Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac
PRSA Silver Anvil Award of Excellence
The Client
Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac has been a vital part of the Cabarrus County, N.C. community since 1976. A family-owned business with both emotional and financial ties to the local economy, the dealership was a fixture in the community for nearly 33 years, demonstrated by high customer retention levels and charitable contributions amounting to more than $1 million.
The Challenge
In the 1990s, Cabarrus County experienced devastating economic hardships caused in part by the closing of Pillowtex and Phillip Morris facilities. Compounded by a depressed economy in recent years, dealership sales were in decline, and by May 2009, Ben Mynatt Chevrolet Cadillac was one of approximately 2,000 dealerships told they would be dropped from the retail network of General Motors and forced to close. With unemployment spiking to 11 percent in 2010, the county needed to avoid the loss of the dealership, which would ultimately cost more jobs and economic hardship.
The Strategy
IIn December 2009, Ben Mynatt retained the services of Walker Marketing to devise a strategy to redirect its fate and avoid the loss of another local business. As a result, the Save Ben Mynatt Chevy campaign was strategically designed to create a groundswell of community support and capitalize on the dealership’s 33-year history in the community.
Walker Marketing identified opportunities to create a grass roots public relations campaign targeted to key decision makers at General Motors to demonstrate the economic and social impact the community would experience from the loss of the dealership as well as the dealership’s community support as a means to persuade them to reinstate the dealership. The resulting tactics included the involvement and ensuing influence of prominent political figures, the media, local business and the community at large.
The Tactics
The campaign consisted of an integration of both traditional media outreach and digital public relations tactics. Media outreach was leveraged to gain public support of Ben Mynatt’s plight and rally and engage Cabarrus residents, business leaders and government officials.
E-mail marketing and grass roots efforts were used to build a supporter database of advocates without the need for paid advertising. Hundreds of letters were composed by supporters including U.S. Senator Richard Burr, U.S. Representative Larry Kissell, N.C. Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco, and Concord, N.C. Mayor Scott Padgett. Letters detailed the projected economic impact created by the loss of the dealership and urged General Motors to reconsider its decision. For maximum impact, letters, signatures of support and media coverage were compiled into oversized binders and mailed directly to GM’s CEO and key executives.
A microsite, savebenmynattchevy.com, featured campaign updates, testimonials, and media coverage, and served as the control center for campaign progress and community communications. 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. Social media tools, including Facebook and YouTube, were used to take advantage of the viral capabilities of the Internet. The “Save Ben Mynatt” Facebook page created open dialogue and garnered support while building an online community of supporters.
The Results
Media outreach resulted in front-page coverage in local and regional dailies, lead stories on Charlotte television newscasts and other media mentions. More than 1,700 members of the community pledged their support for the dealership, and more than 600 Facebook fans promoted the cause through wall posts and comments.
Less than six months after the dealership retained the services of Walker Marketing, 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, and increased its brand awareness throughout the Charlotte region.
Walker Marketing was recognized by the Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Awards – the Oscars of the PR industry – for the campaign, and Ben Mynatt President Cyndie Mynatt was named the Cabarrus County Citizen of the Year.
Most importantly, sales at the dealership have surged.
“The results have been phenomenal,” Mynatt said. “We have emerged stronger now than we would have if we had never gone through a possible shutdown.”
