auto dealership:

kwthom said:

My comment was referring to 'pre-pandemic' times. yes, in our small market, there were still the occasional Saturday morning remote.

Today? Nope, long gone - even in a market of this size.

Now, perhaps in a much smaller market, it may still exist. Only because the old-time radio station owner and the old-time car dealership general manager are brothers-in-law, or some such.

Click to expand...

Here in market 217 (Hanover-Lebanon-White River Jct.), one dealership dominates radio advertising to the point that the TOH ID at one of the two country stations is preceded by "From the Ford of Claremont studios ...," and remotes are held to hype seasonal sales both there and at its sister Chrysler/Dodge/Ram/Jeep place. Their ads, which run on both stations (separately owned) are screamers that probably sound just the same as they did in the '80s or earlier.

kwthom said:

My comment was referring to 'pre-pandemic' times. yes, in our small market, there were still the occasional Saturday morning remote.

Today? Nope, long gone - even in a market of this size.

Now, perhaps in a much smaller market, it may still exist. Only because the old-time radio station owner and the old-time car dealership general manager are brothers-in-law, or some such.

Click to expand...

Totally agree. Remotes are one of those few things that separate radio from digital advertising to a client. Talking with a car dealer manager once, he stated that if a live remote sells even one or two cars, then he considers it worth it. Certainly as compared with Farsebook ads. The problem now is; between supply chain and a possible recession, car dealers aren't desperate to get inventory off their lot(s) because either they simply don't have inventory ("reserve your XXXXX car today!"), or they've cut back sales staff numbers so even if a remote brought customers in, there aren't enough sales folks to show cars that may or may not be there.
Many times remotes were thrown-in to keep an existing long-standing contract renewed.

Kelly A said:

Many times remotes were thrown-in to keep an existing long-standing contract renewed.

Click to expand...

My suspicion would be that's exactly how things worked here. Some of the ads have returned, but the big dealers? Nope, hardly anything at all.

I suspect people that are listening to the radio also have social media, and can figure out where the Big 3 dealerships are located.

kwthom said:

My suspicion would be that's exactly how things worked here. Some of the ads have returned, but the big dealers? Nope, hardly anything at all.

I suspect people that are listening to the radio also have social media, and can figure out where the Big 3 dealerships are located.

Click to expand...

Many people also shop differently now. For the last 2 cars I bought I wasn't loyal to any dealership or brand (though I realize many people are). In one particular case I had an SUV that was great to drive, but horrible on gas mileage so I looked on the internet to see which vehicles had the best fuel mileage. A GM product was best in class for the size/type of vehicle I wanted, I really liked the look of both the interior and exterior of it, I looked at KBB to find out what I should receive in trade for my SUV, and went to another site to determine what I should pay for the new vehicle for the model and options I wanted, based on what others in my area had recently paid. I used that same site to find out which dealerships in my area had stock, and off I went.

No giant helium balloons above a dealership or 90 ft. long American flags or bright neon signs along the highway listing their sales or even radio remotes drew me in. My internet-based research did.

Mikey Radio said:

No giant helium balloons above a dealership or 90 ft. long American flags or bright neon signs along the highway listing their sales or even radio remotes drew me in. My internet-based research did.

Click to expand...

The Internet has been a gift and a curse when it comes to car dealers. Savvy buyers will find sites that either find cars at other dealers at a discounted price in which to hold the local dealership's feet to the fire, or some that even list the dealer cost on vehicles. Like I said though, dealers aren't cutting sweetheart deals now, mainly because they aren't paying city or state taxes for inventory sitting on the lot. Everything's a factory order now, so discounts are slim to none.

Here in the Phoenix metro virtually all auto advertising is done by brands (manufacturers), not specific dealerships with very few special exceptions like "Big Mother Trucks" and "Buy Here, Pay Here" on Spanish outlets. In the very few minutes I've spent listening to the car radio I don't recall hearing any commercials for vehicles.

landtuna said:

Here in the Phoenix metro virtually all auto advertising is done by brands (manufacturers), not specific dealerships

Click to expand...

Sure, those are national ads purchased through agencies. Local auto ad buys were in many cases, direct from the local dealership. Those buys have pretty much dried up. That's a HUGE problem for your local TV and radio station, because automotive was considered bread-and-butter.

landtuna said:

with very few special exceptions like "Big Mother Trucks" and "Buy Here, Pay Here" on Spanish outlets.

Click to expand...

And much of those spots are used car lots with 'easy credit terms'. Generally the commitment for a long standing ad contract are slim to none, and are lower end of rate. But these days, local stations take what they can get.

My station still does remotes but they're not go out there and read through the copy. We have substantial giveaways including $100 cash and gift cards at various businesses, interviews and usually some free food. We average about one a month, not anything like the old days but these are events.

If I was in a major metro, I'd say the remote is dead. And car dealers? They've been pretty scarce on radio stations I've worked the past few years, mostly preferring TV and online.

b-turner said:

If I was in a major metro, I'd say the remote is dead. And car dealers? They've been pretty scarce on radio stations I've worked the past few years, mostly preferring TV and online.

Click to expand...

That's assuming dealers have any inventory to sell.