Front-Wheel Drive: Auto Show Madness

(Promo) Maybe singing in a Volkswagen Beetle isn’t your idea of a good time. But thousands of people have tried it, and more are likely to when the auto show rolls into Chicago this month.

That’s only the start. Visitors can create their own commercials, do video test-drives and have their pictures taken. And while it all sounds like fun, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

For one thing, the auto market is roiling. Toyota has overtaken DaimlerChrysler as the No. 3 carmaker in the U.S. And it’s on track to move into the No. 2 spot, replacing Ford, which last month posted its worst year in history with a $12.7 billion loss.

And turnout is down at some automotive events. Attendance at last month’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the smallest, but most prestigious of the annual Big Four, declined for a fourth consecutive year. About 700,000 people attended, compared with about 759,300 in 2006.

Yet spending on the shows is holding steady, if only because marketers need to engage consumers at these events. Roughly $200 million was spent this year alone for displays and promotions at the Detroit exhibition.

“The more we keep people in our spaces, the more sales we are going to have,” says Donna Walter, auto show manager for Toyota.

How are they doing that? For one thing, auto brands are capitalizing on the market power of social networking sites.

Take Volkswagen’s Caraoke Dare (its version of karaoke). Consumers can cut loose on one of six tunes displayed on a screen in front of the 2007 Beetle. They can also watch their act simultaneously on the screen. The performances are then posted on YouTube.com and on VWCaraoke.com. And they can be e-mailed to friends.

More than 2,000 people were filmed singing at this year’s Los Angeles and Detroit shows, driving 1,000 visitors a day to the Volkswagen Website. And the firm hopes this pace will continue at upcoming shows, including New York this April.

“It’s just a way to keep people in our space, keep them entertained,” says Cherie Jorgensen, Volkswagen’s auto show specialist. “We want people to have a great experience in getting to know our brand.”

Toyota invites visitors to star in their own commercials. All they have to do is talk about the brand in front of a backdrop featuring images of Toyota vehicles. The results are posted on YouTube and sent home with participants on a DVD. Some of these ads have been viewed up to 1,200 times as of last month.

Toyota, tapping into the pain at the gas pump, is using interactive monitors to test visitors on what they know about its hybrid technology. Participants get branded rubber bracelets and flashlights that Toyota hopes will keep it top of mind.

And the hybrid message is being reinforced by two 52-foot tractor trailers. Those vehicles, which feature interactive exhibits on Toyota’s Prius brand, are stopping at 150 locations during an 18-month run.

Even wilder, Toyota is letting people create their own Scion vehicle at an interactive kiosk and send it on to friends. “People go to an auto show because they want to make their decision before they go to a dealership,” Walter says. “They want to sit and feel and look and touch the cars, and then go home and think about it.”

Building a future
Cars are not sold at the shows, so there is enormous effort put into capturing consumer data for future marketing, a key component in determining the return on investment.

One way to get information is with photo shoots. DaimlerChrysler sets them up for three brands, including Jeep, which it parks amid a backdrop of rugged mountainous terrain. Visitors who get their photos snapped receive a branded card with a code that has to be entered online to redeem the image.

To retrieve the photo online, consumers must provide their name, address, gender and plans for purchasing their next vehicle. More than 260,000 photos were taken last year at autos shows, and almost 75% of them were viewed. Daimler encourages these folks to receive future communications with a prechecked box. EShots, an interactive event marketing firm, runs the photo shoots, for Daimler, as well as others like General Motors. “People love to have their picture taken with a cool car,” says Robert Puffer, manager, shows and events, the Chrysler Group. “Any event we go to, whether it’s for Dodge, Chrysler, or Jeep, we’re trying to collect as much information as we can. We collect quality names and turn those quality names into buyers.”

Other data collection techniques? Sweepstakes.

Hyundai drew people at the Detroit show with a chance to a win a 2007 Santa Fe SUV and held hourly drawings for a picnic blanket. On another part of the floor, Suzuki pitched the giveaway of an XL7. Entry forms included questions about car purchase plans. Both sweepstakes run through April 22.

How did all these consumers feel about doling out their personal information?

One consumer, Debra Lovepeel, didn’t mind sharing information for the Hyundai sweeps. But she sets up special e-mail addresses to control the marketing messages she receives.

“I want to win a new car,” Lovepeel says. “I don’t mind being marketed to, as long as they don’t call me. I give my e-mail address. If it gets annoying, I just hit the spam button.”

Meanwhile, GM used surveys to get more detailed data and awarded a $5 Starbuck’s card to participants. “We want people to have a genuine interest in a product, but not because we are giving something away,” says Timothy J. Peters, GM’s assistant director, auto shows and operations.

Unlike its competitors, Volkswagen doesn’t collect consumer data. The company hopes that its interactive experiences alone will drive people to dealerships.

“Sometimes people feel like they are so pressured,” VW’s Jorgensen says. “We don’t want to be forceful. We just want them to have a good experience. Hopefully, they will go to a local dealer and buy a car.”

Beyond data collection, automakers measure ROI based on attendance and incremental local sales following the show.

Keep in mind
Premiums and giveaways also remind attendees of the experience and the brand. Automakers hand out everything from T-shirts and hats to key chains and CDs.

According to a recent study by the Promotional Products Association International, people’s purchase intent was 25% higher when given a promotional product than with a TV spot at 17%.

“People feel they are walking away with something,” Toyota’s Walter says. “It helps consumers remember the brand and remember where they saw the product.”

Want some other examples of promotional creativity? Here’s a few:

Toyota distributed hats and T-shirts to promote the new Tundra. Scion-branded CD samplers and socks to hold cell phones and MP3 players were also handed out. In all, about 350,000 premiums and branded bags will be distributed at the Big Four shows.

Volkswagen reps offered red-plastic replicas of its GTI model from a makeshift conveyer belt that consumers dressed up with stickers.

DaimlerChrysler plugged the 2008 debut of its Smart car distributing pins and miniature replicas to survey takers.