Background Image Replacement

[ggarvin]

Background Image Replacement has been around for a long time but it has gotten better, cheaper and more automated - still done poorly in a lot places - but a dealer asked me if anyone has ever studied the effectiveness of it. Besides a consistent look and aesthetics, does it sell cars? Does it create more activity, more click-throughs, more leads... any metrics? Has anyone ever done a study on this?

 

[Hunter.Busse]

We have tried both, and what seems to work best is leaving the background in naturally. We see higher CTR and Lead generation and our theory is that people want to see the most up-to-date photo in realtime. It builds more trust with the consumer. When we add the date to the bottom right of the photo, or take the photo out side with our dealerships in seasonal locations, people get the idea that inventory is fresh on the lot and want to be the first to grab it.

If it is hard to get your merchandise photographed consistently or updated, it may be better to remove or replace the background. You don't want snow on the ground when it is summer, or a date displayed that shows the age of the new inventory. On the other hand, If removing/replacing the background isn't done cleanly then it can ruin that first impression. I don't know what takes more time, removing/replacing the background and editing to perfection, or re-shooting the vehicle on a nice day.

 

[DrewAment]

If it is hard to get your merchandise photographed consistently or updated, it may be better to remove or replace the background.

Some of the luxury OEMs have very strict requirements now with things like no other vehicles, logos, colors, etc in the background. If you cant get your photo company or internal person to pay attention to the details = background replacement is a great option.

 

[Alex Snyder]

Some of the luxury OEMs have very strict requirements now with things like no other vehicles, logos, colors, etc in the background. If you cant get your photo company or internal person to pay attention to the details = background replacement is a great option.

Here's my DealerRefresh DUH statement of the century: Some of these OEMs have no idea what reality is and are way too concentrated on things consumers could give two craps about.

Ford does a decent job in supplying photos of in-transit vehicles. They show simulated (but very good) images of new Fords and Lincolns that do provide consumers with enough information in the images, to make a next-step decision. I'm in the Ford market and am finding their simulated images fantastic. My wife is too. Ford benefits the dealer and customer by inserting these images into the dealer websites and classified sites. Instead of placing strict requirements on extremely difficult-to-control things, other OEMs should be copying Ford's approach.

 

[Henrik Andersson]

Hello,
I have been in contact with several companies that have wanted to connect their switching background software to our company. The best I can recommend is CitNow Auto Imaging. -> How it Works | AutoImaging

 

[tnfly]

For smaller lots without a nice place to shoot, background replacement is a nice facelift for the lead image and can give some credibility on third-party SRPs. If done poorly, all credibility is erased... Digging into the VDP images -> quality, unedited photos for the win. It feels "truthful" to have unedited images.

 

[Will G.]

Digging into the VDP images -> quality, unedited photos for the win. It feels "truthful" to have unedited images.

100%

Background placements are tricky and if not done correctly can make your inventory look cheesy and unprofessional ( see below ).
I run a photo company and for one of clients I apply the BG on the first photo only, followed by the same photo with no custom BG.


My client's listing at Autotrader with custom background on first photo only:





My client's competition:

 

[joe.pistell]

My client's competition:

hahahaa

 

[tnfly]

Hey, we've been promised flying cars for so long now! Apparently, Cavender has them!

 

[Alex Snyder]

My client's competition:

View attachment 7977

DOOOOOOOOD!!!!!! The Spiderman Wallcrawler feature!