Much has been written recently about the decline in the effectiveness of traditional advertising medium such as newspapers, radio and billboards.

As a consumer, I know I am on the Internet constantly.

But if I am buying a car, I am not going to use the Internet only. It is now just one of several sources that I pay attention to.

It is a far richer medium than those others (but that is another topic).

So here are the questions... are traditional media less effective because with the increased availability of infomation on the Internet are messages of "$299/mo, $5k down, only 1 in stock" the problem?

Is it the message or the medium that is the problem?

What other messages have others tried?

I remember Ralph Paglia from House of Courtesy buying "$99 down, $99/mo, everyone approved, go to call 888-999-9999 or www.???.com" signs to put on bus shelters. Cheap, powerful, effective.

I encourage the dealers who have added my company's eCommerce product on to their website to advertise "THE ONLY COMPLETE ONLINE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE www.dlr_url.com" where their buyers will encounter it.

I do believe that a significant part of the frustration here is the message not entirely the medium.

Just wondering what others have found?

I believe that it is probably a combination of the two. I think that "traditional" forms of advertising have become obsolete because the average consumer is imune to them. I also believe that it is cyclical and that the traditional forms of advertising will work again in the future. With the economy in its current state we as auto dealers must think outside of the box to get the consumers attention and build value in our product at the same time. One of my previous employers actually had their own magazine similar to an auto trader that they dispensed at local bus stops, convienence stores, ect. Not saying that is a great idea but it is out of the box and I think it's going in the right direction.

I think much of this has to deal with why these strategies are still used. For example, when looking online or driving by the lot, when I'm looking for a car, obviously the first thing I want to see is the car, and the second thing I want to see is how much. Tossing up the standard "$299" per month is nearly expected so why not agree with standards that already work and that potential customers have grown to expect.

This does not mean that that's *all* you can do. A combination of other strategies, both in and out of the box are in demand too. All venues are viable, and likewise all forms of messaging are viable too. Neither are mutually exclusive.

In short, don't make the mistake of thinking, that the message doesn't matter as long as the medium is good, or that the medium doesn't matter as long as the message is good. Both need to be polished to a high degree of shine, just like the cars on your lot. :-)

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Dealer Advertising

I'm surprised I didn't notice this thread when you first posted it. Have you read Marshall Mcluhan or is the thread title just a coincidence?

I think the message is the same, it's the medium that has changed. The internet, being neither a hot or cool medium, (text being hot and tv being cool) is drastically different than any other type of media, since it combines so many mediums at the same time. When we're browsing around the internet, it uses all of our senses, or at least it should.

On a car website, keeping a good balance between good/useful information is very important. You wouldn't want someone to come to the site, and immediately be disinterested because of too much information, or in that respect, not enough. At the same time you want a customer to be interested enough to want to come look at the car in person. Exciting those senses via media in a presentable manner is key. One picture of a car doesn't cut it anymore.

Think of this quote carefully for a moment: "Once we have surrendered our senses and nervous systems to the private manipulation of those who would try to benefit by taking a lease on our eyes and ears and nerves, we don't really have any rights left."

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