Pub 9 2020-2021 Issue 1

PUB YR 9 2020-2021 | ISSUE 1 11 Tindol. “It opens a window for the customer to experience makes and models they may not have considered before.” The Auto Show Bounce Whether auto show attendance solidifies brand loyalty or creates new excitement behind brands that perhaps a consumer had not explored, local dealers will experience what’s known as the “auto show bounce” in the days and months following an auto show. “For anywhere from 30 to 60 days, dealers will have people coming in from the show and shopping,” says Scott Lambert, president of the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association (MADA), which represents 371 franchised new-car and -truck dealers. “Sometimes they come right from the show to the showroom. Half the peoplewho come to the showare shoppers intending to buy and are actively looking and researching.” To take advantage of that bounce, many local dealers, including MADA members, plan their major marketing push to coincide with the Twin Cities Auto Show, held each year at the Minneapolis Convention Center, Lambert says. “There’s a lot of marketing around the show — groups and factories will have special show promotions that run before and after. Our show is in early March, and we’re just coming out of winter, so it’s a chance for everyone to shake off the ice and get marketing again.” The biggest lift is with website visits and digital inquiries, says Tindol, “which are equivalent to walk-ins in our world. The lift continues for months and we continue to hear, ‘When I saw that car at the auto show,’ when we ask where they heard about us or got their interest in the particular unit they are looking at.” Message to OEMs: You Can’t Afford to Miss Out But if a manufacturer chooses not to participate in an auto show, local dealers are the ones who feel the pain. Over 75%of dealers say automaker absence has a negative impact on customers’ brand awareness, and over 66% report that it has a negative effect on customer traffic and retail sales, according to the Dealer Attitude Survey. While some manufacturers, particularly European OEMs, are reassessing their auto show participation, others — including Toyota, Volkswagen and Honda — are committing to what has proven to be a worthwhile investment. “From a consumer standpoint, auto shows are stable and growing in importance,” Sage Marie, assistant vice president for public relations at American Honda, told Automotive News. “From a media standpoint, the dynamic is definitely changing. The way automakers leverage auto shows to deploy news is changing.” “For us, it’s probably one of the most efficient ways to get in front of as many consumers as we possibly can,” Derrick Hatami, executive vice president for sales and marketing with Volkswagen Group of America, told journalists at the Chicago Auto Show in February. “For us, to be able to get access to 11 million people last year with our products, and have them sit in it, touch and feel, and in some instances drive them, it’s a huge benefit for us. We always do well when people actually drive the product.” Continued on page 12 “One thing has certainly not changed: Having a consumer experience a vehicle is still the No. 1 factor when it comes down to persuasion and choice. There is nothing like feeling the seat, holding the steering wheel, checking out the technology, counting the cup holders, lifting the hood — that new-car smell.”