Page 13 - On The Move - Volume 18, Issue 3

14.5 million retail sales, this is a staggering share of the When management asked what those dollars spent
car-buying audience walking those show floors.
Based on thousands of surveys conducted annually
with show attendees, the argument for auto shows
only gets stronger. A typical visitor drives up to an
hour; pays for parking, show tickets and concessions;
and spends five hours on the show floor. That is huge
commitment to attend what could be considered one
very long car commercial.
As a result of their show experiences, a stunning
40% of shoppers add one or more brands to their
consideration list. And when they buy, the show
influences their purchase choices — influencing as
many buyers as digital does and having more influence
than other marketing options in the toolbox.
So why, then, are some brands opting out of shows?
Perhaps the first winds of change blew in January
1992, when Bob Lutz and Detroit Mayor Coleman
Young drove a new Jeep Grand Cherokee through a
window at Cobo Center. The stunt, orchestrated by
public relations whizzes, shocked journalists and was
followed by other wildly successful Chrysler press
events. The game was on.
Competitive brands had to raise the stakes. Displays
became increasingly elaborate — and exceedingly
expensive — all to lure auto journalists to freshly
expanded convention centers and dazzling multimedia
launch presentations delivered by company brass.
Then the crash of 2007-08 left financial markets and the
auto industry in ruins, and cost cutting was a matter
of life or death. As the world clawed out of recession,
auto marketers were faced with dual realization in a
new normal:
• Media consumption was shifting to
digital, making the distribution of
content and messaging quick and
inexpensive, and a circuit of journalists
gathering in one place less necessary.
• Exploded budgets led to legitimate
questions about the value equation of
auto shows.
were truly yielding, the answers often came in the
form of media results and lead generations, or spikes
in auto show-driven dealership traffic.
With those types of answers, it might be easy to
conclude that auto shows should be skipped by
some brands. Because if valued solely based on the
numbers of journalists accredited, how many articles
were written or the sales leads generated, one could
conclude that at present investment, auto shows
deliver subpar returns.
But throughout most of their history, auto shows
were not about the media. They were about providing
consumers a low-pressure, pleasant environment in
which to touch, smell, sit in and learn about the latest
offerings in hundreds of new vehicles. About helping
customers down the path from brand awareness to
cross-consideration, shopping, and ultimately, to their
purchase decision.
Every part of this remains as true today as it was more
than a century ago.
There is a strong argument to be made that auto shows
will be even more critical in coming years. The industry
has to persuade consumers to buy the battery-electric
vehicles now churning out of factories.
A recent J.D. Power report reveals that the supply of
BEVs currently outweighs buyer acceptance for them
— and even more supply is on the way. That study also
states that BEV consideration goes up dramatically if
consumers become familiar with them, even by simply
sitting or riding in one.
In a modern world when dealerships increasingly
fall at the end of the shopping process — if they are
not avoided entirely — where can large numbers of
consumers intimately experience, be educated about,
and get comfortable with BEVs?
It is still auto shows, where consumers have been
unwaveringly along for the ride for 121 years — and
counting.
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