Automotive Direct Mail is not a dying way to advertise. Many dealerships have made the mistake of getting rid of more traditional methods of advertising in favor of going all digital. While we are certainly in an age where digital advertising is prevalent and works, people are still checking the mail.

Whereas TV and radio advertising were once king, dealerships are finding that they need a much more robust advertising program than ever before. Just using one method of advertising is a mistake. We’ve seen time and time again with clients that true success is all about best practices – utilizing all advertising channels available to you in the most cost-effective way possible for your business.

Connecting the Dots

When building a great advertising program for your dealership, it’s important to thread everything together coherently so that all your advertising pieces work together. Each of your marketing components should refer customers to another piece.

Over time, you’ll build a sustained network of advertising that contains easily recognizable elements. Some of these elements might include:

• Signature branding (like logo and colors)
• Promotions that are shared across advertising
• Strong calls to action and value that are reflected across each marketing piece
• Connective imagery that can be easily recognized across platforms

Why Do Cross-Platform Automotive Direct Marketing Campaigns Work?

We’ve talked before about the subconscious connections users make when they see your advertising materials. This is why a plan is so important – you need to give users the opportunity to connect your automotive direct mail pieces with other marketing collateral you release.

You can do that by selecting a unifying theme that you use across platforms. For instance, if you’ve assigned a particular person or character to be your “mascot” (think “Martin” the Geico gecko), you should make that character visible across all different forms of marketing.

For instance, you may have a photo shoot with several different shots of your key figure, but you may decide to use one photo for your automotive direct mail pieces, and another for your television spots. You don’t have to advertise on TV, but you do want to select 3-4 advertising methods for your cross channel communication.

As long as you’re using the same figure throughout your marketing pieces, your brand will be easily recognizable. It’s important not to drop one form of marketing in favor of another, when all your marketing efforts help establish your brand. Automotive direct mail is a great way to reach out to customers in addition to digital marketing efforts.