GMC Black Friday Sales Event TV Spot, 'Sleep'

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General Motors Trying Online Car Sales
Wall Street Journal
General Motors plans to expand a new online shopping tool that allows customers to bypass showrooms when buying new cars. The Detroit automaker will give the web-based application, called Shop-Click-Drive, to its entire dealer network. Acting a bit like third-party sites, letting new-car buyers use their computer screen to lock in the price of a new car, get an estimate of the trade-in value of their old car, apply for financing and even arrange a test drive or delivery of their new vehicle.

 

Business

GM Prods Dealers to Sell Cars Online
Software Lets Shoppers Bypass the Showroom

By

Christina Rogers

Oct. 6, 2013 8:01 p.m. ET

General Motors Co. plans to expand a new online shopping tool that allows customers to bypass showrooms when buying new cars.

Debbie Mahaffy bought her Camaro online, helped by email. Neil Blake for The Wall Street Journal

The software, which keeps GM's 4,300 dealers central to the sale of its vehicles, will provide a high-profile test of whether the auto maker can better cater to online-savvy consumers without running afoul of state franchise laws that give dealers exclusive rights to sell most new cars.

By the end of this year, GM plans to extend a Web-based application, called Shop-Click-Drive, to its entire dealer network. The app would let new-car buyers use their computer screen to lock in the price of a new car, get an estimate of the trade-in value of their old car, apply for financing and even arrange a test drive or delivery of their new vehicle.

GM's app acts as an electronic door to its independent brick-and-mortar dealers, and so represents a cautious step toward adapting to consumers whose experience with online shopping for appliances and other goods has made them less willing to visit showrooms.

"This is just another way to close" the customer deal, said Lenny George, general manager at Berger Chevrolet in Grand Rapids, Mich. Neil Blake for The Wall Street Journal

State franchise laws that protect car dealers mean their pivotal role in auto sales will remain intact. The dealers prefer doing business face to face because it also lets them sell auto buyers more-profitable service work, add-ons or finance and insurance products as well as new cars. New-car sales is one area that has been largely insulated from the online retailing revolution that already has pummeled booksellers and appliance stores.

Tesla Motors Inc. has tried to push the boundaries of franchise laws by selling its luxury electric cars exclusively through its website and a small number of company-owned stores. Tesla argues that franchise laws don't apply to its operations because it has never had franchised dealers.

GM dealers aren't required to participate in the project, and GM officials say they have had some dealers turn it down. One potential sticking point is that the auto maker for several years has pressured dealers to undertake costly makeovers of their stores—investments that could be undermined if more shoppers buy online. About 100 other dealers have signed up so far through a pilot launched in January in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arizona.

"My initial reaction was we have investment in brick and mortar, and they're trying to come up with an idea contrary to that," said Todd DeNooyer , general manager at DeNooyer Chevrolet in Kalamazoo, Mich., which was among the first batch of dealers to test GM's shopping app.

But Mr. DeNooyer said he was intrigued by the idea because he is an Amazon.comcustomer and was curious to see if a similar business model would work for autos. "We're trying to gear it to millennials who want to take it as far as they can online," he said.

GM also is aiming to win over shoppers like Debbie Mahaffy , of Gladwin, Mich., who said she didn't want to take time off work to go to a dealership to buy a car.

She knew exactly what she wanted—a 2013 Chevrolet Camaro—so she completed the entire process online and over email, ultimately buying the car from a dealership about 125 miles away and having it delivered to her workplace.

"I never even walked into the dealership or met my salesperson," said Ms. Mahaffy, a 46-year-old office administrator. "I never even test-drove it. I wanted to do everything strictly by email."

Only after hearing some feedback from friends about her experience did it strike her as unusual. "I just thought that's how people do things now," she added.

It certainly isn't how most new car sales are sold. "Other auto makers have looked into this, but GM is the first to bring it to prime time," said John Giamalvo , director of dealer strategy for car-shopping website Edmunds.com. "There has been a slow creep to this model for the last five years now."

GM says the program isn't intended to replace dealers or their showrooms, but rather to give its dealers a way to reach a growing group of customers, many of them young and tech-savvy, who prefer to complete transactions online and skip the showroom ritual.

"There are a lot of people who do things online, and those customers are asking the question: 'why can't I buy a car online?'" said Jim Bement , manager of the online-retailing project for GM. "This more or less satisfies that urge."

