Please read the article below about Walker Marketing Inc; they are the marketing firm that helped save Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac
 

The Client

Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac has been a vital part of the Cabarrus County community since 1976. The Mynatt family, along with the dealership itself, has donated more than $1 million to local charities and served on boards of several nonprofit groups. The Ben Mynatt Children’s Foundation has raised more than $250,000, and the dealership has been actively involved in at least a dozen other charitable causes.

The Challenge

In May 2009, General Motors announced that it would not renew its franchise agreements with nearly one quarter of its U.S. dealerships as a result of financial distress. Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac was one of the roughly 2,000 dealerships told they would be dropped from GM’s retail network and forced to shut down. But Ben Mynatt didn’t accept that decision- nor did the rest of the community.

The Strategy

In December 2009, Ben Mynatt retained the services of Walker Marketing to devise a strategy to redirect its fate. As a result, the Save Ben Mynatt Chevy campaign was launched utilizing public relations, digital marketing and social media to create awareness and support in the community. Public relations efforts rallied support around the Mynatt family’s legacy of service to the community and tradition of giving. Their community, nonprofit and economic contributions were highlighted in all communications, including social media tools designed to take advantage of the viral capabilities of the Internet, maximizing the impact of word-of-mouth endorsements and building a strong, online network of supporters.

The Tactics

Media and civic relations were used to obtain publicity for the dealership. More than 400 supporters signed up at a kickoff event in January, and e-mail marketing and grass roots efforts were designed to build a database of supporters. Hundreds of letters were written on behalf of the dealership including letters from U.S. Senator Richard Burr, U.S. Representative Larry Kissell, N.C. Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco, and Concord, N.C. Mayor Scott Padgett. Letters were then compiled into oversized binders and mailed directly to GM’s CEO and key executives.

Savebenmynattchevy.com was developed as a news site for posting campaign updates and media coverage, posting testimonials from supporters and demonstrating the dealership’s impact on the community. It was also used as a platform for urging the public to write and submit letters to GM, or contact elected officials, in an effort to gain reinstatement.

The “Save Ben Mynatt” Facebook page, which grew to more than 600 fans throughout the life of the campaign, established a platform for two-way communication with the public and built an online community of supporters. The page featured news about the campaign progress, news about other dealerships in similar situations across the nation, personal blogs from the Mynatt family and comments left by fans.

The Results

Nearly a year after it learned it was slated for closure, in May 2010, The Charlotte Observer front page announced Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac had been reinstated by General Motors. The campaign succeeded in allowing the dealership to re-establish full dealership status, including replenishment of its inventory of new vehicles. Victory was celebrated at a day-long event to demonstrate appreciation and thank its supporters.