Search Marketing Blog
Rev-in Up Online (Car) Spending
In an article released today from eMarketer, the online market research firm reported that the current challenging state of the economy is directly impacting marketing plans within the domestic automotive industry. But, in a way that you might not expect.
Even with the decline in sales of new vehicles, and the decline in overall advertising spending this year, US automotive marketers are expected to increase their online advertising budgets by more than 21%, compared to last year, to nearly $3 billion by the end of 2008.
The following chart from eMarketer depicts this impressive projected spending increase in online advertising by car marketers:
The reason for this healthy outlook is cleverly conveyed by the following statement from this article: “Auto marketers are changing media lanes and following their market“.
More and more US car consumers are turning to search engines and destination sites for research, information, and comparison prior to formulating their buying decisions. In fact, it has been reported that more than 4-out-of-5 individuals looking to purchase a vehicle today, consult online sources at least once during their car-buying process.
I perceive that our current economic conditions will continue to drive even greater portions of overall marketing budgets (at companies from all industries) to online search marketing campaigns. When every dollar matters, it’s paramount that savvy advertisers commit their budgets to campaigns that are measurable, quantifiable, and extremely cost-effective.
Let me know how you think the rest of 2008 will play-out for our industry.
