Audi, notably the first OEM to do so, has come up with a media campaign surrounding an iPhone application, representing their 2009 A4 model.

The application comes in the form of a game called the “Audi A4 Challenge” and by installing the application, iPhone users can drive the 2009 model, which doesn’t go on sale until September 2008. The application is a free download and if you don’t have an iPhone, you can play the Web version of the game here.

Jeri Ward, Audi’s general manager of marketing and strategy says, “I think our customers and potential customers are smart, tech savvy, and tend to use devices like iPhone”. Ward also says that the 2009 A4 campaign will be heavily digital media based.

What really makes this story interesting is the fact that we are seeing yet another traditional print advertiser engage in new media in a completely new way. Although Audi is the first to take advantage of the iPhone as a mind-share builder, it is guessed that other OEM’s won’t be too far behind, especially if Audi does not have an exclusivity deal.

written by Beverly Crandon

On Thursday, Standard and Poor dropped their ratings for the big three automakers, GM, Ford and Chrysler. David Wyss, chief economist for Standard and Poor, said “The outlook for the auto industry has worsened considerably since the beginning of the year as the weakness in the housing market has extended into the rest of the economy”.

Analysts are estimating a 12 per cent revenue decline for automakers this year when compared to last and the largest driving factor for the decline is the price of fuel. Consumers are driving less and buying smaller cars, as the uncertainty of the economy has led them to conserve financially as much as they can. According to Standard and Poor, May saw ‘miles driven’ decrease by 9.7 billion from a year ago. This is apparently the strongest decline since just after 9/11.

The dismal forecast for the automakers will undoubtedly affect all advertising mediums that once depended heavily on automotive advertising as a source of revenue. Dealers and OEM’s will look for more affordable and targeted advertising sources, to both lessen costs and the width required to reach perspective car buyers. The mediums that will succeed during this turbulent time will be those that change and shift their ad products to align with the market factors. This will be increasingly difficult for local publishers as their ability to adapt and change revenue models and flexibility, is less of that of the pure play online mediums. To survive the auto advertising pressures, local publishers will have to release all that they once knew as rule of thumb for auto advertising and do so quickly.

written by Beverly Crandon

Covering stories from blog.ad-ition.com and other relevant classified media news.

This episode’s covered news bits include coverage of two publishers potentially forming a workforce collaborative partnership, what the search giants are saying the economy has done to their advertising business, Gannett and ADTECH, automotive spending, and a review of the top auto, real estate and recruitment sites for the month of June.

 

 Standard Podcast [21:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

written by Beverly Crandon

TNS Media is back at it again - Only this time the news is heavy hitting on the automotive vertical.

In a recent report from the research organization, studying Q1’ advertising expenditures, it explains that the overall the auto category spent 7.4% less dollars on all forms of advertising. The drop in ad spend was not confined to domestic brands, as for once the economy has caught up with foreign makes as well.

• The Non-Domestic Auto segment shrank 7.4% to $1,764.7 million and Domestic Auto plummeted 16.0% to $1,445.5 million.
• The declines were spread across all tiers - factory, dealer associations and local dealers - and were especially severe for light truck vehicles.

written by Beverly Crandon

The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada released its annual online advertising report and the numbers  show that 2007 was a banner year.

Online advertising revenues in Canada grew by 38% in 2007, to reach 1.2 billion and according to the IAB, this means that online ad revenues in Canada have more than quadrupled in only five years.  Of the growth in Canada, Paula Gignac (President of IAB Canada) said “The sky’s really the limit for Online, as new developments in targeting technology, creative (it’s great to have our first Video advertising revenue number), and integrated strategies are happening on an almost daily basis — all with the goal of helping marketers capitalize on online’s ever-growing and engaged audience. Online advertising is no longer below the line in any way — it’s now an essential component of any marketing mix.”

According to the IAB, the 2007 online ad revenue breakdown was as follows:

• Display - $432 M
• Video - $9 M
• Search - $478 M
• Classifieds/Directories - $305 M
• Email - $17 M

From a geographical perspective, approximately $260 million (21%) of the $1.2 billion, came from French Canadian Online properties.

The IAB breakdown of 2007 online ad revenues, by advertiser category was as follows:

• Automotive - 16%;
• Media + Entertainment (Music, Film, TV) - 8%;
• Financial - 11%;
• Leisure (Travel, Hotel, Hospitality) - 7%;
• Packaged Goods - 6%;
• Retail - 9%;
• Technology - 10%;
• Telecommunications - 7%; and,
• Other - 26%

You can download a summary of the report here: IAB Canada 2007 Online Ad Revenues

written by Beverly Crandon

In JD Power’s most recent APEAL (Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) study, analysts were surprised to see the marked improvement, in the average domestic vehicle owners measure of delight.

