How can you immerse your customers in the experience? Experiential automotive marketing is the key to future success.
Ford just opened a warehouse in downtown LA where you sit in a 1964 Mustang while walls project 3D videos around you, and pumped-in motor oil smells fill the air. At this year’s LA Auto Show, Subaru brought puppies you could adopt, Hyundai set up soccer games, and Polestar launched its $135,000 electric sedan inside Gran Turismo 7 instead of in real life. With new cars averaging $50,080, automakers say experiences sell better than just parking vehicles on carpet and hoping someone bites. Fifty different makes offered test drives this year, the most in show history, because getting people behind the wheel beats any brochure.
The LA Auto Show 2025 proves the car buying experience has changed
There’s a huge difference between dealership marketing and automaker marketing. Automakers have much deeper pockets to set up and offer things like the Ford Mustang immersive experience. Still, using experiential automotive marketing is quickly becoming one of the most popular and useful automotive marketing trends. Whether it’s test drive events, like we saw in LA, or video game car launches, such as what Polestar has done with the Polestar 5 in the new Gran Turismo 7 game, these experiences have a much better chance of getting people behind the wheel of new cars.
Hopefully, dealers can capitalize on these auto show interactive displays and convert them into sales. Here’s what experiential automotive marketing should do, which might help some dealers create their own version of the historic events from the LA Auto Show 2025.
What is the brand experience?
Can your customer have an unforgettable experience with your brand and dealership team? This is part of the process that must take place in order to win over a customer. The vehicles on most dealer lots are similar to those being sold down the street, which means your team must set themselves apart from the next team. How are you doing this? What have you done to win over customers? Ensure the brand experience is top-notch and has a way of engaging the senses of your customers, like the piped-in gasoline smells in the Mustang simulator.
How are you connecting with your customers?
Car sales is a unique job in which most customers only purchase every few years. Just because you might not see your customer for the next few years doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be connected to them and find ways to engage directly with them. Not only should you foster customer relationships through in-person conversations, but it’s also important that you present the benefits of visiting your dealership for future needs, such as service appointments and car care needs. By keeping a customer engaged during their ownership process, they are more likely to return to your dealership for their next vehicle.
Your brand must be visible through experiential automotive marketing
While offering experiences, such as test drive events, meet-and-greet events, or community outreach programs, your brand image and logo should be visible to all in attendance. You don’t need to constantly talk about your brand, but ensure your images and logo are present. This helps ensure visibility and brings your dealership name to the front of mind for many customers.
Showcase product demonstrations on social media
The experiential automotive marketing offered isn’t always a hands-on experience that requires customers to visit your location or attend an event. Some of your customers will get their experience through social media, which means you should share the demonstrations and information online. YouTube videos are great and can be linked to other social media platforms to help you reach your entire audience when you want to ensure more people can benefit from what you have to offer.
Have you built some brand loyalty?
Brand loyalty comes from memorable experiences. How do you create memorable experiences that are positive in the minds of your customers? You continually engage with them, respond to your audience, and create relevant experiences that bring customers back to your dealership. When you have positive interactions with your customers, you can create some brand loyalty. Your events and presentations only take you so far; the rest is up to your dealership team to build the brand loyalty, which would be more of loyalty to your team than to the actual automotive brand.
How will you and your team utilize experiential automotive marketing to keep customers engaged? You might not be able to go big like automakers, but there are still many ways for your team to create amazing customer experiences.
