Radio Can Boost Reach Of Auto Buyers, But Dealers Need To Be Known First.

According to Nielsen Scarborough data, more than one-third of Americans (36%) are unable to name an auto dealership where they might shop to buy or leave a new or used vehicle. Additionally, of respondents saying they plan to do any of those in the next year, more than one in five (21%) can’t name a retailer.

“[When] the leading auto dealer at which consumers would shop [is] called, ‘Don’t know or none,’ dealers must devote more marketing efforts to growing their brands [with] ads that teach people who they are,” Nielsen Senior Client Solutions Executive, Customer Experience Michael Katz says in Westwood One’s blog.

For these dealers, Katz notes, the key is to convert existing demand as well as create future demand. “Successful retailers have to be known long before [they're] needed,” he says. “At any point in time, there are a very small number of consumers who will purchase this month, [and] a somewhat larger number who will buy in the next year. The greatest number of prospects are contained in the 'future buyer' group, those who will purchase in the next two to seven years.”

Each effort demands a different marketing strategy. “Convert existing demand by reaching the 5% who are in the market, [which] usually that takes the form of a sales event.,” Katz says, “[while] creating future demand [or] brand building focuses on the 95% of consumers not in the market, not thinking about the category, and not interested in a sales event. To build future demand ads, use positive emotions: surprise, a lump in the throat, or happiness.”

Citing a MARU/Matchbox study of Dallas automotive buyers, Katz points out that 81% of prior-year auto purchasers were aware of the dealer before their purchase, while a Nielsen national automotive study found that 90% of those saying they intend to purchase an auto brand could already name the brand on an unaided basis. “Both dealers and auto brands must be known before they are needed,” he says.

Once a media plan is in place, that's where the power of AM/FM radio comes in. According to Nielsen Media Impact, in Indianapolis AM/FM reaches 79% of those planning to buy or lease a vehicle in the next 12 months who listened in the past week, vs. TV where the reach is 69%. When an auto dealer shifted 20% of its linear TV budget to radio, the reach of auto intenders increased 40%.

“Via its significant reach, the addition of AM/FM radio to the media plan generates an impressive lift in reach for the same overall investment,” Katz says, noting that doing so boosts incremental reach among light cable (+54%) and light broadcast TV (+48%) viewers.

The main takeaway for dealers, Katz says? “Focus less on the competition, and more on auto intenders who cannot name one car retailer.”