There was a study done and some interesting data was reveled on auto manufacturers advertising during the year 2009. There were total of 2 billion online ads displayed by car companies in 2009 but those were actually 43% less from 2008.
Results were put down in three categories:
1. The top advertisers overall –
auto manufacturing companies combined for more than 1.9 billion ad impressions which reached 120 million people of which 65% were internet audience.
Ford, GM, & Chrysler together had done 26% of total auto advertising and the other top ten companies accounted for 58%. Ford Motor Company seemed to be a leader in advertising as they alone had advertised with 480 million display ads. The other followed were Toyota with 384 million, GM with 316 million, Mercedes-Benz with 265 million and Honda with 163 million ads.
2. The most advertised SUVs –
the top 5 most advertised SUVs were the KIA Borrego, Toyota Sequoia, Toyota Highlander and Ford Flex. At the top of the list winning the distinction of most online advertised SUV in 2009 was the GMC Yukon.
Although there were 9.9 million display ads shown for Fuel Efficient Hybrid models it is little hard to believe that more online advertising is still going on for gas guzzling models. There were 65 million ads shown for sport utility vehicles.
3. The most advertised “Green” vehicles –
Jeff Hackett, a senior Vise President at com Score said, “The collective online advertising strategy of automakers shows a low level of online advertising for their green models and higher levels for their heavier gas consumption vehicles”.
The most advertised green vehicle was not a hybrid SUV instead it was the hybrid Chevy Malibu. It was followed in order by the Lexus LS, Honda Civic, Toyota Prius and Lexus RX.
SUV’s may still drive with a larger share of sales but it seems like there will be a lot of green vehicles advertising in future. Automakers research has shown that online is an effective brand building medium and now it might be a good time to begin shifting towards the models of the future.