Of the 900 cars sold so far through the Shop-Click-Drive program, only five have been delivered directly to customers. The vast majority of buyers chose to pick up their new purchases at a showroom.

"When this was first introduced, there was a lot of talk: 'Well, GM is eliminating the dealerships. They want to be Tesla,'" said Lenny George , general manager at Berger Chevrolet in Grand Rapids, Mich., whose store was selected to test the program. "To me, this is just another way to close the customer [deal]," Mr. George said. "It's a selling tool."

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The Digital Traditionalist 

http://www.google.com/think/articles/the-digital-traditionalist.html

Land Rover North America Brand VP Kim McCullough knows digital technologies are reshaping the way people shop for cars. To ensure Land Rover's storied brand remains relevant, she is translating the auto showroom experience into new social and mobile innovations. After more than doubling digital ad spend to 35 percent of the marketing mix, and with a 15 percent year-on-year sales increase in 2012, the results are beginning to speak for themselves.

Enter Land Rover's North American headquarters and you might think you've stumbled into an auto showroom. Inside the suburban New Jersey building, a black Range Rover Sport is parked next to a Jaguar sport sedan. Merchandise cases display Land Rover t-shirts, hats, and mugs while industry awards and framed car photos line the walls.

It's the kind of scene familiar to anybody who’s been to an auto dealership. But as technology alters the way consumers shop for cars, automakers are realizing showrooms alone won't generate sales.

Showrooms Go Digital

Land Rover isn't jettisoning its showrooms; instead, the company is bringing the engagement online through video, social sharing, display and search ads, and mobile sites. "Most people first experience auto brands online now," says Kim McCullough, Land Rover North America's Brand Vice President. "Showroom visits are down. People are making up their minds about brands in other ways, whether through friends or experiences online. By the time people get to a showroom, they already know what they want."

New research from Google, TNS, and Polk confirms that digital is changing the purchase path for auto shoppers, with influential brand moments now stretching across a cycle that encompasses pre-market, in-market, and post-market phases rather than the traditional launch period. This cycle of ‘constant consideration’ requires marketers to harness the unique opportunities afforded by digital brand-building to win all the moments that matter.

The digital shift could have automakers rattled, particularly premier marques like Land Rover, which prizes white-glove service and safeguarding its image. But McCullough is sanguine about the evolving market. Sitting in her corner office surrounded by memorabilia, including an iconic green Land Rover logo, it's clear she appreciates her employer's heritage. McCullough, who first worked for Land Rover in the late 1990s before moving on to other auto marketing jobs, says the company's culture lured her back: "There's something about this brand and the way it has always been true to its core that is really appealing." Her aim now is to uphold that legacy while adopting digital tools.

Engagement: Fuel for Leads

So far, McCullough has been able to strike this balance. Since starting her second Land Rover stint in March 2011, she has orchestrated the successful launch of a new vehicle, Range Rover Evoque, and is directing the rollout of Land Rover's revamped flagship Range Rover. Both campaigns employed digital innovations new to Land Rover. McCullough, who honed her digital skills in the 2000s at Toyota, has also more than doubled Land Rover's digital spending (from 15 percent of the marketing mix to 35 percent), expanded its digital and social media staff, and relaunched several of the company's core consumer websites, including its YouTube channel, which currently boasts over three million views.

These moves are feeding an overall resurgence. Following decades of ownership shuffles, the UK-based automaker has found steady support in India's Tata Motors, which acquired Land Rover and sister company Jaguar from Ford Motor Co. in 2008. The resulting company, Jaguar Land Rover, is now profitable and growing, thanks to strong Land Rover demand. Land Rover sales in the US – the brand's third-largest market after China and the UK – increased 15 percent year-over-year in 2012.

To sustain that momentum, Land Rover is boosting its presence on social sites, where it can directly connect with owners and enthusiasts. Land Rover is active on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, and added Pinterest and Tumblr last year. These are Land Rover's always-on platforms, maintained year-round regardless of the company's product cycle. Recognizing the value of video, McCullough redesigned Land Rover's YouTube channel in 2012. The update replaced YouTube's standard, chronological layout with videos organized by Land Rover model and a window showing the company's latest tweets and Facebook posts. Land Rover says the more intuitive layout has boosted time spent on the site.

