The advent of social media and the internet has changed how the world does business. Brands and businesses have quickly understood the increasing importance of having a strong presence online. One of the most effective ways to reach out to new and existing clients is through social media platforms. For automobile manufacturers, car influencers like Sergio Mariscal have become an essential ingredient in the marketing mix.
It’s safe to say that Sergio has a natural passion for all things related to automobiles. As an in-demand and successful automotive journalist, the 35-year-old is living his dream, traveling the world, and road-testing cars of all shapes and sizes. He also hosts a popular TV show focusing on, you guessed it, everything related to four wheels.
When Sergio talks cars, millions clamor for his opinion and advice. His influence is evident, helping consumers choose cars complementing their lifestyle. He’s just one of a new breed of car influencers who are proving indispensable in the automotive industry.
The U.S. automotive industry spends over $14 billion a year on digital advertising, and the influence of car experts on consumers, when it comes to what make and model they purchase, is skyrocketing, especially amongst the millennial generation, who in the majority of cases turn to video and online for research before buying.
Chevrolet, Ford, Mustang, and Porsche are just a handful of the more well-established brands that have sought to break into the lucrative millennial market by using car influencers to head their campaigns.
Social media and automotive marketing are made for one another. An influencer who has personality, character, knowledge, and a cult following can do wonders for the sales of a car by simply endorsing it.
Sergio, aka Cheko Mariscal, is a well-known car influencer whose genuine enthusiasm for all things with an engine and four wheels has earned him a reputation as something of a trendsetter. But getting to this point has been a long and winding road full of unexpected twists and turns.
Born in his beloved Mexico City in 1984, Sergio says that the only thing he loves more than cars are family, friends, and the country which he lives in and which lives in his heart—Mexico.
At the age of 14, Sergio left his country of birth to move with his family to Miami, Florida. Although he left Mexico, Mexico never left him. “I had a great time in Miami, especially studying Business Administration for three years at Barry University,” he says. “Miami is an amazing city and gave me so much for the six years that I lived there, but eventually, the call of my native country was too much to resist, and so in 2004, I packed my bags and headed home.”
Upon his return, Sergio resumed studies at the Universidad Iberoamericana. After graduation, he decided to do something different with his life, instinctively gravitating towards the thing he felt he was born to be – an entrepreneur.
Sergio created a popular magazine and eventually sold it to an investment group, but not before realizing that he had a natural knack and flair for making things work in the media world. Combining his three passions of entrepreneurship, media, and above all, cars, Sergio created CarGlobe.mx in 2013, and a legend was born.
As the face of CarGlobe.mx, Sergio is probably best known by the name that car enthusiasts across the globe call him – Cheko Mariscal. Over the years, CarGlobe made Cheko Mariscal a household name in the automotive industry, and he has lived in the fast lane ever since, hosting his car-related TV show and guesting on many others.
Known for possessing an insatiable and incredible drive for success, Mariscal appears to show no signs of slowing down. Yet, he is the first to admit that without his wife of six years, Estefania Gomez, and his two boys, Cheko and Sebastian, he would probably be on the road to nowhere.
“My family and my country are what inspire me to do something great with my life,” he says. “They are what fuels me to keep my foot to the pedal in search of the bigger and better horizons that I know are always just around the next corner.”
And this passion is what top auto brands are leveraging to reach and influence car buyers.