The APEAL study measures owner delight with their vehicle’s design, content, layout and performance, following the first 90 days of ownership. This year, the study saw that overall delight dropped by a few points and they determined that the fuel economy index was the lone cause of that, but what was most impressive was that the eight most improved brands in the study were domestics. Buick, for example, increased its index score by 20 points and jumped eights spots on the list.

Much of the gain seen in domestic vehicles versus imports had to do with the overhaul many of the domestics went through, to make their vehicle line-up include a lot of the elements that made import vehicles so popular.

What should make the APEAL results attractive to domestic car dealers is the impact this could have on their WOM (Word of Mouth) related sales. We know that friends and family heavily influence approximately 40% of those buying vehicles, during the later phase of their decision-making process. The influence from WOM here could go as deep as to effect make and not just the model of vehicle. JD Power’s Dave Sargent (VP of Automotive Research) noted the study’s lead to WOM for manufacturers: “For vehicles that perform well on both IQS and APEAL studies, 76% of owners recommend them, versus 66% for vehicles that are below average on both.”

If all of the above is true, we may now start to see a shift in the auto industry. This would be a good thing for newspapers, niche magazine and third party sites, because even though we have seen heavy consolidation of domestic brand dealerships, their numbers far outshine the amount of brick and mortar imports dealers and as a result, they largely affect media advertising revenues, in the automotive vertical.

*Best Selling Vehicles of 2007

1. Ford F-Series, 588,952 unit sales / - 12.5%
2. Chevrolet Silverado, 526,275 unit sales / – 2.4%
3. Toyota Camry, 398,868 unit sales / + 6.4%
4. Honda Accord, 332,815 unit sales / +10.2%
5. Toyota Corolla/Matrix, 317,716 unit sales / – 4.4%
6. Honda Civic, 278,764 unit sales / +2.2%
7. Chevrolet Impala, 270, 504 unit sales / + 12.6%
8. Nissan Altima, 239,800 unit sales / +26.6%
9. Dodge Ram, 214,569 unit sales / – 29.3%
10. Honda CRV, 184,003 unit sales / +34.9%

**Forbes Magazine, 2007

written by Beverly Crandon

RepairPal is the most recent interactive automotive info site to appeal to consumers. The concept was founded by a group of car enthusiasts in 2007 and finally came into fruition on June 21, 2008. RepairPal is premised on the idea that consumers can sanity check their car repair quote by inputting their basic car specs and repair details. Once it has all of the information, RepairPal provides the car owner ranges and estimates applicable for their repair.

In addition to offering secondary repair quotes, RepairPal allows its users to:

• Find repair shops in their neighborhood
• Track their vehicles service records
• Get expert auto advice
• Source automotive information by auto repair heading

written by Beverly Crandon

eBay Motors has now launched a marketing department dedicated to their certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle market. This is no doubt a smart move for eBay as certified vehicles have become more attractive not just to the dealer, but also to the consumer.

1. Almost 25% of consumers sourcing vehicles in newspapers look for CPO vehicles specifically – and this number is growing rapidly
2. Dealers, on average, can sell a CPO vehicle for more than those that are not certified
3. Dealers themselves tell you they make more of a profit on used vehicles versus new and a certified vehicle falls into that middle ground between your new and your plain old pre-loved vehicles.

Therefore, eBay’s new focus on the CPO market is more than appropriate given all of the above points.

eBay’s new CPO group will be sponsored by Lexus, but will initially also carry General Motors and Chrysler vehicles. According to the company, they already have 5,000 certified used-vehicle dealers feature inventory in the “eBay Motors CPO Showroom.”

“In this down economy, auto shoppers’ consideration for used vehicles remains strong, and interest in certified pre-owned is drastically increasing. The CPO Showroom brings this highly desirable inventory to the auto shoppers on our site to provide them with even better selection.” says Rob Chesney, vice president, eBay Motors, Marketplaces. “Additionally, franchise dealers and auto manufacturers understand used vehicles to be an important segment to drive revenue, and eBay Motors strives to provide dealers qualified, certified-used automotive shoppers through this new, richer shopping experience.”

The group anticipates 12 million unique monthly visitors to their virtual motors showroom.

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Certified Preowned Vehicles, Certified Vehicles, CPO, CPO Vehicles, eBay, eBay Motors

Covering stories from blog.ad-ition.com and other relevant classified media news.

This episode’s covered news bits include a discussion on Cox and its purchase of Adify, a few words on the Newsday sale, KBB’s to 10 coolest vehicle list, and of course updates on the Microsoft/Yahoo! bid.

 

 Standard Podcast [21:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Adify, Cablevision, Cox, Microsoft, newspaper podcast, podcast, Rupert Murdoch, Yahoo

Here’s a neat list to share with your automotive advertisers:

KBB’s Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18K

1. Ford Focus
2. Honda Fit
3. Jeep Patriot
4. Mazda3
5. Mitsubishi Lancer
6. Pontiac Vibe
7. Scion xB
8. Subaru Impreza
9. Suzuki SX4…. and lastly

10. VW Rabbit

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: KBB, New Car