We interviewed many vendors during NADA 2017 to hear what they think is ahead for the auto industry. Check out our interview with VinSolutions.

*The thoughts and opinions expressed by interviewees do not reflect the opinions of DrivingSales. These interviews are purely editorial content and are not sponsored by any party.

We interviewed many vendors during NADA 2017 to hear what they think is ahead for the auto industry. Check out our interview with Team Velocity Marketing.

*The thoughts and opinions expressed by interviewees do not reflect the opinions of DrivingSales. These interviews are purely editorial content and are not sponsored by any party.

For the most part, people are done either gloating or being down in the dumps about the results of the Super Bowl. But something that we haven’t forgotten is the commercials! They’re now running on regular TV or you’re seeing them before you watch YouTube.

Many of you filled out our survey asking which one was the biggest win, and the biggest flop, of the automotive commercials. After getting tons of responses, we’re confident enough to tell you who did the best, and who fell a little short.

Winners: Hyundai, Kia, Ford, and Audi.

These commercials couldn’t be more different; proving that it can be difficult to predict which type of ad will perform the best.

• Kia’s ad was a slapstick, laugh-out-loud commercial featuring Melissa McCarthy, and was the top winner, suggesting that comedy still rules the day when done right.

• Hyundai showed a highly sentimental and feel-good commercial about the military and their families, invoking a strong sense of community and country.

• Ford had a mix of sentimental and comedy with their “Go Further” commercial. The ad was also very relatable, making many people enjoy it even more.

• Audi chose to produce a emotional, and fairly political ad, about equal pay for women. They used a father/daughter scenario to tell the story.

Interestingly enough, some of the “winners” are also on the “loser” list! Why is this? Oftentimes popular commercials are also divisive, making people have a strong reaction either for or against them. Having marketing that is polarizing is often a win for companies, because it means that people are talking about the product or brand all the way around the board.

Losers: Alfa Romeo, Kia, Audi, and Honda.

• Alfa Romeo had 3 spots in the Super Bowl, totaling 120 seconds of airtime. Unfortunately, the ads all just looked like a regular luxury vehicle ad, and didn’t really stand out or seem impressive.

• Again, Kia and Audi hit their mark by having divisive ads, in a way forcing people to either love or hate them because of their strong presence.

• Honda unfortunately missed the mark even though they featured a wide range of celebrity cameos. This proves that it’s more about the content of the commercial than the celebs you get to appear!

But whether the commercial overall was a home run, or a dropped ball (I’m mixing my sports metaphors here…) the reality is that having a coveted Super Bowl spot results in an increase in traffic.

In the eight minutes following their commercial, visits to Alfa Romeo pages on Cars.com saw an incredible 1,179 percent increase in comparison to the same period prior to the airing of the spot, illustrating the big impact of their Super Bowl ad.

In comparison to Cars.com traffic over the four prior Sundays, automotive brands who advertised during the Super Bowl saw the following lifts to their advertised model pages:

• Alfa Romeo Giulia – 7,320 percent
• Audi S5 – 1,391 percent
• Buick Cascada – 424 percent
• Buick Encore – 59 percent
• Honda CR-V – 35 percent
• Kia Niro – 497 percent
• Lexus LC 500 – 861 percent
• Lexus LS 460 – 888 percent
• Mercedes-Benz AMG GT – 910 percent

So here’s to waiting for next year’s commercials to see what the manufacturers will come up with!

Congratulations to Maggie Pugesek for having the top DrivingSales blog in January 2017. Her blog titled Building Rapport Over The Phone talks about how to help employees create connections with customers over the phone. We caught up with Maggie to learn more about phone interactions, and why building that rapport is so important.

Penske Automotive will soon be letting go of more than 160 employees.

The layoffs affect employees at Penske vehicle service locations including Detroit, Pontiac, Milford, Warren and Lansing, according to a release the company sent into the state's WARN site.

Penske says this morning that due to the loss of a contract with General Motors, they'll no longer be providing certain fleet and or transportation services for the automaker.

That could result in the permanent layoff of more than 165 employees at locations across southeast Michigan.
The layoffs would be effective April 1.

In addition to the cities mentioned earlier, the company's location in Grand Blanc will close, too.

We interviewed many vendors during NADA 2017 to hear what they think is ahead for the auto industry. Check out our interview with Spireon.

*The thoughts and opinions expressed by interviewees do not reflect the opinions of DrivingSales. These interviews are purely editorial content and are not sponsored by any party.

Have you seen the most popular blogs from last month? 

1. Building Rapport Over the Phone
By Maggie Pugesek

Having a process for handling phone calls ensures you not only have a clear understanding of your goals, but also a path to reach them.

2. Why Educating Car Shoppers Is So Important!
By Russ Chandler

The complex dynamics of the automotive industry are what greatly affect the availability, price and depreciation of vehicles.  

3. 4 Things You Need To Know About Customer Surveys 
By Maddy Low

One thing that you can do with the time that you have customers inside your dealership not actively shopping or participating, is hand them a survey. 

4. Why You Need a Better Goal for 2017 than Simply “Sell More Cars”
By Jim Douglas

With so many things out of dealers control, even if you do sell more cars you’re not guaranteed to make more money. Just for fun, how about 3 things dealers have no control over that impact sales. 

5. Top 3 Marketing Companies to Visit at NADA 
By Brad Paschal

If you missed NADA, here are the cutting edge companies you missed visiting. 

Do you work in a franchise dealership? Are you a director level or higher? Do you love DrivingSales and want to be more involved with the events?

If you answered YES to these questions, you're the perfect candidate for our DrivingSales Dealer Panel. 

Being on the Dealer Panel means you'll pick speakers for DSES, Canadian Dealer Forum, and President's Club. You'll also direct the dialogue of these events, be the voice of change and improvement, and much more! We're looking for people who want to be engaged in our community, and really influence the industry as a whole. You'll get an inside look at DrivingSales, as well as other aspects of automotive.

As a thank-you, you'll get free passes for each of the events that you're involved with.

We will review your application and contact those who meet our requirements.

Unfortunately, you won't be allowed to be a speaker at our event if you are on the Dealer Panel. 

We interviewed many vendors during NADA 2017 to hear what they think is ahead for the auto industry. Check out our interview with Revive where we discuss their product rPLATE, the world's first digital license plate, digital marketing, and more!

*The thoughts and opinions expressed by interviewees do not reflect the opinions of DrivingSales. These interviews are purely editorial content and are not sponsored by any party.

We interviewed many vendors during NADA 2017 to hear what they think is ahead for the auto industry. Check out our interview with Kerrigan Advisors.

*The thoughts and opinions expressed by interviewees do not reflect the opinions of DrivingSales. These interviews are purely editorial content and are not sponsored by any party.