In 2017, more than $206 billion was spent on advertising in the U.S., with digital out-of-home emerging as a growing portion of that overall spend. Further, did you know that automotive dealers and services are among the top 10 spenders across marketing channels, inclusive of out-of-home?

It’s time to rev your engines and find out how your brand can drive into DOOH!

DOOH advertising offers brands a powerful way to reach consumers as they move throughout the physical world – uniquely addressing some of the challenges of automotive advertising.

Whether you are planning a national or local campaign, trying to increase brand awareness or drive sales, digital out-of-home makes it easy for you to achieve your goals. Through Vistar, auto marketers are able to precisely identify and reach their target consumers, whether they are based on demographics, personas and lifestyle, or recent purchase behavior. Leveraging our proprietary geospatial technology, Vistar can build curated audiences, showing target consumers’ movement patterns. Additionally, Vistar offers a robust suite of data partners, so marketers can leverage their first-party CRM data or segments from their preferred third-party partners, such as IHS Markit (Polk) or Factual.

Planning a national campaign for a new model launch or sales event?

• Whether you’re planning to announce a new car model or have an upcoming sales event, you can utilize advanced data capabilities to identify and reach target in-market consumers. Through Vistar’s partnership with IHS Markit (Polk), auto brands are able to identify households that have purchased or leased similar cars, based on specific styles, makes or models - allowing you to target brand loyalists or conquest competitors customers.

• If you need to  support specific markets that are lagging behind in your national campaigns, the flexibility of digital out-of-home allows you to activate media in specific DMAs when and where you need it.

• To align with priority tentpole moments throughout the year and support existing marketing efforts - such as around specific holidays, auto shows or sporting events - you can easily activate DOOH and mobile media.

Aiming to drive foot traffic and generate sales for regional dealer groups or an individual dealership?

• When local advertising is your core focus, DOOH allows you to move beyond your typical and traditional activations. You have the ability to take your creatives to the next level by activating customized messaging and offers based on region, day of week, time of day, weather patterns or purchase data.

• If you need to distribute spend equally across multiple dealerships, DOOH allows you to  control how and when your media is activated.

• Sometimes dealerships want to promote their locations at certain times of the year, such as in the lead up to regional sales or local sponsored events. To reach your community at these key moments, you can make a splash across a variety of digital screens with these places and dates in mind.

• To engage existing customers in a new way, advanced data can help dealerships identify consumers who are due for new parts or services.

In addition to these strategies, both national and local markets benefit from activating across digital screens in contextually relevant environments. Large format media, such as roadside billboards, can reach drivers while they’re on the road, while place-based screens can engage consumers in locations like as gas stations or sports entertainment centers.

As is true for most campaigns, results are the most important factor. While measuring ROI for out-of-home media has historically been a challenge, Vistar’s comprehensive measurement solutions allow marketers to evaluate the outcome of campaign objectives, from increased sales of a new model or a spike in dealership visits during a campaign. For upper funnel KPIs, Vistar is able to provide brand studies that analyze consumer behavior, helping marketers gain insight into awareness, consideration, opinion, purchase intent and favorability. When it comes to lower funnel KPIs, Vistar can run foot traffic and sales lift studies that measure the impact of campaign exposure on dealership visits, sales lift, market penetration and sales rate by car type.

Ready to plan your automotive campaign?