How Sanford Honda cut search spending 85% and rebuilt its media strategy around WRAL

Before changing its strategy, Sanford Honda had a significant share of its advertising budget concentrated in search engine marketing. Search can be valuable when someone is actively looking for a vehicle or dealership — but the limitation is that advertisers are often competing for customers who are already near the bottom of the purchasing funnel, and paying more for every click along the way.

Sanford Honda reduced its SEM spending by 85.2% and moved that investment into channels capable of reaching potential customers earlier. The largest share went to WRAL linear television, giving the dealership broad local reach through a trusted North Carolina media brand and building awareness before someone searched for a dealership, compared prices, or visited an automotive website.

Linear television and connected TV are not interchangeable — they serve different purposes within the same campaign.

• WRAL linear television provides the foundation — broad reach across the Raleigh-Durham market alongside local news, sports and programming North Carolina audiences already watch.
• Targeted CTV adds another layer — increasing frequency among selected audiences, households and ZIP codes that matter most to the dealership.
• Consistent creative connects both channels, so each exposure reinforces the last and keeps Sanford Honda familiar when it's time to shop.

According to reporting provided by the dealership's agency, the remaining paid-search campaign performed 58% better after SEM spending was reduced by more than 85%. Sanford Honda also reported monthly vehicle sales well above its historical average, and the strongest used-vehicle performance in the dealership's history.

What the before-and-after comparison does show: Sanford Honda sharply reduced its dependence on paid search, built a much stronger television and CTV presence, and reported improved business performance — while its smaller paid-search investment worked more efficiently.

Sanford Honda's relationship with WRAL Media includes more than purchasing television commercials. The WRAL Marketing team plans and manages:

• Linear television, CTV and streaming
• Digital advertising and paid social
• Sponsorships and creative production

WRAL Media's local creative team also produces and edits Sanford Honda's commercials — useful in the automotive category, where inventory, pricing, manufacturer incentives and monthly offers can change quickly. Instead of coordinating separate media companies and creative vendors, Sanford Honda has one local team that understands the campaign and can make changes when they're needed, across:

WRAL has spent 70 years building a relationship with audiences across Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville and communities throughout North Carolina. That relationship matters to advertisers — a commercial doesn't appear in isolation; it appears within a media environment people have chosen to watch and return to.

Sanford Honda's strategy uses that local reach and brand recognition as its foundation. Targeted CTV adds precision and frequency. Digital and paid social reach more specific audiences. Search remains available to capture existing demand. Consistent creative connects the entire campaign.