3 Birds Marketing LLC, automotive’s benchmark customer data platform, has won a Silver 2020 Summit Marketing Effectiveness Award for its “In This Together” campaign, recognized for successfully steering opportunity and resilience for automotive dealers in response to COVID-19.

Winners were chosen from over 1,600 submissions across 15 countries through stringent evaluation criteria based on the strength of creative approach to influence, change, or reinforces the audiences’ knowledge, attitudes, or beliefs and the ability to move the audience close to a desired activity. A panel of demonstrated creative and marketing professionals reviewed entrants in a blind judging process and rewarded only those whose work showcases the best in class.

3 Birds’ “In This Together” illustrates the company’s unique position to quickly pivot its product focus, message, and purpose with agile technology and responsive staff to make a positive brand impact and drive significant revenue lift for its dealership clients despite business interruptions and changing consumer behavior.

THE CHALLENGE

Automotive has arguably been the hardest industry hit by the coronavirus crisis, evolving from global supply chain disruptions to consumer sentiment and demand shock. Faced with 2020 YoY Sales projected to decline over 22% on top of YoY losses already felt 2019, U.S. dealerships were in the middle and left to adapt on their own.

3 Birds anticipated that consumer behavior would shift even more towards digital retailing and that manufacturers would respond with aggressive incentives in answer to new safety protocols and business mandates. They tested and studied their own clients’ data and found that vehicle shopping and dealer website traffic had not diminished. So they put their technology and team to work delivering timely COVID-19 Response messaging.

THE OPPORTUNITY

“In This Together” emphasized the process of message, market, and measure. The strategy was to steer dealership opportunity and resilience with new customer journey and vehicle lifecycle messaging packages tailored to address key dealership challenges: restore consumer confidence, earn a piece of the smaller pie, support the overall business with a strong and agile continuity plan and the ability to do more with much less. These Driver Product Packages were rolled out to current clients and new prospects at a price point and turnaround time geared to help relieve additional pressure already felt across the industry.

THE RESULTS

The high rates of online interactions confirmed that consumer engagement was on the rise. At a time when competitors were churning clients at rates over 60% due to market uncertainty and budget cuts, 3 Birds realized zero cancellations; deemed essential to their dealers’ businesses. And at a time when the world took pause, 3 Birds accelerated innovations with new data segments and email communication streams, added attribution analytics and dashboards, deeper data-mining tools, and improved product bundles.

Domestic dealers achieved open rates six times over the industry average with 61% open rates. Import dealers drove open rates 33 times over the industry average and click-to-open rates twice the industry average. Details may be downloaded at: https://www.3birds.net/in-this-together

“The Road Back” campaign emerged from “In This Together” to quickly reposition from COVID-19 response to COVID-19 recovery. What’s remained are the proven results of 3 Birds’ Driver Product Packages, continued product innovation and expanded flex campaigns to help automotive dealers acquire more trades, stock their lots, and accelerate past the current market challenges as well.

Kristen Judd, CEO and co-founder at 3 Birds Marketing said, “In This Together”’ is more than just a buzz phrase, it describes our fully integrated full-stack data platform, sums up our partnership philosophy, and aligns with our company core values.” She added, “Since 3 Birds was founded, we have never stopped developing our fully integrated technology stack and investing in our content. We practice agile development and have been consistently executing on our vision of a data- and content-driven automated marketing platform that delivers precision messaging through key channels to keep our clients ahead of the changing landscape instead of struggling to catch up.”

“Distinguishing between creativity and effectiveness is a difficult task so winning a Summit MEA is a significant achievement”, said Jocelyn Luciano, principal/managing director for the Summit International Awards. “The combination of experienced judges and our tough criteria. This means that winners not only meet a minimum standard but also truly stand out from the crowd.”

Link: 3 Birds Marketing