Creative campaigns that drive customers through the door
Holdcroft Motor Group partnered with M3 to bring fresh creative thinking to a complex multi-franchise marketing operation – balancing 16 OEM brands with one clear goal: getting more customers through the door.
THE CHALLENGE:
Holdcroft operates 12 dealerships across the Midlands and the North West, representing 16 OEM brands. Managing marketing across such a broad portfolio means navigating multiple brand guidelines, approval processes and creative requirements, while still creating campaigns that feel relevant to local customers.
At the same time, changing customer behaviour and declining brand loyalty across the automotive market meant there was an opportunity to strengthen Holdcroft's own identity – positioning the Group as the trusted destination for whatever a customer's car needs, regardless of the brand on the bonnet.
The challenge was to create work that worked within each OEM's guidelines, while building greater consistency and recognition for Holdcroft itself.
THE APPROACH:
M3 works as an extension of Holdcroft's Group Marketing Team, providing flexible creative support across group and brand-level campaigns, offers and always-on activity.
Our role is to take a creative idea and make it work across the full campaign suite – from email and digital advertising to social, landing pages and dealership activity – while confidently navigating the requirements of 16 different OEMs.
Our approach combines strong brand guardianship with customer-first creative, using authentic, people-led storytelling to make campaigns feel relevant rather than purely promotional.
We also plan around the moments that matter commercially, developing tactical creative for key trading periods including new plate launches, seasonal offers, Black Friday and used car events.
THE IMPACT:
The partnership has given Holdcroft a flexible creative team that can move at pace across a complex marketing landscape – bringing fresh thinking to campaigns while maintaining consistency across multiple brands.
Every piece of activity is designed to do more than meet an OEM's guidelines. It works to strengthen the Holdcroft brand, give customers a reason to engage and ultimately drive measurable visits to dealerships.
By combining creative thinking, strong brand guardianship and a clear understanding of the commercial calendar, M3 has become an extension of the Holdcroft marketing team – helping the Group make its marketing work harder across every stage of the customer journey.
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