Client

Frank Leta

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Strategy
Mode

Creative
Mode

Capabilities utilized

Agency of Record • Brand Development • Concept Development • Marketing Audit • Media Planning and Buying • Digital Marketing Campaigns • Logo Design • Video Production • Reputation Management • Content Creation • Recruiting • Event Promotion and Organization

Capabilities utilized

Brand Strategy / Creative Production / Marketing Deployment / Branding

Client background

What they were looking for:

The Frank Leta Automotive Family ran the gamut, from a high-end luxury brand to a distressed credit “Automotive Outlet.” Even though Frank Leta had lots of name recognition, there was brand confusion as the Automotive Outlet outspent the other brands (Honda, Acura, and Mitsubishi) tremendously. The buying public associated the Frank Leta name with annoying, ubiquitous radio commercials. Congruent was hired to help fix this problem and raise market share.

What we found:

Frank Leta was both a brand and a businessman in the St. Louis area since the 1950s. When he got into the automotive business, the brand stood for quality. As that brand association with quality slipped over time, the Frank Leta Automotive Family looked to shore up their reputation by offering a higher level of post-sale service and support versus any local competitors. But this effort had gone largely unnoticed without a concentrated branding and messaging effort.

Results

When we started, Leta's top site traffic sources were all paid media. Shifting from a focus on low-funnel, direct-response strategies resulted an increase in brand-related traffic. The group site increased overall traffic 30% while the individual store sites saw lifts in organic traffic (152% for Honda and 68% for Acura).

How we did it

Unique
Challenges:

Even though much of Frank Leta’s history is tied to St. Louis, their demographic area has shifted over time. Targeting the right people with the right message was difficult without learning the local geography well. Initially, Congruent was entirely uninvolved with the Automotive Outlet, which presented branding counter to what we developed in a large (and loud) volume.

Marketing
Opportunities:

Frank Leta’s marketing relied on direct-response and targetable-channels that should drive traffic that was ready to transact immediately. Besides the lack of awareness, those who came in contact with Leta at the bottom of the funnel started with a negative impression due to the Automotive Outlet’s perception of predatory lending. An audit of the Search performance showed muddy performance tracking, lack of weighted events, and plenty of optimization opportunity, on top of the ability to add an omni-channel deployment to drive longer-term awareness so that when someone needed a vehicle they could trust, they knew Frank Leta was the place to turn.

Messaging and
Placements:

We diversified Frank Leta’s marketing deployment to add TV, OTT, YouTube pre-roll, Display, and "Why Buy"-focused social campaigns so that customers would have a better understanding that Frank Leta’s business philosophy was actually the complete opposite of the perception their market had developed.

The brand process

Congruent put boots on the ground in St. Louis to get an intimate feel of the local character and each of the Frank Leta locations. After extensive interviews with stakeholders at all levels, and a thorough review of Frank Leta’s current branding, Congruent developed branding and messaging that took what they had been doing well and concentrated it around their major USPs: the Leta For Life perks.

Our Favorite Campaigns

This Is St. Louis

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Driving Insight:

People in St. Louis have a well-deserved sense of civic pride.

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Objective:

To relaunch the Frank Leta brand with an emphasis on its historical ties to the area.

For the brand relaunch, Congruent took Frank Leta back to its roots: St. Louis. We created a video campaign and messaging that emphasized the brand’s history, used local landmarks and media, and messaged the Leta For Life perks as part of the brand’s efforts to improve the standard of living for everyone in the area.

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Instead

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Driving Insight:

Frank Leta’s competitors offer perks that are far worse.

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Objective:

Draw a line between Frank Leta and their competitors without seeming negative.

The Frank Leta brand doesn’t “call out” competitors, but we wanted to create a campaign that did just that. With a fun, creative concept that showed how customers’ lives would be if they chose Frank Leta “instead” of the competition, we were able to send a positive message that still drew a stark comparison between Frank Leta and competing dealerships.

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