Moving Cars at Christmas

Let me say right from the start that I am pro-Christmas. The lights, the festivities, the fun. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. As retailers have used Christmas as a reason to open stores on Thanksgiving and stay open 24 hours in December and introduce doorbuster into everyday English, I've wondered to what degree people were actually spending more money.

That brings me to some recent ads I have seen on TV and online from auto manufacturers. For years, Lexus has held a "December to Remember" sales event where it airs television commercials with very lucky individuals receiving a Lexus for Christmas, usually with a giant red bow on the new car parked in the driveway as it snows gently outside.

Other manufacturers are taking notice. Just this week, I noticed an ad online for Lincoln, which tied buying five of its models to Christmas wish lists.

I hate to be a scrooge, but I've always had a difficult time believing that someone would buy someone else a car, as a Christmas present. Cars cost a lot of money. And if someone is going to spend that much, then it's probably a safe assumption that they are going to want to buy a car with the features and colors that the recipient is going to like best. Someone would have to be really, really nice in my circle to receive a new car as a Christmas present. But looking at Lexus's car sale numbers during the past two Christmas seasons, maybe I had the "December to Remember" all wrong.

According to data I found at www.lexusenthusiast.com, Lexus sold 12,678 vehicles last December, compared with 9,188 in November 2010 and 5,561 in January 2011. The data for December 2009 follows the same pattern. Color me very surprised.

Despite the numbers, a recently released report says that holiday ads for car sales are ineffective, according to an article from Advertising Age.

The tactic is a time-worn strategy of connecting the happiness and warmth of gift-giving with automobiles. Said Peter Daboll, the CEO of Ace Metrix, an advertising evaluation firm that conducted the survey and released the report:

Many automotive brands have stepped away from good creative and fallen back on 'Buy it now, you idiot' messaging wrapped up in sales events and bows.

I'm curious to hear some feedback from members of the site: What are your experiences related to Christmas-themed car sales? Do they move more vehicles? Or are they wastes of time? Do most people buying gifts for a loved one (am I wrong to assume that the car is for a loved one? Seems like someone is over-reaching if they buy a Lexus for the mailman) finance their purchases or pay cash?

Tags: christmas, holiday, lexus., luxury, sales

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Comment by Frank Rauscher on December 15, 2011 at 11:43am: You may find that end-of-year discounts/dealer & factory rebates, factory sales contests,etc to clear out 2011 inventory are a good reason to buy cars cars in December; and end-of-year financial numbers are very important to bank credit officers which means that manufacturers and dealers have an added incentive. The public understands this is a good time to buy a 2011 vehicle for sure and may be a good time for 2012's.

Additionally, some trucks and large SUV's may qualify for IRS deductions of full write-off or faster depreciation which has been in place for years past and probably will end this year. If a buyer has a choice to buy in December or January, it could make tax sense to buy in December.

And there are people that do give cars for Xmas gifts. Just look at upscale geo-codes to look for clues.

These are people that may get big bonuses (look at "heavy jewelry" sales from Tiffany's as an example of big ticket gifts from the 1% crowd).

Awareness can be created by touching people just as you were touched enough to write your post. Car buying is not all rational - emotions play a big role.

Good post!

Comment by Marcie Belles on December 15, 2011 at 12:44pm: Got me thinking... Is it just luxury cars that are bought as holiday gifts? Seems like the commercials are mostly for higher-end vehicles.

Comment by Frank Rauscher on December 15, 2011 at 1:01pm: Higher end vehicles have the most profit margin (therefore bigger discounts/rebates/advertising allowance) in them; however,someone may have access to car sales data bases to better answer your question.

Comment by Chas Roscow on December 15, 2011 at 10:22pm: It seems odd that any firm would spend expensive ad dollars for an ad that applied to less than one-tenth of one percent of the population. But the objective of the ad is not to increase the number of people writing to Santa in December. The objective is brand-awareness. It gets the consumer thinking about "how nice would that be to..." Later on in life...when contemplating a vehicle purchase...that feeling will come back as emptiness - giving rise to the consumer's desire to "obtain that Lexus they never got for Xmass". Pretty simple right? These mind games are outlined in brilliant fashion by Jack Trout & Al Reis in their marketing classic "Positioning - The Battle For Your Mind". This is pretty much standard required reading in most MBA programs. And this book is so fun to read. Not too thick...just 22 or so mind-opening strategic ways to manipulate perceptions in your favor. Read that book...you will thank me. I've read it about 5 times. You can read it on 2 or 3 evenings. Sorry if I come across as some sort of know-it-all...but this is an area of interest to me and one which I've spent many hours self-teaching myself the mysterious ways of corporate marketing.

Comment by Chas Roscow on December 15, 2011 at 10:24pm: You will love the story about Scope VS Listerine.

Comment by Marcie Belles on December 16, 2011 at 1:31am: Thanks, Chas. I'll check it out.

Comment by Chas Roscow on December 21, 2011 at 12:54pm: I should mention too that December is a traditional high sales month - and the ads are indeed also targeted to those who may purchase in December...not just brand recognition.

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