Cost-Effectively Reaching the In-Market Auto Buyer

Cost-Effectively Reaching the
In-Market Auto Buyer
Alternatives for Tier 1 and Tier 2 marketers to deliveronline advertising performance using networks
An Online Advertising Research White PaperBy ValueClick Media and Goodway 2.0Updated April 2008Cost-Effectively Reaching the
In-Market Auto Buyer
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 3
The Rationale for Auto Sites 4
Introducing the Alternative 5
Tier 1 Study: National Campaign - Hyundai 6 Tier 2 Study: Regional Campaign - Honda 8 Regional Campaign Example #1 11 Regional Campaign Example #2 12 Regional Campaign Example #3 13 Regional Campaign Example #4 14 Unexpected Results 14
Other Relevant Tactics for Auto Marketers 17
Conclusion 18
About the Authors 19
©2008 ValueClick, Inc., All Rights Reserved 2Cost-Effectively Reaching the Cost-Effectively Reaching the
In-Market Auto Buyer In-Market Auto Buyer
Executive Summary
There is a commonly-held belief that third party automotive information sites provide the best channel to reach in-market auto buyers. While these sites offer attractive inventory proven to drive leads, low inventory levels and high rates make this one of the most expensive online channels for auto marketers. This white paper presents the ad network model as one alternative, by using data from five auto campaigns to demonstrate that, when used effectively, the extensive reach and optimization capabilities of networks can deliver in-market auto buyers on a more cost-effective basis.
PurposeThe purpose of this study, conducted by ValueClick Media and interactive agency Goodway 2.0, was to evaluate networks as an alternative to advertising on automotive information sites. Moreover, the study sought to prove the most effective way to utilize networks, namely that running on a large number of sites and allowing optimization technology to determine those which are most effective will yield higher performance than presupposing what sites or channels will generate an advertiser's intended results.
Study DataOne national study run on the ValueClick Media network in July and August 2007: HyundaiOne regional study run on the ValueClick Media network in March 2008: HondaFour regional campaigns run on the ValueClick Media network between March and September 2007: Chevrolet, Dodge, Honda, Lincoln Mercury
MethodologyThe national campaign compared click-through performance of sites that were pre-targeted and considered likely to reach the intended target audience with a run-of-network media plan that was optimized based on real-time campaign data and analysis. The regional study similarly compared conversions between a pre-targeted and optimized portion, and the additional regional campaigns studied overall click-through and conversion rates, as well as performance of individual categories, to draw conclusions about the cost-effectiveness of using the network model to reach in-market auto buyers. Clients were also surveyed and asked to predict what categories would deliver the best click-through and conversion rates. This data was compared to actual category performance to illustrate the difficulty in pre-determining what categories of sites will perform best for any given campaign. Additionally, third party data from J.D. Power & Associates (2006 Online Cross-Shopping Study) and comScore (Plan Metrix winter 2007 data) was used to better understand auto site visitors and the online behavior of in-market auto buyers.
Key Findings. The overwhelming majority of auto site visitors are not in-market to buy a car, and those who are spend less than one percent of their online time on these sites.. Both studies and all campaigns studied revealed that ad networks can be used to cost-effectively achieve the performance objectives of auto marketers by starting from a broad media plan and optimizing down to the specific sites that demonstrate proven performance.. The channels and sites assumed to reach in-market auto buyers are not always the best performing ones, and have proven to often be detrimental to campaign performance.
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