EVERY FEBRUARY, 110 million Americans gather around their televisions to watch this little event called the Super Bowl. Maybe you’ve heard of it? It’s a series of commercials, many of which cost upwards of $3.5 million, interrupted every few minutes by something called “football.” It’s very exciting.
An overwhelming number of those expensive commercials are for cars, and there’s a good reason so many auto manufacturers are willing to shell out all that cash: Pretty much everybody drives—90 percent of American travelers, according to a 2005 ABC News report.
And what do all those drivers need? Anger management classes for coping with road rage, yes, but also tire gauges, sun shades, trunk organizers and more. We can’t help with that first part, but we can give you some tips and promotion ideas for selling automotive products.
Safety First
If we’ve learned anything from the Ford Pinto, it’s that safety is a big deal in the car industry. That lesson filters all the way down to automotive products. “The most powerful category of automotive products is the one that offers safety to its occupants,” said Michael Gisser, executive vice president for Toronto-based Superex. “There is clout behind a message that provides safety and preparedness-assurance.”
He noted that even simple products such as tire pressure gauges are enjoying a surge in popularity thanks to the consumer focus on safety and economy. “With proper inflation, tires wear longer, handle better and help save fuel,” Gisser said. “The promotional effectiveness of tire gauges is assured because tires lose pressure daily and require routine checking.”
Economy of Sale
Fuel economy is another hot-button issue with consumers these days, not just among the environmentally conscious crowd, but also among those looking to save some extra cash. “A successful automotive product promotion that is often overlooked is oil conservation programs,” explained Ryan Hung, president of Handy Industries Inc., City of Industry, Calif. “Automobiles are among the largest consumers of oil/gasoline, so tire gauges and sun shades are a natural fit as they both promote energy conservation.”
Making Memories
The best promotions are those that create a memorable experience. Keith Addis, vice president of sales for K&R Precision, Cheektowaga, N.Y. detailed one example where a pizza franchise sent its delivery drivers to clear snow off local residents’ car windows. On each car, the drivers left an ice scraper branded with the franchise’s logo and phone number. “It helped the franchise boost pizza sales by over 33 percent during the next three months, and consumers told them it was great when they came out to go to work and their cars were clean,” Addis noted.
Tier-ing Up
“Free stuff? No thank you, I hate free stuff,” said no one, ever. That’s why offering products as rewards for end-user participation is a great way to get people interested, especially if those giveaways are tiered to incentivize further participation or purchases.
Addis described a promotion where an automotive manufacturer looking to increase sales of one of its higher-end vehicles mailed prospective buyers a tire gauge attached to an invitation for a test drive. “Upon completion of the test drive, customers would receive a nice travel mug and stainless steel bottle gift set,” he explained. “Once they completed a purchase, they received a $500 gas card for free fuel in their new vehicle. The program was a great success.”
The Crossover
An automotive promotion doesn’t necessarily require products originally intended for use in the car, or even products that are vehicle-themed. Addis mentioned work gloves for auto body shops and calendars with customized coupons for car dealerships.
Hung noted that pet-related products, in particular, can be used effectively in automotive promotions. “We’ve seen a lot of crossover between the two product categories, and I believe that’s primarily because almost every household nowadays has a pet,” he said. “We had an automotive manufacturer order several thousand of our pet trash bag dispensers, which were intended to be given out in conjunction with this year’s Puppy Bowl,” he continued. “The giveaway was exciting because it tied our automotive and pet lines together, not to mention it was a good sized order.”
Explore New Markets
Gisser suggested that the wide appeal of automotive products makes them viable in a variety of markets, not just those typically associated with cars. He gave the example of colleges giving away cell phone-shaped air fresheners at student orientation for driving safety-awareness programs. “[By] choosing a high-visibility air freshener, they inexpensively delivered a priceless message—’hang up and drive,’ and ‘arrive alive, don’t text and drive,'” he said.
The Billboard Effect
According to Hung, some state and county laws prevent brick and mortar retail stores from advertising using signs in their parking lots. He explained that larger chains can circumvent this by parking 18-wheelers in front, a loophole too costly for smaller stores to exploit. That’s where sun shades come in. “[Businesses] have discovered that they get just as much exposure by having imprinted sun shades in employee or customer cars,” Hung said. “Not only does it help advertise their brand, but it also helps protect their car, and at a fraction of the cost to print a traditional banner.”
