Over half of U.S. auto dealers will include Internet video in their marketing mix by the middle of 2009, according to a recent study by the Kelsey Group.  To date, most dealers are supporting and distributing their online video through OEM-sanctioned templates on their websites. For example, both Longo Lexus near Los Angeles and Lexus of Manhattan feature identical video clips on their respective sites.  McGrath Lexus of Chicago supplements the 15 manufacturer-provided television and radio commercials with two clips that promote the franchise, including video testimonials from McGrath customers. Yet, with the majority of Lexus dealership sites supporting the same video console and content, one must wonder if this lack of flexibility for on-site video is a lost opportunity for dealerships to differentiate their own brand from other retail franchises in their market.

Some dealerships are beginning to break the OEM-prescribed mold through digital “ad-vertainment” that speaks more to their personality than that of the manufacturer or the vehicle.  Case in point, Massachusetts-based Clay Corp.’s Let’s Get Naked! ad, which according to a recent Advertising Age article, is a prime example of a dealership leveraging the power of viral video to entertain and, thus, leave a lasting impression on consumers. As the portly, bespectacled salesman stand-in lists the “seven different ways that dealers screw you,” he removes his suit, tie and other clothing until he is standing in a Subaru showroom clad only in his boxers and socks. Regardless of production quality or execution, the Clay family of dealership’s advertisement sends a clear message; we will show you everything, hiding nothing. This transparency is appealing considering the plethora of information, reviews and purchase options available to in-market automotive consumers today.

So why are some dealerships beginning to focus on ad-vertainment in their online video strategy?  Perhaps what we are seeing with this online video strategy can give us a bit of insight into potential efforts to stay afloat during these tough times:

• First, online video is incredibly cost effective to create and distribute.  According to Advertising Age estimates, a typical vehicle walk-around video can cost as low as $80 to produce.  While the production value of something like the Clay group’s commercials, which were created for them by Boathouse Group, are higher, online video production tends to be considerable cheaper and less creatively restricting as your standard :30 television commercial aired in a local market.
• Second, with approximately 18.4 percent of the U.S. online population (or 26,710,000 people, according to Nielsen NetRatings) using the Internet to shop for a new or used car in the last six months, and more than 94,000,000 unique video viewers on YouTube last month alone, according to comScore Media Metrics, an audience exists for relevant online video at the retail level. Dealerships can differentiate their brand by employing unique messaging that either extends the personal relationships that they have built on the showroom floor for years or attracts new consumers weighing their options during a new purchase.
• Third, with the continuing consolidation of dealerships, the extension of brand messaging through viral video can potentially help retailers develop relationships with current car owners whose last dealership went out of business. These future car buyers may be looking for a trustworthy place to maintain and service their car.

Ultimately, for dealerships looking to build their brand online, video represents a low-cost, low-risk way to connect with in-market consumers in the channel where they will do the majority of their product research.  If nothing else, we might just see a dealership go down in the viral video hall of fame, right next to Sneezing Panda and Numa Numa.

Related links:

• Beat the heat television commercial from 1984 for the Crazy Eddie consumer electronics chain of stores; YouTube.com
• October Auto Sales on Track to Be as Weak as September’s; New York Times, 10.14.08
• NADA Chairman Urges Prompt Action by Government to Implement Recovery Plan; PR NewsWire via MarketWatch; 10.08.08
• Auto Dealers to Increase Online Video, Web 2.0 Tactics in Marketing Mix; The Kelsey Group via Marketing Charts, 03.10.08
• Lexus video sections on the Longo Lexus (El Monte, Calif.), McGrath Lexus of Chicago and Lexus of Manhattan sites.
• Let’s Get Naked! ad for the Clay dealership group; available on YouTube and on the Clay Family Dealerships site.
• Car Dealers Learning Art of Viral Video (subscription required); Advertising Age, 09.29.08

Image credit
“Let’s Get Naked!” image appears courtesy of YouTube.