While there are many ways to differentiate between advertising types in the marketing world, one of the simplest is also one of the most common: Positive and negative ads. Both are common today, but will lead to very different results and will be used in varying ways depending on your brand, target audience and more.
At Intermark Automotive, we’re happy to provide a variety of automotive marketing services and ads to our clients. Our solutions range from specific services like video production and media placement to vital brand strategies, including marketing psychology – an area that often plays a role in informing the sort of ads you target your audience with, and variables like whether they’re largely positive or negative. While both can have success, those in the car dealership advertising world have generally found that positive ads are more beneficial in this industry. Here’s a quick primer on why this is.
Examples of Positive and Negative Ads
As a basic guide, here are some of the templates out there for positive ads:
- Benefits: The most common type of positive ad is the sort that shows consumers how a given product or service will benefit them. This can involve several different themes, but often tends to trace back to finding ways to differentiate the product or service from others in the industry so it stands out to potential customers. This is very common in the auto advertising industry, where highlighting benefits of various car features is highly successful.
- Aspirational: These are ads that look to consumers who want to add status or be seen in a given way by others, using positive messaging that associates good outcomes with using a brand or product. These ads often utilize influential figures like celebrities or spokespeople.
On the flip side, there are numerous forms of negative ads. We’ve seen many recently during the political cycle, where negative attack ads are frequent. We also see many negative ads in other industries, from those that target competitors in the space to those that hit specific issues or the consequences of a given action (or inaction).
Words Carry Weight
The power of words is much of what’s at play when we discuss positive and negative ads, and within the automotive marketing realm is one of the biggest reasons why positive ads tend to play better. When you use positive words like “easy” or “affordable,” those viewing ads will associate these with your brand. When you use negative words or terms – even if you’re talking about how you help people avoid those themes – you associate them with your company, and some consumers will subconsciously come back to them.
Highlighting Your Strengths
For these reasons, many auto dealership ads do best when they’re positively focused on the benefits they bring. Highlight the strengths you have, not the weaknesses you cover. If you pride yourself in a fast process, say so – don’t say you’re “not slow” or some other term that invokes negativity in any way.
For more on the benefits of positive advertising in the automotive world, or to learn about any of our automotive marketing agency services, speak to the staff at Intermark Automotive today.