Auto dealers throughout the US are increasingly turning to a new advertising method that provides significantly greater flexibility and effectiveness at a considerably lower cost. Watchfire’s LED signs have become the new advertising method of choice for many dealerships. Watchfire LED signs offer a flexible, dynamic advertising platform for dealerships to communicate with potential customers already at their doorstep.

With a struggling economy, dealerships have had to look for creative new ways to adapt and innovate to survive. The dealerships at the forefront of this movement have found that installing an outdoor LED sign at their location can provide a key competitive advantage. Bob Ruth Ford in Dillsburg, Pa. installed a Watchfire W-series 19mm LED sign and they are a just one of many examples of how dealerships are using their LED signs and the impact they have seen. “Our Watchfire LED sign allows us to showcase our daily, weekly and monthly specials, highlight our community activity and has increased our floor traffic,” explained Internet Manager Charlie Lyter.

Dealerships, like Bob Ruth Ford, have discovered that unlike other traditional advertising campaigns that can take weeks, if not months to produce and schedule, a Watchfire LED sign can create messages within a matter of minutes and display numerous messages throughout the day. Bill Cole Automall in Bluefield, W.Va. reported they use their Watchfire XVS 19mm LED sign “like a TV commercial,” according to Director of Marketing Mark Warner. He believes the sign is an important marketing tool because it allows the dealership to mirror events they advertise on TV. The dealership’s graphics department produces high-resolution video and animation. “We keep it updated so our customers feel like they are always seeing something new – they never see the same thing twice,” said Warner.

The flexibility of LED sign advertising offers a significant advantage to dealerships as traditional forms of  advertising, like TV commercials, are being seen by fewer and fewer people with the growing popularity of DVR and services like Netflix. Radio and newspaper ads have suffered a similar fate with the popularity of subscription radio services, like Sirius, and the decline of newspaper circulations. Dealerships, like Mike Pruitt Honda in Akron, Ohio, report they have been able to reduce their advertising budget for other mediums since installing their Watchfire XVS 19mm LED sign.

The ability to reduce their advertising budget is a significant advantage for a dealership because advertising is typically their third largest expense, trailing only payroll and rent.. On average, a dealership spends more than $600 on advertising for each new car on their lot. With new car sales down from 2000-2007 levels, it has been more critical than ever for dealerships to explore new advertising options. One of the many benefits of LED signs is their significantly lower cost per thousand impressions, or CPM. This measurement of an ad’s cost-effectiveness, calculated by dividing the cost of the advertisement by the number of people who will see it, is important for understanding an advertisement’s potential return on investment.