Automotive Advertising Tips From “The Car Guys” at JKR
Three tips to increase traffic:
Over 50 years of combined success in the automotive advertising world allows us to share our indisputable knowledge with dealers out there, who are just getting started or still figuring it out. Follow our lead. We make market leaders.
Whenever possible, retain an outside perspective of your current advertising strategy. We offer a free, no-obligation comprehensive analysis of your current situation, and our highly skilled Account Executives offer suggestions for immediate improvement.
Question everything! Whatever you do, if you can’t clearly see it working, it’s not. Stop wasting your money, energy, and time on it.
Take the JKR digital challenge! Here’s the third and probably the most valuable tip we can offer in today’s e-newsletter. The JKR digital challenge: You could be receiving better service for less, and much higher ROI.
Congratulations to the talented team at Williams Kia in Traverse City for doubling their sales in February 2021! From 20 cars to 40 Cars in less than 30 days! Wow!
Since 2014 Williams Kia averaged less than 20 new Kias per month through 2020. They hired JKR in February 2021 and sold 40 cars the same month! Even better is the used car average and “Gross Per Vehicle Sold” also increased!
JKR is thrilled to represent Williams Kia of Traverse City and hope to for many successful years to come! We’re looking forward to another record breaking month!
If you manage a dealership, call us today to learn more about how we can help you too. Although, we only represent one dealer in any given market, so if your dealership is in a market where we already represent a dealer, you’ll be offered a position on our waiting list. Also important to note: You can test-drive us for free, with no obligation to spend a dollar. We will go to work & design the most effective strategy for your dealership, in your market.
Learn how you can see your dealership’s sales increase as well. Contact JKR today by calling us at (321) 397-0777 or email carguys@jkrads.com. We want to discuss your dealership goals today.
Today more than ever, traditional AM/FM radio continues to be a cost-effective advertising option for America’s automobile dealers. Because of this, a tremendous working relationship has developed between iHeartMedia and JKR Advertising & Marketing … leading to the media giant honoring the automotive advertising leader as one of its top partners.
Key iHeartMedia executives hosted JKR Partners Jeff Johnson, Richard Brauns, Kevin Baumann and Jon Albert in New York this past week, recognizing them for their work.
“It was amazing to hear JKR’s partners talk about why they love radio, how they see the evolution of radio over the past several years and why they continue to recommend it,” said Jonathan Faulkner, iHeartMedia Senior Vice President of Digital. “They understand that broadcast radio drives consideration and awareness.”
The wide-reaching scope of iHeart (it owns more than 850 stations nationwide), along with radio’s ability to affordably target large numbers of specific listeners multiple times, make iHeartRadio a valuable advertising tool for JKR’s clients. In fact, it is so effective that JKR ranked second in Tier III (local/dealer) automotive agency in the United States for iHeartRadio advertising placement.
“It was very interesting to see the impressive research the iHeart executives prepared for us,” Johnson said. “We were able to see how JKR compared to other agencies, not only in terms of media billing but also how remarkable our schedules were in causing a significant lift in our clients’ Web traffic.”
In addition to Faulkner, JKR met with John Mackenzie, Divisional Vice President of Automotive, Midwest and Southeast; Joie Davis, Vice President of Automotive, North Florida; Cameron Brown, Division Vice President – Digital Sales; and Nancy Andreatas, Senior Account Manager.
JKR Automotive Advertising: The car dealer ad agency.
JKR Advertising & Marketing has won a 2019 Telly Award in the Local TV & Local Cable category for its parody advertisement “Painting with Rob”. The ad was exceptionally popular with JKR’s clients, airing in numerous media markets throughout the country. This is the fourth consecutive year the agency has won a Telly Award.
The 30-second spot, which debuted last October, features actor Rob Iberg dressed as everyone’s favorite television artist – including the signature hairstyle – painting the happiest automobile dealership in the land. The ad took home top honors in the “Craft – Use of Humor” category.
“While the chief objective of everything we do is helping our clients sell cars through our advertising, it’s also tremendously rewarding to have our work recognized by some of the finest peers in our profession,” said JKR Production Director Joe Minuni.
In addition to Minuni, JKR creative and production team members include Christina Arnold, Kevin Glennon, Jason Hussey, Rowe Jones, Jared Maurer, LaQuontric Mcghee, Jennifer Pavlak, Abie Silva, Jamie Smith and John Weis.
The Telly Awards were founded in 1979 to honor excellence and support creativity in local, regional and cable TV commercials. The Telly is one of the most sought-after awards by industry leaders nationwide, from large international firms to local production companies and advertising agencies. Entrants are judged by The Telly Awards Judging Council – an industry body of over 200 leading experts from advertising agencies, production companies and major television networks.
JKR Automotive Advertising: The car dealer ad agency.
In 1999, Jen Pavlak was working in the mortgage industry but was looking for a change. “It was a decent enough job but I just didn’t enjoy it,” she said. “It was all paperwork so my interaction with people was minimal … not my idea of fun.”
Through a friend, she heard about a job opening at an up-and-coming Central Florida advertising agency. “I thought that might be interesting because I had always wanted to do PR-related work,” she said. We feel fairly confident in saying she wasn’t thinking about becoming JKR’s first-ever 20-year employee that day.
Upon her initial arrival, she realized the agency’s office atmosphere was not your typical work environment. “The person who interviewed me was dressed very casually and there was a dog asleep in a corner of one of the offices,” Jen recalls. “Though it was a little out of the norm, I was pretty certain I could fit in … so I was very excited when I received the job offer.”
She started out as a Traffic Coordinator Assistant but quickly moved up to Media Coordinator. “It was pretty much sink or swim,” she says. “You also have to remember that things were done a little differently back then. E-mail wasn’t yet a big thing, so much of the job was done by sending and receiving faxes. I had to learn a lot in a very short period of time. I asked a lot of questions to get the answers I needed … and there were a lot of late nights. But I didn’t mind because it was much more fun than pushing papers at the mortgage company!”
Promoted to Account Executive in 2001, she became part of the team spearheaded by Richard Brauns; the dynamic duo is still together today serving their clients, some of whom have been with JKR the entire time. “It’s been a real benefit for me to work with Richard because he understands things from the perspective of a dealer. That knowledge makes him an invaluable resource for me and helps me do my job better,” Jen says.
She recalls that when JKR first made its move to the Downtown Orlando offices they occupied until 2016, the recession was in full force. “We did everything we could behind the scenes to minimize the effect on our clients,” she said. “Most of them stayed with us and we even picked up some new ones – and as a result we made it through the difficult times in much better shape than a lot of people. Then, once the recession was over, it was back to business as usual and we’ve grown into the automotive advertising giant we are today.”
What has Jen learned over the years? “This isn’t like any other industry,” she said. “In most jobs there’s a learning curve when you first start out … but in this job it never stops. I’m constantly looking for classes to take on my own time so I can do the best job I possibly can for my clients. And as the landscape of automotive advertising changes in the future, we have to be ready to change along with it so JKR remains cutting-edge.”
Jen lives in nearby Sanford, where she enjoys the trendy historic downtown area and being part of the local high school booster club with her husband, Jason, and three kids: Austin (21), Alyssa (17) and Jack (12). The family is planning to rescue a Boston terrier in the near future.
“I am thankful that the leadership of JKR took a chance on me; I truly appreciate their faith and trust; and that they have shown me the same loyalty over these many years that I’ve shown them,” she concluded.
Please join all of us at JKR in congratulating Jen for 20 years of outstanding dedication and enthusiasm for her job and our agency. We look forward to the future with her as an integral part of our continued success.