The Dealer Impact Blog » corporate branding

Spike TV readying reality show about turning around car dealers

DI Admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:30:57 +0000

Oh reality TV will you ever end?

Automotive News is reporting that Spike TV is planning to roll out a new reality TV show that orbits around struggling car dealerships. The premise has the show’s two hosts, Tom Stuker and Roe Hubbard, swooping in with just five days to turn lackluster sales into a success story.

via AutoBlog

Social Media Success: 5 Lessons From In-House Corporate Teams

DI Admin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:00:14 +0000

While implementing a successful social media campaign is something to celebrate, longer term, policy-based programs (which may not garner as much immediate publicity) can be even more rewarding.

Here we are highlighting five companies that have enjoyed long term success with their own social media teams and taking a look at some of the measurable returns they have seen as the results of their programs.

Key personnel from within the five companies below (in alphabetical order) have commented on their teams’ successes to offer you an insight into their various processes. Meanwhile, please be sure to let us know in the comments about any other companies that you feel should be recognized for having strong in-house social media teams.

Via: Mashable

Buick Is Creating Brand Ambassadors Via Twitter

DI Admin — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 11:00:01 +0000

In this article from Social Fresh. Automaker Buick is doing its best to create brand advocates in order to revamp and redefine its mature image. Just a quick disclaimer the author of the post is currently working as a Buick Brand Ambassador in Chicago on behalf of the brand.

In an effort to reinvent the brand, Buick knows they have a lot of work to do. They want to trade in the old fuddy-duddy grandpa image that has plagued the brand for the last decade for a hipper more modern brand impression.

In August, AdAge reported Buick was the fastest growing car brand in the US, but they are still struggling to rid the brand of their dated image. It is a large effort that General Motors has undertaken to broaden the appeal of Buick. And just as they have been doing with Chevrolet, they are reaching out to social media to help change the public’s awareness of the brand.

Via: Social Fresh

Stay up to date in this social media revolution — follow @dealerimpact on Twitter and Like our Facebook Page.

5 Tips for Managing Your Companys Brand on the Web

DI Admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 11:00:04 +0000

Brand management in the current era means not just keeping an ever-present eye on the social web, but also engaging in meaningful ways with brand advocates and detractors. Professionals in the field have come to accept social media as crucial to their jobs, but most know that managing a company’s brand on the web is so much more than setting up shop on social sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Here we’ll give you an inside look at the strategies of avant garde industry leaders who’ve spent years figuring out how to move beyond social media hype and implement practical management practices into their daily work routines.

Brad Nelson, Jeremy Thum, Joel Price, Joel Frey and Bowen Payson are all marketers behind big brand names. They’ve done the dirty work. Their lessons and words of wisdom range from finding ways to unify digital assets to knowing your niche, and each tip should be heeded by those looking to follow in their footsteps.

1. Let Someone Else Say It
2. Unify Digital Properties
3. Leave Your Ego Behind
4. Know Your Niche
5. Don’t Wallow or Gloat

Via: Mashable

Just setting up a Twitter and Facebook accounts isn’t enough on today’s social internet honest customer engagement is key to any company’s brand.

We Must Protect This Brand

DI Admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 12:00:10 +0000

In order to create one solid image throughout your customer base, and continue to maintain that image, consistency is critical. A brand will only fracture itself by introducing new “personalities” in each of the spaces it occupies a presence.

If you’re not consistent then your customers have to meet you and get to know you all over again. Not to mention finding you in these spaces turns out to be a lot harder. It turns into a game of ‘50 First Dates’. But trust me – unlike romantic comedies, all does not end well.

Now this is not to say you shouldn’t evolve your brand over time. That is not what I’m talking about. What I am talking about is at one point in time is your brand presenting a united front to its customers in a platform agnostic way? A company’s brand is a very valuable asset and as a social media practitioner it is your responsibility to protect it in the social space. Here are three ways to do just that.

Via: Social Fresh

Protecting your dealership’s brand is paramount in this social networking era. A clear, consistent message will demonstrate to your customers that you are listening making them that much more likely to share their experience.