Shift some of your ad dollars up the funnel. Catch buyers while they’re curious but haven’t started haggling yet. My go-to mix? Local digital ads, broadcast TV and OTT services from reliable local media partners. Local broadcast TV and streaming video deliver those golden ticket direct leads.
Back in our 2020 auto sales slump, a few trends left me scratching my head. I saw big dealership groups ditch their TV spots and pour everything into Google Ads and social media. Others went radio silent – no ads at all.
Some pivoted to direct mail or print, hitting fewer folks at a steeper price. Sure, new-car sales tanked 50%-100% in spots, so dealers figured cutting spend was the only move. But here’s the thing: American car shoppers never hit pause.
Online searches for brands kept rolling, and savvy buyers jumped on huge deals as things bounced back with a vengeance. While the market dipped, some dealers stayed in the game, advertising as much as their budgets allowed. Guess what? They boasted sky-high profits.
Bottom line: Some owners handed over market share on a silver platter. It might take a decade for those customers to cycle back. Lesson learned?
Fast-forward to the summer of 2025. Post-COVID demand exploded at first, fueled by shortages, bottled-up buyer excitement and economic rebounds. But now, things are cooling off.
With U.S. light-vehicle sales projected to hover around 15.4 million-16.4 million units this year, thanks to rising interest rates, tariff worries and supply stabilizing, dealers are navigating a tougher, more crowded arena that echoes those early pandemic vibes.
Apple kicked off the privacy crackdown in 2021 by halting auto-tracking and data-sharing with Google and Facebook, and those changes keep rippling. Conversions are dipping, and CPMs are spiking 50% or more in many cases. Honestly, that’s their tech turf war – not yours. Why get tangled in it and shell out more for weaker results?
Plus, many AI search tools have T-boned Google and others in a big way, leaving Google in distant second place in AI search.
So, what’ve you picked up along the way? Maybe you’ve figured out that chunks of your digital ad spend were kind of wasteful all along? Are you yet reaping the rewards of organic traffic flowing to your site via local TV and streaming video?
Have you crunched the numbers on those “direct leads”? They’re the stuff of dreams; our data shows they close at higher rates and rack up bigger grosses.
If that’s clicking for you, the next step’s clear. Time to climb up the marketing funnel. Bottom-of-the-funnel tactics pull in those end-game shoppers: the price hagglers, the multi-quoters, the tire-kickers. Your profits tell the tale. Direct buyers are on the verge of picking a ride and a spot to buy it. Wouldn’t you rather be their first call? Redirect a solid chunk of your budget upstream. Connect with interested folks before they’re worn out from shopping around.
To make it happen, blend local digital, broadcast TV and OTT from trusted local media. The reach, timing and bang-for-your-buck efficiency beats anything else out there.
While you’re at it, expand your market mindset. Isn’t the whole region your playground now? Ditch the old boundaries and county lines. Shoppers chase value wherever it is – and they’ll buy from anywhere.
Dealers, let’s level up the funnel and reclaim our turf. The moment's here.