Key metrics point to results. A 2012 Google Analytics report found referrals from the company's social channels were 195 percent more likely to turn into solid leads than visitors to Land Rover's website who arrived from non-social sources. "When people have a chance to engage with our brand and attach a little more meaning and connection to it, we are seeing them transition to a lead," McCullough notes.

Engagement is crucial for smaller companies like Land Rover, which are increasingly seeing the value in flipping the traditional marketing funnel – using social channels to target their most likely-to-engage consumers first, rather than reaching out to the broadest possible audience via traditional media. Leading with media that allows for greater engagement measurement means brands know when they have a hit, and can make better strategic decisions about how to deploy the rest of their marketing budget. This is especially important for an automaker like Land Rover: "Dollar for dollar, we have to be very smart about what we're doing," McCullough admits.

Wheels of Innovation

To encourage innovation, McCullough applies a 70/20/10 rule to her budget, allocating 70 percent of resources to tried-and-true forms of marketing, 20 percent to experimental initiatives from the previous year that show promise, and 10 percent to new ventures. The framework allows McCullough's team to explore, especially in social and mobile, with limited risk.

Land Rover has tested out a relatively new type of Google ad called social annotation, which mentions Land Rover's nearly 1.1 million Google+ followers in the company’s search results. Google’s ‘custom annotation’ feature lets Land Rover insert short quotes from, say, an awards committee or a positive review into ads, as well. According to Land Rover, these ‘third-party validations’ have increased click-through rates to its website by as much as 14 times since it began testing the ads last winter.

Another smart investment has been mobile. Land Rover overhauled its mobile site in 2012. The upgrade added a number of practical features for both shoppers and owners, including vehicle photos and videos, and information about Land Rover's driving schools and roadside assistance. After the site went live, Land Rover started buying Google ‘Bid by Distance’ ads that surfaced Land Rover's site when prospective buyers searched terms like ‘luxury SUV’ on mobile devices near Land Rover dealers. The ads resulted in an 87 percent higher click-through-rate to Land Rover’s mobile site.

McCullough says Land Rover continues to monitor how its consumers are using mobile to shop. A JD Power survey released last year identified Land Rover buyers as particularly mobile-savvy. Of 33 auto brands, Land Rover owners were the most likely to access the internet from their smartphones and use apps for new vehicle purchases.

The New Online Launch

Though active year round, Land Rover ramps up its digital spending during launches for both customer acquisition and branding. The company's 2011 introduction of Evoque, a fuel-efficient crossover, relied heavily on new media campaigns to attract young, urban buyers. A series of events built anticipation, kicking off nearly a year before Evoque's on-sale date. First came a teaser site, followed by an urban journey-themed mobile app, and blog posts and videos from cultural influencers, known as ‘City Shapers.’ To play up Evoque's personalization options, Land Rover also released a ‘choose your own adventure’-style interactive film and, in May 2011, staged an interactive concert that streamed music from three simultaneous performances located in New York, Milan, and Shanghai.

“It's important all through the year to be active in all elements of the purchase funnel: Awareness down to purchase," says McCullough. "When we're not on broadcast TV, we use digital to expand in that upper funnel area."

Land Rover's most recent launch, for its new Range Rover, will also follow a multi-step digital campaign. An interactive takeover ad promoting the Range Rover will appear on YouTube on February 25. To extend the ad's reach, Land Rover is coordinating same-day takeovers of YouTube's mobile and tablet homepages. Finally, Land Rover will deploy the ad as an expandable 'Lightbox' ad within the Google display network, which will target consumers who fit the Range Rover buyer profile over several weeks.

In addition, Land Rover has developed a video series in partnership with YouTube. The 10-part series chronicles adventurer/YouTube personality Peter Bragiel driving cross-country in the new Range Rover. Land Rover will release new videos weekly in February and March on both its own and Bragiel'sYouTube channels. Like the Lightbox ads, the videos are geared to spark interest in the new car long after the TV spots and homepage takeovers have stopped running.

Despite its social and digital successes, some time-honored practices endure at Land Rover. McCullough varies her approach based on vehicle model, audience and launch phase. While much of the all-new Range Rover's marketing was digital, the vehicle's pre-launch, in fall 2012, focused on ‘super-loyalists’ – aficionados who had owned at least five Range Rovers. In the run-up to the new Range Rover's introduction, Land Rover treated this select group to posh dinners at exclusive venues and early looks at the vehicle. The events were an opportunity to reward Land Rover's best customers and to build pre-sale interest. Afterwards, McCullough sent attendees handwritten thank-you notes.

Indeed, for all her modern thinking, she’s clear that Land Rover’s established values will endure. "As our owners always say: 'Don't change it; just make it better.'"

Written by Elizabeth Woyke

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Buick Turns Pinterest Board Into Car Concept

http://mashable.com/2013/03/28/buick-pinterest-car-concept/

Buick has put a social-network spin on its 2013 Encore luxury car by designing its interiors and exteriors based on a Pinterest board.

Following a call from nine influential design, fashion and food bloggers to create Pinterest boards speaking to their personal style and passions, the company unveiled the winning pinner on Wednesday night at the New York Auto Show. The "Pinterest to Dashboard" contest is a part of an effort to connect with a younger audience and show a different, more playful side of the brand.

The top collection came from a Pennsylvania-based bed and breakfast owner Michael Wurm Jr.— who has nearly four million followers on Pinterest. His boards, which featured sea foam-colored tones and beach scenes, were picked as the inspiration for new color palates, textures and design features in the existing car.

Wurm was flown out to Buick's Detroit design center, where he was presented with three different concepts, one from each of the three-person design team. He ultimately chose the design highlighted below as his favorite. "I have a totally different perspective of Buick now," he said.

From a design perspective, the team said they fell in love with Wurm's theme of going outdoors and used it as a jumping point.

"We pulled key elements from his boards that we thought were interesting," said Ven Lei, Buick color and trim designer. "The three of us came up with our own interpretations of the boards, and expanded on it based on mood, a theme and an environment. We used created color waves and textures such as woods, and ultimately wanted to show how something fun like this could be applied to what is already on the road today."

Lei said the brand has already received a "tremendous outpouring of input" from the Pinterest community. "It's been invaluable," she said.

Although the car won't be available on the market, the company said it would be open to rolling out the look in the future.

 

"Nothing you see is actually available, but if we got enough feedback either way, I'm sure our designers would go back and take a look at it," a Buick representative said at the event.

With about 71% of Pinterest's nearly 25 million users under the age of 45 — and 50% are 25-44 — Buick said it views the user base as an important market for the new Encore model. Not to mention, according to a Bizrate Insights study, about 70% of Pinterest users say they use the site to get shopping inspiration and 43% associate it with brands.

The company has also been promoting the "Pinboard to Dashboard" program across Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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New UK study: Tweets influence brand consideration and offline actions by prospective car-buyers

Posted by Twitter. Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Many prospective car buyers engage in auto-related conversations on Twitter to seek information and listen to others’ experiences. To understand how Twitter helps automobile manufacturers connect with their potential customers, we partnered with Compete (@Compete) and looked at how Tweets from auto manufacturers influence the U.K. shoppers who see them. 

The “Tweets in Action: Auto” study found that exposure to Tweets influences prospective car-buyers’ brand consideration and likelihood to follow up offline. In other words, the more Tweets they see, the higher the likelihood that they will search for auto brands and pursue offline activities such as sign up for a test drive or look for a car dealership.

Study background & methodology

The study analyzed nearly 1,800 users and their site visitation behavior in the United Kingdom. The study looked at three different groups of users. The first group consisted of those users who were exposed to at least one Tweet (promoted or organic) by an auto brand. The two remaining groups of users were control groups: one consisted of Twitter visitors who were not exposed to auto brand Tweets, and the other represented the average internet user.

Key findings on Tweet exposure 

1. Tweet exposure corresponds to higher brand site traffic.

Compete found that Twitter users exposed to auto brand Tweets are 74% more likely to visit auto brand websites than the average internet users.

2. Tweets influence brand awareness and consideration for auto manufacturers.

More than one-third of Twitter users who see auto brand Tweets search for auto manufacturers, which is 54% higher than the average internet users.

3. Exposure to Tweets influences the likelihood of conversion

Compared to the average internet users, Twitter users exposed to Tweets from auto brands are nearly twice as likely to engage in lower-funnel activities, such as sign up for a test drive and locate a dealership.

The exposure to Tweets helps drive consideration and conversion for auto manufacturers - the higher the frequency of exposure, the higher the likelihood to take offline, lower-funnel actions. Twitter users expose to Tweets are more likely than the average internet users to visit brand sites, search for brands and take lower-funnel actions.

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