Trendsetters BMW & GMC Using the Web to Drive Sales

Today's larger, progressive companies are investing millions of dollars into discovering how to deliver their message effectively to consumers via the Internet. For smaller businesses with smaller budgets, the dollars that larger corporations sink into bolder internet marketing campaigns are like free internet marketing lessons without risk or expense.

While your company may not be as large as those mentioned in this article, the following scalable examples illustrate how moving even a small portion of your marketing budget over to Internet Marketing can translate into noticeable returns for your company.

BMW Takes Hollywood Online

6.5 years ago on bmwfilms.com BMW released and distributed a stunt-filled, action mini-film series called "The Hire" starring actor Clive Owen (Sin City and The Bourne Identity). Guided by such directors as John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Hulk, Brokeback Mountain), Wong Kar-Wai, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo (Mission Impossible II), and Joe Carnahan, this was unquestionably a big-budget Hollywood style production.

The 8-part series, each directed by a different director, won numerous awards and received accolades from the New York Times and Time Magazine. The result: over 100 Million film views translating into approximately 1.9 million film views per month over its 4.5 year run which ended in October of 2005. Though the series is no longer available for download, various websites still sell the DVD 6.5 years after it first debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.

If these films released via non-traditional media such as television, the statistics would have been less accurate and much more time-consuming and expensive to track. Imagine if those films made just 1% or 1 Million of those viewers curious enough to visit a BMW showroom. If even 1% of those 1 Million leads purchased a vehicle at an average vehicle cost (est.) of $50,000.00 USD that translates into $500 million USD of additional sales over 4.5 years; just over $111 Million a year of additional revenue.

Sure, few companies have the budget that BMW has but try scaling it all down and finding a unique way to present your own products online that will excite your target market and leave your competition in the dust. The lesson here is thinking outside the box.

GMC Uses Traditional Media to Support Online Campaign

For the last 3 years, GMC has been working with creative company Digitas - the National Football League (NFL), and the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) - to power an online interactive campaign for GMC.com. Mary Kubitskey, national advertising manager for GMC had this to say about the decision to move advertising dollars online: "Any day I'll trade traditional media money for something nontraditional. Digitas did a great job in putting together a promotion, and we feed the promotion with traditional media." The campaign is a direct result of the company moving a larger percentage of its advertising dollars online.

She also added, "As with all our traditional marketing advertising, we're trying to go more digital. It's not a surprise that 30-second ads aren't working like they used to, and this gave us an opportunity to interact with NFL fans and football. I spend too many hundreds of millions of dollars in traditional media and broadcast 30-second spots and it's getting hard to see that money work for us. So we're engaging Digitas to keep trying to bring us what's new."

Bigger companies are starting to realize that traditional media doesn't have the same bite as it used to so they're thinking of ways to use traditional means in conjunction with newer online strategies to advertise effectively. Think of ways you can use your existing locations or marketing mediums to augment or enhance a web marketing campaign.

By Michael Dela Cruz.

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GMC Sierra Crafted To Do Good

The GMC is a brand of vehicles, cars, and trucks that has constantly and continually been described as the “Professional Grade”. At present, this vehicle brand is the truck manufacturing division of the General Motors Corporation, and this brand also manufactures and markets various kinds of trucks. These trucks could actually range from the light duty pickup trucks to sport utility vehicles to medium duty commercial trucks. Some models that are sold under this brand include the GMC Sierra, the GMC Savana, the GMC Safari, the GMC Envoy, and the GMC Yukon.

However, before this brand became a part of the whole General Motors Corporation, GMC has been known as the Grabowski Motor Company. This company is the manufacturer of the earliest commercial trucks in the automotive business. Come 1909, General Motors then purchased this line of vehicles. Later, this then became the basis of the present line of vehicles that we know today. In 1912, the trucks that were manufactured by the General Motors Company was known to be the “GMC Truck”, however come the year 1996, these vehicles then carried the name and brand “GMC”. At present times, this line of vehicles produce and craft medium duty trucks, stylish light duty pickup trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles.

One of the vehicles that run under the GMC brand and mark is the GMC Sierra. The latest vehicle model has been redesigned just for the year 2006. The newest vehicle boasts of new and improved features for its exterior and interior. It also sports a bolder look for its front end. The interior of the GMC Sierra has an improved function and appearance. It also has brakes that received the latest upgrades. This vehicle offers an array of the best and advanced engineering features among its segment, thus also providing a better and quality ride. As per functionality, this vehicle would not want to be left behind in the dust, for it has been given the capacity and capability to do hauling and towing.

This vehicle comes with either as a two wheel drive or a four wheel drive. It has also been manufactured in light duty models and medium duty power capacities. It as short bed and long bed bodies. There is also a choice between fenders or full width beds. The GMC Sierra also has an electronically controlled four wheel steering system, which is known as the Quadrasteer. This enhances the vehicle’s ability to do high speed with great stability. There are many options that come along with this vehicle. The list includes a special full length console with concealed storage for a personal digital assistant or PDA, a cellular phone, a seven quart cooler, as well as a cooled or heated cup holder.

By Terry Brown.