Smart Marketing Doesn’t Have to Cost a Single Penny

This rainbow of color makes me smile every time I drive by this Dodge Jeep dealer (several times a week).

Good retail marketing sometimes doesn't cost a penny.

My thoughts as to why I think this all delight and why it matters:

1) For two decades car colors have been dominated by black, white, and grey. I love love love (yes, 3 "loves") that car makers, or at least some car makers are emerging from the doldrums of color offering.

2) What better way to illustrate that car inventories are returning to pre-pandemic levels than a rainbow of colors.

3) Nature is flush with diversity, there's an unconscious nod to diversity here; we don't all need to drive boring cars, makers can make cars in more than five shades of grey.

4) Even the grey tones are beautifully different. And white stands out now, if everyone else is driving another color, white is a bright, form highlighting, standout color.

5) There are at least three shades of green, a color that is grossly underrepresented on our American roads. There's even a green car appreciation society on Facebook, look it up.

6) Someone at the dealership made this conscious decision to order these new cars, and line them up on a heavily traveled road, making their dealership stand out in a sea of forgettable car lot experiences. It gets people to smile, to stop, to linger and look closer...it gets them dreaming, which is the whole point of good marketing...for free.

7) The two models you see the most of here, the Challenger and Charger, are on the way out. Both have always been offered in great colors. This is a Mopar tradition. But as a lifelong car enthusiast, it's bittersweet and a great sendoff for they are being replaced with one car, that is primarily going to be electric, and will certainly not have a V-8 under the hood.

8) We lack surprise and delight in most of our business world. We go for the cheapest solution, or dilute it for short term gains. We worship at the alter of appeasing stock holders, CEO bonus packages, and commonality. The fact that what we see here is even possible is amazing and thumbs its nose at the current state of our business culture.

9) It's socially and economically accessible (to an extent). New cars cost a fortune, but stretch a bit and this lineup includes Dodge Hornets, and electric Jeeps. Variety doesn't have to be just high cost, high powered muscle cars.

10) It's fun.

-Chris

Need help making retail fun again? We at Neon Carrot can help. Contact us today to partner with us on your next product, packaging, or retail design project. (Though we do need to cover our costs so we’ll invoice you, but we promise it’ll be totally worth every penny. Send Chris an email at chris@neon-carrot.com