Strategy: Mike Smith Honda

The Problem:

Alone, deep within the "bad" seedy part of town far from the glitzy auto malls, sat the Mike Smith Honda automobile dealership. Few consumers considered Mike Smith Honda for their new automobiles. The dealership was severely struggling.

How does one convince consumers that the advantages of shopping at Mike Smith Honda significantly outweigh the clear disadvantages? My marketing solution was to distinguish this dealership by giving them a powerful, unique selling point that would turn its greatest weakness into its greatest strength. Thus, I gave them the slogan:

"Dumb Location. Low Overhead. Heaveny Deals. ...Mike Smith's Honda Heaven."

Many dealerships claim the lowest price only to be betrayed by the luxurious showroom which alerts customers to the hefty markups required to pay for the glamour. In contrast, Mike Smith Honda's slogan explained how the dealership is genuinely able to offer a vehicle for less than the competition – their low overhead was evident! Consumers understood this message. Immediately, upon the new advertising campaign launching, MikeSmith Honda's in-store traffic skyrocketed.

Next, the objective became transferring these new customers into ongoing revenue streams as service center customers. Dealership service centers carry the stigma of having inflated prices on negligible repairs. Distrust is rampant among consumers.

To generate service center business, I needed to find a way to humanize the dealership and establish an image that would make the service center likable and trustworthy.
 
My marketing solution was to build self-deprecating ads around the people who work in the service center. This challenge was solved with the campaign theme:

THE RESULT:

With the launch of these multi-media campaigns, Mike Smith Honda attained and maintained a position as either the top, or second highest, selling Honda dealership in San Diego.