The Value of Video Advertising

For many years, car shoppers had to rely solely on the dealer to get their information whether it is through television, radio or print advertising. In the 1990s the new big thing was auto magazines such as Car and Driver. In the early 2000s when the internet boom began, magazine companies shifted their content online and were competing with 3rd party research websites such as Edmunds.com and KBB.com which made things very difficult. Today, online video is exploding and reaching the in-market shopper is becoming a vital touch point for automotive research, and it’s easier than ever for a dealer to get their content in front of the right people at the right time. With the evolution of online video, dealers have much greater control in how they can get their content online via video advertising. Auto shoppers are consuming more video than ever and according to Google, over half of auto shoppers watch 30 minutes or more while researching online. So how can you get your video content in front of potential customers? I’m glad you asked. We are very fortunate here at TargetClick and Mudd Advertising to have access to arguably the best studio space and production team in the state, if not the Midwest. Along with being able to produce high quality videos, our agency partnership with Google allows us to implement video campaigns very quickly and cost effective on YouTube and the Google display network and reach up to 89% of all online viewers. Not only can we reach a lot of in market shoppers with she video, we can measure the impact. According to studies done by Google, the top two actions taken post-video consumption are:

1. Used my computer to find more information
2. Visited a Dealer

When video is ran alongside a targeted search engine marketing campaign, we are able to capture those searchers in their post video consumption to drive them back to a dealers website so they can get more information. We recently had the opportunity to run video campaigns for over 90 Chrysler dealers to promote the new 2014 RAM 1500 in the Denver and Omaha markets. Not only was there a dramatic lift in website traffic via search to their ramtrucks.com website, but the region experienced a lift in RAM sales by 26% year over year. Better yet, the dealers that were enrolled in our video offering experienced an overall increase in sales by 38% year over year. When looking to enhance your digital marketing efforts beyond just search, display and retargeting, video advertising is a very viable solution that can have immediate impact on a dealership or any business for that matter. For more information on how we can help you, send me an email at doug.drees@mudd.com.