Dealerships all over the country are looking for ways to save money throughout their stores. Advertising is not exempt from these necessary cost cutting measures, but if there is one thing you cannot survive without, it is advertising. So, knowing that advertising is a necessary evil, the key is to cut your advertising expense, but cut wisely. Here are a few steps you can take to make sure you are spending every advertising dollar in the smartest possible manner.

Avoid audience duplication.

First, sit down with each of your advertising vendors. Analyze what each vendor offers. If they are a media outlet, look closely at what kind of delivery they provide. Look and see if this vendor delivers a duplicated audience. Oftentimes newspapers, radio stations, or TV stations deliver duplication. You can avoid duplication by purchasing your media from the market leader. Count your impressions and look closely at the cost per impression. If one outlet can bring the bulk of these impressions at the lowest possible cost, you may be able to cut the lower rated outlet. You may also be able to increase your frequency with the leader by freeing up dollars from the smaller media outlet. By spending more money with the leader in the market, you should be able to get a better deal as well. Let them know that you are going to cut one station or one paper and the one that comes in the strongest will get the buy.

Reduce agency fees.

Take a good look at how much you pay to produce your advertising. If the advertising agency makes a 15 percent commission on placement and you are spending considerable dollars, you may get them to reduce the price of production. You may also want to negotiate the commission the agency earns. Again the more money you spend, the more you can get the agency to discount the commission. If you have multiple dealerships, you may be able to reduce that fee even more, or you may consider a flat fee arrangement that includes everything including production. Agencies, like all businesses, are hungry right now and will make deals.

Just like the car business is changing, the vendors who produce advertising are changing. Shop around and find an agency that understands the car business. If you talk to an agency that specializes in dealership advertising, they may have “canned” spots available, where they can just change the tag at the end that identifies your store name. These so called “canned” spots can be very inexpensive and save you thousands of dollars over the course of the year in production expenditures.

Stick to proven media channels.

Do not gamble with unproven media. During good times, you can try different things. Right now, you need to go with the tried and true media. Mistakes during tough times can mean more red ink. Spend smart and spend wisely, but make sure you spend on advertising. Remember, spend accordingly based on how many cars you project to sell. During these slower months, you will naturally be spending less money based on lower volume, but the minute you cut out your advertising budget, you might as well start shopping for a bankruptcy attorney.

Tom Letizia is the president of Letizia Mass Media, a full-service advertising agency specializing in automotive. He can be reached at 702-777-2121 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .