CitNOW has revealed the top automotive videos in 2019 at its fifth annual Video Awards ceremony.
A record 1,676 high-quality videos were entered in 2019, with the winners announced at the awards ceremony at the Hard Rock Hotel in London on 14th January.
The winner of the illustrious ‘Best Overall CitNOW’ award came from Lookers Nissan Gateshead, with an engaging personalised video that demonstrated outstanding best practice with a crystal-clear explanation – using visual aids – of the checks which had taken place.
The highly engaging Lookers Nissan Gateshead video also won the Best Workshop award, beating 552 other submissions.
Sytner Nottingham BMW was awarded Best Sales Video, showing outstanding passion, attention to detail and product knowledge which showed how to build trust and appeal to the customer.
CitNOW’s international growth was evident with 650 videos submitted for the Best International award, the most of any category. Autolica Tarragona in Spain took top spot for the use of video to address a customer’s concerns about the price of the vehicle, convincing the customer to continue their interest.
The Most Creative Use of CitNOW category was hotly contested, as Ingram Ayr took home the honours for an engaging yet well-prepared, professional video to promote the showroom’s upcoming VIP sales event. The submission featured life-size celebrity cut-outs which were linked to each vehicle on sale with a humorous script.
Sponsors of the CitNOW Video Awards also handed out individual recognition to top-performing retailers, with Arnold Clark selecting a Best Sales and a Best Workshop video, and Porsche Italia naming two Best Workshop Video takers.
Alistair Horsburgh, CEO of CitNOW, said: “The CitNOW Video Awards continues to grow year-on-year and, with the number of entries rocketing, 2019 was the most competitive yet.
“The standard was exceptional. With personalised video now a mainstay for the automotive industry, it’s amazing to see retailers going above and beyond, demonstrating true best practice to transform the customer experience and build transparency throughout the automotive industry.”
The significant rise in entrants reflects the growing influence of video in the international automotive industry, with more than one million automotive videos being recorded in a single month for the first time in March in 2019 and 11.95 million overall in 2019.
Best Overall CitNOW Video
Winner
Dave Wise, Lookers Nissan Gateshead – https://video.citnow.com/vpGrc72YKw2
Best CitNOW Workshop Video
Winner
Dave Wise, Lookers Nissan Gateshead – https://video.citnow.com/vpGrc72YKw2
Highly Commended
Gary Hogg, Arnold Clark Cumbernauld Kia – https://video.citnow.com/vpfRMkByYGg
Highly Commended
Mark Ballingall, Baylis Vauxhall Evesham – https://video.citnow.com/vptdmchbyvP
Best CitNOW Sales Video
Winner
Myron Arnold, Sytner Nottingham BMW – https://video.citnow.com/vpnx5cxVzRv
Highly Commended
Jamie Jarvis, Arnold Clark Kilmarnock Ford – https://video.citnow.com/vpRd547-Kq9
Best International Video
Winner
Marc Utches, Autolica Tarragona – https://video.citnow.com/vpS4fQ5QlbQ
Most Creative Use of CitNOW Video
Winner
Craig Sturgeon, Ingram Ayr – https://video.citnow.com/vpJzlcKqJDT
Highly Commended
Gary Foster, Progress Suzuki Kettering – https://video.citnow.com/vpF2XTHJSRh