5 Ways Data-Driven Video Triggers Dealership Marketing Success

There’s no question that the power of sight, sound, and motion has always been huge for automotive advertising, with auto marketers traditionally relying on television to engage with consumers and, ultimately, drive sales.

Now that viewing has shifted across devices—from mobile to laptops and tablets—it’s become increasingly important for auto marketers to extend the power of video across screens.

Beyond cross-screen capabilities, something new has emerged: data-driven video. This is a new video technology that is proving quite successful for the marketers who utilize it in their auto advertising initiatives.

Knowledge of where a consumer is in the vehicle purchase cycle is crucial to driving advertising strategy. There is a very different approach for effectively communicating with consumers who will buy a car in the next five years, as opposed to those who will in the next five weeks.

Most importantly, gaining this knowledge from high-quality consumer data sources is paramount. The following are five emerging trends you should know about when it comes to data-driven video marketing.

1. Data drives better targeting

Gone are the days of simply targeting by age and demographics. Auto marketers can now reach consumers based on a range of attributes and behaviors.

Examples of this are consumers who are actively in the market for a car, those who own a competitor’s car, or people who have browsed certain models online. Brands can also leverage their own first-party data to reach current owners based on their past behavior or purchases.

Another exciting development is the ability for digital marketers to target consumers online based on their TV viewership. An example is consumers who have seen ads from the dealers’ competitors on TV.

2. National, regional, or local: All benefit

Through online video and data-enabled TV, precise—but broad-reaching—data and measurement allow manufacturers to get powerful reach against desired audiences, with sight, sound, and motion all delivering a brand message.

This allows regional advertisers to easily customize sales events or promotions for certain groups or certain times of year. It also provides the precise targeting and creative flexibility to customize messages at the local dealer level.

3. Cross-screen strategy improvements

Media consumption habits have been shifting over the past decade, but the dramatic spike in multiple-screen viewership has made cross-screen advertising crucial for marketers to maximize the return on their spending.

Marketers who employ cross-screen TV and video strategies often find themselves driving ROI far above what they can with a siloed approach. Fortunately, tools and best practices now exist to allow auto marketers to thrive in this new and converging world of screens.

These tools and practices allow them to reach a sufficient number of the right consumers, at the right cadence, to drive action—up to and including conversions.

4. Digital data informs TV buys

When considering the role of data in targeting, an important factor is to apply digital insights to television buys. Highly accurate auto data sources, traditionally only available in digital, can now be tied to television viewing.

For instance, dealers can determine the best programs, networks, or dayparts to target frequent visitors to their or a competitor’s site. The cost to reach a strategic target on TV can be greatly reduced, and efficacy improved.

5. Data drives results

In the end, it’s all about moving cars off the lot. But in the journey to do this, there are many goals that auto marketers can meet.

One may be looking to measure brand engagement, in which case a brand impact study like Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings can be used. Other marketers may be trying to measure online searches of their vehicle, visits to their website, or how online video campaigns work in conjunction with a TV buy.

Data-driven video, by using these metrics along with hard sales metrics (both online and offline), helps tell a full story throughout the marketing funnel.

Mindy Howe is senior director of strategic accounts for Autobytel Inc., offering the industry a full suite of high-quality lead products and advertising services. These services include the newly formed Autobytel and Videology partnership, which brings Autobytel’s industry-leading automotive buyer-intent data to the video advertising ecosystem. For more information about data-driven video, contact Videology’s Aleck Schleider at (410) 804-6293 or [email protected]. Visit dealer.autobytel.com for more tips and advice.