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.
Visit the Blog about gmc washington dc2008 GMC Yukon Review - A Review of the 2008 GMC Yukon SUV
The 2008 GMC Yukon is a favorite choice among large SUVs because of its attractive interior, comfortable cabin and strong towing ability. Its strengths also lie in its smooth powertrains, comfort, and accommodation capabilities. It is an ideal vehicle especially for large families seeking the convenience and luxury of a traditional full-size SUV.
The '08 Yukon has two available trim levels namely the base SLE and the SLT. The SLE trim comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, foglamps, full power accessories, front bucket seats with a console, OnStar telematics, keyless entry, a six-way power driver seat, dual-zone air-conditioning, a trip computer, and an eight-speaker CD audio system with satellite radio, an auxiliary input jack and rear-seat controls. Meanwhile, SLT1 adds leather seating, triple-zone automatic climate control, a six-disc CD changer, power-adjustable pedals, remote vehicle start, rear parking assist and the "Turn-by-Turn" navigation feature for the OnStar. However, the SLT2 adds a premium Bose sound system, 12-way heated front seats, power-folding mirrors with turn signals and a 50/50-split third-row seat. On the other hand, the superior Yukon Denali include all of the features mentioned plus a unique grille, 18-inch alloy wheels, an adaptive suspension, a power liftgate, and heated second-row captain's chairs.
The 2008 Yukon is packed with a variety of engines to choose from. The most popular is the 5.3 V8 engine with GM's cylinder deactivation technology for fuel economy. Yukon SLEs may have a 4.8-liter V8 with 295 horsepower and 305 pound-feet of torque or a 5.3-literV8 generating 320 hp and 340 lb-ft of torque. The SLE can tow up to 8,200 pounds. Buyers may also have a choice of two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.
Safety features like antilock disc brakes, stability control and full-length side curtain airbags with a rollover sensor are standard in all '08 Yukons. Moreover, the Yukon scored a five-star rating in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The 2008 GMC Yukon is a quiet cruiser equipped with a suspension that guarantees a comfortable ride even on bumpy roads, making it one of the best SUVs in town.
By Shaun John Bourne.
