BY Denise Gibson
Are you looking for new auto dealer advertising ideas? U.S. automakers will likely sell around 16 million new vehicles this year. On their way to making a new vehicle purchase, consumers review dozens of content pieces. Your accounts have many opportunities to make an impression on buyers.
The State of the New Vehicle Market
This year, the K‑shaped economy will impact the types of vehicles sold. Luxury shoppers have money to spend, but middle-income consumers will be looking for value. Another factor driving new vehicle sales will be the availability of financing. Some loans now extend as long as 84 or 96 months. Your accounts will need the best auto dealership advertising ideas this year to compete in this market.
How Media Sellers View the Automotive Market
In our State of Media Sales survey, conducted jointly with BIA, around 6% of media sales managers told us they expect significantly higher sales from their automotive accounts this year. And about 25% believe auto sales will increase slightly when compared to 2025.
What Do Auto Dealers Spend on Advertising?
The typical auto dealer spends around $528K on annual advertising. And they now embrace digital advertising in a big way. Over 70% of a dealer’s typical ad budget goes to digital which means that around $370K is spent on formats ranging from OTT to podcasts.
Another key figure to keep in mind is that dealers spend about $705 in advertising for each vehicle they sell.
How does digital ad spending break out?
This year’s best auto dealer advertising ideas will likely center around digital formats. Here’s what the experts say about digital. And our proprietary research shows how to connect with the vehicle buying audience.
Third-party listing sites
Third-party listing sites capture nearly 30% of the digital ad budget. Your dealer accounts are paying for top placements on sites like AutoTrader. Does that investment pay off? Demandlocal says premium placements on these sites generate 45% more vehicle detail page views.
And AudienceSCAN data shows that car shoppers, like prospective Ford buyers, are far more likely than other adults to use sites like Cars.com as part of their research process.
Traditional versus streaming TV
While traditional TV advertising continues to decline in importance for auto dealers, 77% of dealers like the ROI they’re getting from streaming TV ads. They should also know that around 68% of new vehicle shoppers have taken action as a result of seeing a streaming TV ad in the past 30 days. For 54%, the action taken was an online search.
Email marketing remains an effective driver of ROI for auto dealers. Dealers who use this format report a $40 return for every dollar invested. Email campaigns can be challenging to do well. If you specialize in email marketing services, pitch your expertise to local auto dealers.
And remind your dealers to ensure that email campaigns are mobile-friendly. Around half of email opens happen on a phone.
The power of search
Don’t let your dealers skimp on their search spending. The data shows that this media format results in a nearly 13% conversion rate. The average dealership spends around $109,000 on search. This spending includes mobile search which drives a high rate of click-to-call activity.
As consumers shop for new vehicles, location makes a difference. For example, did you know that 71% of vehicle sales take place within 10 miles of the buyer’s residence. This stat makes sense. Consumers want the comfort of knowing that they can connect easily with the dealership if they have a question about their new vehicle. In terms of auto dealership advertising ideas, you can’t go wrong with ensuring that buyers know where your account is physically located.
What to know about co-op advertising funds
In many cases, 50% or more of ad spending is eventually reimbursed to the dealer through a manufacturer’s co-op advertising plan. Your accounts can keep their advertising expenses manageable by using the co-op funds available to them.
AdMall contains details about co-op advertising plans for all major automotive brands. With an AdMall subscription, you’ll know whether a dealer offers a formal co-op plan or a marketing allowance.
AdMall also gives you access to case studies where you can learn how other media sellers used proprietary data to close dealers with the local automotive accounts.
There is no shortage of great auto dealer advertising ideas. Work with your accounts to help them place advertising in the places where new vehicle buyers will notice their messages.
Image by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.
