Castle Auto Group

Success Story

Targeting local customers efficiently

Castle Automotive Group saw a 24X return on advertising spend after running a Facebook Offer for a deal that provided a buy-one-get-one-free oil change offer.
  • 24X return on ad spend
  • 57% customer match rate using custom audiences
  • 75% savings over direct-mail marketing

Their Story

Serving greater Chicago

Castle Automotive Group is a group of family-owned dealerships in Chicago. Joe Castle is the Dealer Principal of Castle Automotive Group, and the CEO and founder of two entrepreneurial companies: SOCIALDEALER and AutoCare Warranty.

Their Goal

Reaching potential customers

Castle Automotive Group first began advertising on Facebook in 2007 and quickly realized the value of connecting with its customers in local markets and having authentic conversations. Through Facebook, Castle Automotive Group has aimed to:
  • Reach consumers in local markets more efficiently than it could with traditional media
  • Grow its audience of people who wanted to stay updated on the dealerships’ unique content and offerings
  • Build awareness and business for its dealerships, products and services
I now have the ability to reach out to potential customers and build a relationship with them before they’ve done business with my dealership. This gives me a huge competitive advantage.
Joe Castle, Dealer Principal, Castle Automotive Group

Their Solution

A comprehensive strategy

Castle has an always-on media strategy on Facebook aimed at acquiring fans, using ads in all placements targeted at those most likely to be existing or potential customers. The ads feature auto-related images and concise copy with a strong call to action. They target people representing Castle’s core demographics within a 15-mile radius of the dealership.

Engaging with fans

Castle Auto Group uses its Castle Chevrolet and Castle Buick GMC Facebook Pages to engage with customers and promote a brand image of consistency and professionalism. The company publishes a variety of engaging content each day, including promotions, customer reviews, how-to information and other useful resources. Castle also uses paid media to boost Page posts to fans and friends of fans.

Finding new customers

To drive people into dealerships and reward loyal customers with special deals, Castle leverages several of Facebook latest marketing tools:
  • Offers promote Facebook-exclusive deals and ignite viral sharing among friends
  • A recent Offer posted on the Castle Chevrolet provided a buy-one-get-one-free oil change and achieved a 9% redemption rate
Custom audiences enabled Castle Automotive to find its offline customers on Facebook by matching its customer email list in a privacy-secure way:
  • Tailored specific content to particular audiences, such as targeting sales customers with incentives to purchase new vehicles, or reaching service customers with service coupons and special offers.
  • Converted existing customers to fans through Facebook Ads.

Products used

Goals

Their Success

Marketing efficiency

Castle Automotive Group’s comprehensive Facebook strategy has yielded:
  • 24X return on ad spend for a buy-one-get-one-free oil change Offer
  • 57% match rate using custom audiences, matching 8,000 Facebook users to a 14,000-person customer list
  • 75% savings over direct-mail marketing
  • 9% redemption rate on buy-one-get-one-free oil change offer
Say you have 20,000 Facebook fans. If you sell over 1,000 vehicles a year, it would take an entire career to acquire the equivalent number of email addresses.
Joe Castle, Dealer Principal, Castle Automotive Group