Winter Sales Event: No Clear Winner

Written by Leif Cefalo (contact - e-mail) -- December 16th, 2008 | Share - Save - E-mail

We know it’s that time of year when we first see it; a Lexus wrapped in a huge red bow could only mean one thing. Lexus’s annual December to Remember sales event is certainly the most recognizable holiday/winter sales event by any measure. But, while the most recognizable, it’s no longer the only one of its kind out there. Traditionally, December is the number one vehicle sales month of the year as dealers try to push out as many model years as possible before the next year’s vehicles hit the showroom floors. Of course with the current state of the economy don’t expect any sales records to be broken this December. However, that won’t stop any of these special sales events, and Lexus has company this year with Acura running its Drive Home for the Holidays event as well as Mercedes Winter Event.

The strange thing though is that only Lexus appears to be spreading the word online with banner ads promoting the December to Remember event while it’s almost impossible to find an ad for Acura or MB. While Lexus is promoting their current sales event, Acura and MB are concentrating their ad efforts on new model launches.

Of course the next logical question is; Has Lexus experienced any significant demand increases based on their dedication to this annual event? So I looked at the daily reach to each of these OEM’s websites over the last month.

What stands out the most here is the big jump in mid-November for Lexus which coincides with the beginning of their sales event advertising. However, we can also see Acura making a significant jump during the same time frame. The trend for all three is the same over time, though. Interest might have peaked during the onset of the events, but they have leveled out and are on somewhat of a downturn recently.

So what’s the conclusion? Is it that Lexus’s sales event is so commonplace now that people simply come to expect it, or is that the current state of the economy has people holding off on new vehicle purchases? I tend to lean towards the lack of online promotion of these sales events being the key factor. We see them plastered all over TV but we hardly see anything online. Perhaps well-placed ads on sites known to be visited by luxury car enthusiasts would be the most effective.

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  1. Ling

    Maybe the traffic doesn’t show it, but Lexus is doing pretty well online. They’ve earned a great following on the internet with partnerships like the one with Fairmont over the Lexus Hybrid Living Suite at The Fairmont San Francisco. Perfect mix of online and offline marketing. People find it online, and if they experience the suite and the car, lemme tell you, its not something you forget. Makes a big impression.


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