a little bit of everything in the ad, and something's bound to catch everyone's attention.""

That sounds logical on the surface, but the human brain doesn't work that way.

The more you say, the less that's remembered.

Stick to one central idea and make your case. Make it clear. Make it concise.

You can't laundry list a bunch of features and benefits and hope something resonates.

Keep your message simple so the audience understands. THAT'S how you break through and get people to take action.

Our world is whizzing by at a blistering pace.

You can thank a number of factors for that, but possibly the biggest is all the screens we view.

We scroll at lightning speed. We skip and scan and blow past nearly everything without paying much attention.

Why is that?

Most of the content we see is not interesting, relevant, or surprising.

More importantly with many local businesses, the message is not clear.

So how do you get the attention of people who are barely paying attention?

Be clear. Be brief. Be different.

Be clear: know your outcome, know your audience. If you can boil those down to a couple of simple statements, your message will be very easy to understand.

Be brief: It doesn't take 30 minutes to tell your story. It shouldn't take more than 30 seconds really. If you can't say or convince the audience in a half a minute, you're probably not clear enough on your goal and what your audience wants.

Be different: rattling off a laundry list of features and benefits is boring, and it's what everybody else does. You need to tell a story or present your case in a new and interesting way that illustrates your point beyond just facts and logic.

The world isn't going to slow down and the media landscape isn't going to become less cluttered. You have to make every second and every word count.

Start by being clear, brief, and different.