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Lincoln highlights location to drive end-of-year dealership traffic

Lincoln is relying on mobile advertising to drive consumers to dealerships for an end-of-year marketing push that is aimed at showing off the brand?s sedan and crossover cars.

The ads promote Lincoln?s 2013 MKS and MKX car models. The ads are running inside several mobile sites, including Accuweather and the New York Post.

?With the ad representing a sales event it is important to include a way to contact a dealer, and search for the inventory at the dealer of choice, with the well-done glamour shots of the cars, the timing of the season and having this ad running on a weather site its seems perfectly appropriate that they would be able to entice consumers to view their inventory in person," said Marci Troutman, CEO of Siteminis, Atlanta.

"The purpose of this ad is very clear and there isn?t any other action items to deter from their main goal ? get consumers to click to look at the cars, find a dealer and search for the inventory of choice a that dealer."

Ms. Troutman is not associated with Lincoln. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

Lincoln did not respond to press enquiries.

Mobile traffic
Creative for the mobile ad encourages users to tap to find out more about Lincoln?s Wish List Sales Event.

The ads expand into full-page units with a slide show that users can browse through to view more photos from the MKS and MKX lines.

Additionally, the bottom of the ad has two calls-to-action that can be clicked on to either find a nearby dealer or search inventory.

Although mobile commerce continues to grow, one of the primary goals for the automotive industry is to drive consumers to dealerships where they can see the cars in person.

Therefore, including a dealership locator is a smart way for Lincoln to drive foot traffic.

When users click to find a dealership, they are directed to Lincoln?s mobile site where they can enter their ZIP code to find nearby dealerships.

Similarly, the dealer inventory button lets users widdle down their results by car type and location to find specific models.

The site also lets users request a quote and view a showroom of different car models.

End-of-year push
Lincoln also used mobile advertising last year to push its end-of-year sale.

The company ran an in-app mobile advertising campaign that let users watch videos and find nearby dealerships. The campaign also included Web and television spots (see story).

Lincoln also recently went through a big rebranding. To promote its new brand message, the company pushed out a multichannel campaign that spanned Web, mobile and TV (see story).

In addition to driving foot traffic, research is also a big focus in automotive marketing.

Therefore, following users across multiple mediums is key nowadays for marketers to connect with consumers.

"I see automotive brands starting to understand the mobile ecosystem better in 2013 and start to break away from taking all things Web, mobile, tablet, social and push/pull-related and dumping them all in one bucket, but rather pulling apart and placing a real strategy for mobile in place that would enhance their brands across the mobile front that is continually evolving," Ms. Troutman said.

"Building up a social fan base for loyalty consumers in a specific area for dealers would be one way, targeting consumer driven marketing to a brands base of consumers for items needed would be another," she said.

"For example, Mercedes dealers know their consumers inside and out ? when they need an oil change, when they need a certain maintenance, etc ? using mobile advertising to enhance the notice with an upsell as the mechanic noticed their car could use an upgrade to an optional item is a great way to engage a personal dialogue through mobile and gain a better traction with their consumers."

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York