Since the widespread adoption of television, we have seen local car dealership commercials permeate our culture. These commercial have taken on one of two forms:

Commercial_A:  The commercials starts with a fast talking person stating “Come to John Smith Toyota, we have the 2014 Toyota Corolla for $19,999, or the 2014 Toyota Tundra is $32,999. IN STOCK! NOW!” Here is an actual example, see below:

The problem with this kind of commercial is, what if I am NOT looking for an Hyundai Elantra or a Sonata, I like the Accent, instantly this commercial doesn’t engage me.  You lost me at hello.

Commercial_B:  The commercials starts by saying: “Come to John Smith Toyota, we are the largest, best dealership in <insert city name here>… We have the largest selection of cars on our lot in the city!  Come and SAVE! SAVE! SAVE!” Here is an example, see below:

The issue with this commercial is pretty obvious.  I am not sure if there is a dealership or auto group that would say they are the second largest, or the third best dealership?  Of course they are going to say they are the best, its their commercial.

Now these commercials might have worked in the past, but in today’s age of internet access, and educated buyer, these commercials aren’t engaging. Profit margins are so small on new cars, dealership’s prices aren’t that far off from each other.  So what is compelling people to buy a car at dealership A over dealership B?

New car buyers want a great experience, pure and simple. The question dealerships should be asking is why don’t people like the car buying experience?  Think about it.  Spending 4-6 hours in a car dealership on a Saturday afternoon, going back and forth over the price of the car, waiting for financial approval, does not sound like that great of an experience if you ask me.

So how can dealerships engage prospective car buyers?  Show them that the experience can be a positive one.  How do you do that??  Have real car buyers talking on video about their experience at the dealership, a testimonial video.

1) I was so pleased to be in and out of the dealer in 2 hours.
2) They didn’t pressure me into a car that they had on the lot, versus the one that I wanted.
3) Have customers that talk about their service experience at said dealership.
4) Have them talk about the extras that come with buying a car at the dealership.. free oil changes, free loaner vehicles, etc…

Testimonial videos are a powerful way for dealerships to engage, and quantify their product offerings.

Below are some videos that Promovere Media Group, created for some of our automotive clients:

A client advisor with Advantage BMW named Yasmin Guerrero wanted to create a video to promote herself.  Promovere Media Group thought the best way to do this would be through testimonials, having clients of Yasmin’s talk about what a great experience it was buying a car from her.  It is one thing to talk about how great you are, and completely different when OTHER people talk about how great you are.  Yasmin has a QR code on the back of here card, that links to the video…. a great way to engage her prospective clients.

 

This project was a promo video for the 2014 Lexus IS 350, it was shot for Sterling McCall Lexus in Houston, TX.  Sterling McCall originally hired us to create a video for the people who couldn’t make it to the launch party of the 2014 Lexus IS 350… that was all they wanted.  In sitting down to discuss the project in more detail, Promovere Media Group thought that there could be a way to engage the audience, and bring traffic into the dealership… and from those discussions we created the following video.