Digital Is the New “Traditional”
Introducing DealerFire Academy
Have you ever taken a step back from a holiday and asked yourself “Just what in the hell am I doing?” Whose bright idea was it to set off small explosives to commemorate the hanging of a new calendar? Am I really waiting for a giant rabbit to hatch and hide water-colored eggs in the backyard? Why are we gathered around a dead tree we purposely propped up in the living room to see what some chubby cat burglar left behind?
Tradition! That’s why.
Every tradition starts as a strange new ritual. As natural as beer-canning a turkey may seem now, there was once a bunch of belt-buckle-hat-wearing people who preferred spending their third Thursday of November churning butter, just as tradition dictated. But, along came the Lions, the Packers, and six-legged turkeys. The new became tradition, and anything short is heresy.
Now think about your dealership’s marketing spend. Do you favor old conventions — television, print, and radio — because they’re the most effective ways to reach consumers today or because they’re simply what you know?
Digital Marketing: The New Norm
Hopefully this doesn’t hit you as a wake-up call, but right now, digital is the new norm. That is to say, if you’re not allocating a healthy chunk of marketing spend toward digital — your website, digital retail, content marketing, paid search, and social — then you just aren’t making yourself available to consumers in the places they go the most. And that’s really the point.
We aren’t simply telling you to hit up a rising generation of eccentric millennial new jacks who are just coming into their own either. Even my 75-year-old mother is buying clothes online, from her tablet, while simultaneously texting party popper emojis on my birthday (thanks, Mom ). Point is, people of all ages are adapting. Is your dealership following suit?
The Digital Dealership Starts Here
As the times change, the good news is that it’s our job to help. We keep our ear to the ground and finger on the pulse to ensure dealers like you stay informed, relevant, and visible. In that vein, we’re bringing you DealerFire Academy, a series of one-day events aimed squarely at you to shine light on the digital marketplace. So whether you’re a rookie looking for a way to get your feet wet or already waist-deep in it but want to refine your tactics, DealerFire Academy has something for you.
Our first stop takes us to the Mecca of technology, Google headquarters (aka, the Googleplex) in Silicon Valley, California. Three of our top men join two resident Google Experts for a series of sessions breaking down topics such as digital retail, marketing attribution, how to use YouTube at your dealership, and more. And if you decide to join us, we’ll keep you fed and entertained with food, drinks, and DealerSocket and Google gear.
After we break camp in NorCal, we will do it all over again five days later down south in the home of Ron Burgundy and Shamu, San Diego, California. In addition to the same DealerFire geniuses, we’ll see if we can’t sneak out at least one Google Expert with us as well as add another compelling voice to the dialogue (details coming soon).
Better Than Churning Butter
If you’re interested in getting your dealership’s digital act together or building on what you’ve already started, sign up and join us. Come see how digital is the new traditional — that is unless you prefer churning butter.
Details and registration available here:
DealerFire Academy at Google HQ in Mountain View, Calif., Aug. 10
DealerFire Academy at The Pendry in San Diego, Calif., Aug. 15