16-Jul-10 9:00 AM CST

Radio Creative : Automotive Promotion

Radio Lounge does not believe in copy-cat advertising, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t stretch into a more global approach to selling your products and services. We are constantly amazed by the dozens of automotive advertisers that use the same “screaming” formula over and over. In most cases, they have either read a book, got some bad advice from an industry colleague, or are just too afraid to take their radio creative to a next level. In Great Britain, Volvo has given potential buyers the opportunity to sit in their cars, while enjoying a classic movie, aka: drive in. Volvo asked interested parties to pay $40 to sit in the car. Here’s a clue of how on-target this promotion was. The first two screenings of Dirty Dancing and Grease were gone within thirty seconds of being available via the internet. Check out the article, “Volvo Parks Brits at the Drive-In Movie”, posted in Advertising Age, by Emma Hall. Time to wake up automotive advertisers, it isn’t the screaming, or the senseless offers that sells your cars, it’s getting creative and trying something new.