Situation
Dorsett Mitsubishi serves Terre Haute and a 70-mile radius and is located on Terre Haute’s busy Highway 41 South. Owner Brian Dorsett is well known in the area as a professional athlete – a former MLB catcher and powerful hitter. His family had an established reputation as a respected used car dealer in Terre Haute prior to Brian acquiring the Mitsubishi franchise.

Dorsett Mitsubishi offers new and used automotive sales, as well as automotive repair services on all types of vehicles and a full range of warranty protection and other customer services. The majority of customers are at the middle to upper income level.

The strengths of the dealership lie in its staff, systems and service. With two stated business goals – to increase automotive sales and to increase service sales – Dorsett sought to develop a sound sales and marketing infrastructure and to create a positioning statement through a partnership with MillerWhite Integrated Marketing.

Problem
Dorsett’s tagline, “Catch a Dorsett Deal,” while it was based on the owner’s positive reputation in professional sports, focused on the automotive sales side of the business. A new tagline was sought which would pull together the dealership’s two revenue streams – automotive sales and service sales – into one active statement, and provide the foundation for creating a strong and positive culture for the dealership.

Solution
Utilizing MillerWhite’s proprietary protected formula, Unlocking the Power of Your Pledge®, Dorsett and MillerWhite collaborated to develop a new pledge and tagline to support Dorsett’s business goals. As part of the formula, MillerWhite proposed suggestions for implementing the pledge and tagline.

The stated pledge chosen by Brian Dorsett is “We focus on giving people the driving experience they want backed by the services they can trust.” The tagline, “Drive It Home With Dorsett,” provides the consistent thread to which all elements of marketing can respond – sales, service, public relations, advertising and interactive media.

In its beginning stages, implementation tactics have focused on refining the culture of the dealership to reflect the new pledge and tagline. Employees have learned to explain and internalize the pledge. Press releases have been sent to the media to tell the new pledge and tagline story, as well as to highlight other changes and features of the dealership.

Another tactic has utilized the tagline in new television commercials and outdoor boards, as well as on new signage at the Dorsett showroom and storefront location in Honey Creek Mall.

For added impact, promotions have been developed for radio and television. These included a Super Bowl Drive It Home With Dorsett Cancun Giveaway, co-sponsored by a local TV station; providing a different car every month to a local DJ to drive and talk about on-air; and an upcoming Drive It Home With Dorsett and Diamonds promotion, which will be combined with a public relations effort about the dealership’s selection by Mitsubishi as a Diamond Chapter of Excellence Dealership.

Results
Evaluating the impact of the new tagline on sales is difficult since it has only been in front of the public for a few months. However, there are several indications that the tagline has been successful in leading Dorsett’s integrated marketing effort.

A lot of positive feedback has come from the dealership’s sales force and service personnel. They have embraced the pledge as their responsibility to their customers and the tagline has become the foundation for creating a strong and positive culture.