Study Suggests Most Effective Auto Ad Approaches

April 29, 2009

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HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — When it comes to building the most effective media strategies to capture in-market shoppers' interests, auto brands might be best served by combining both behavioral and contextually targeted advertising, according to a recent case study from Jumpstart Automotive Media and AudienceScience.

Essentially, when these two types of ad targeting methods are combined, it can result in up to a 70-percent increase in purchase intent, brand favorability and brand awareness among vehicle shoppers.

Typically, however, contextual and behavioral strategies for auto ad campaigns are managed and purchased in separate media budgets.

"At a time when auto brands and marketers are focused on the bottom line, we must carefully consider the smartest, most efficient marketing strategies to capture consumer interest and transition that interest into sales," explained Steve Wilhite, chief executive officer of Jumpstart.

"Our study is incredibly timely and shows that brands that think holistically about their digital campaigns, and focus on the targeted nature of the audience reached rather than the type of targeting, will see real results," he added.

Basically, the survey presented in-market auto shoppers with an ad campaign from an import brand and an ad campaign from a domestic brand.

Each of the campaigns was analyzed based on its impact on online ad awareness, brand favorability and consumer purchase intent. The study also examined the impact of combined targeting on consumer perceptions for each brand.

The study found that, between the domestic and import brand, there was a 45-percent spike in purchase intent after consumers were shown ads where contextual and behavioral approaches were used in tandem.

Moreover, brand attributes and favorability improved as much as 60 percent between the two brands.

For the domestic brand campaign, in particular, officials found that when the messages focused on areas such as fuel efficiency and value, consumers' perception of a brand's core values climbed as much as 130 percent after behavioral and contextual ad campaigns were combined.

With regards to the import brand, the combination of targeting tactics resulted in a 60-percent improvement in consumers' perception of the brand's safety.

Moreover, it led to a 40-percent surge in positive perception of the brand's fuel economy.

"In the end, making the targeting investment count is all about finding the right audience for your brand, those most likely to make a purchase," stated AudienceScience CEO Jeff Hirsch.

"With vast amounts of data available to marketers, it is impractical and potentially wasteful to keep contextual and behavioral siloed rather than have them integrated and supporting each other, rounding out audience segments and profiles for the highest level of accuracy," he added.

For more information, visit www.jumpstartautomotivemedia.com or www.audiencescience.com.

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