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AUTOMOTIVE

Analytics Bulletin

Making Display Advertising the Engine for Automotive Growth

Highlights

During the economic downturn, • average Display impressions per automotive advertiser served by MediaMind showed a remarkable growth.

The Cash for Clunkers program in America • boosted Conversion Rate threefold, and increased users’ responsiveness to automotive ads to a peak.

On average, the three largest automakers spend an estimated • $142 per car sold on online Display advertising.

Rich Media• doubles Conversion Rate and nearly triples CTR.

Mobile banners are performing well for automotive, achieving a similar Conversion •Rate to Expandable Banners and Polite Banners.

Automotive websites have the • highest Conversion Rate for the automotive vertical.

Synched Ads increase Conversion Rate by • 67%.

MediaMind’s Automatic Optimization, which uses a sophisticated algorithm to •deliver the most impactful creative, increases Conversion Rate by 79%.

US automotive spending on online advertising is expected to grow by • 20% annually, while new car sales are expected to grow by 7%.

In 2010, the automotive industry represents • 6.1% of overall US online advertising spending.

US automotive advertising spending is forecasted to grow by more than twofold •from $1.5 billion in 2009 to $3.9 billion in 2014.

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Analytics Bulletin: Making Display Advertising the Engine for Automotive Growth

IntroductionThe past few years have been hard for the automotive industry. From the high fuel prices that hampered the sales of gas guzzlers to the economic crash that has severely impacted the sales of new vehicles, automakers had to compete even harder for every prospect.

The auto industry is cyclical, and sales tend to move together with the economy. Buyers tend to buy cars when times are good, and tend to hold off in an economic downturn. This downturn has been particularly hard for carmakers for two reasons:

First, the 2008-2009 economic slump is one of the worst in •modern history, some say since the Great Depressions in the 1930’s. In the US, which until this year was the largest auto market, unemployment rate has reached 9.7% in December 2009.1 Prospective customers who lost their jobs, or are worried about their job prospects tend to postpone large purchases such as a new car for better times.

Second, many consumers rely on credit and loans in order to •buy new cars. Banks and Financial Services firms that were severely impacted by the current downturn tightened their credit facilities and made it harder for cash strapped consumers to finance purchases.

1 US Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 25 2010.2 Reuters. “China car sales top U.S.”, available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60A1BQ20100111

Chart 1: US Quarterly Light Vehicle Sales

Note: Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate.Source: Wells Fargo Securites, “U.S Economic Forecast”, June 2010.

The effect of the recession on the automotive industry began early in 2008, while the sharpest decline was between Q3 2008 to Q4 2008. On September 25, 2008 Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the world financial system was close to a meltdown. In Q1 2009, light vehicle sales fell by 37.5%, as compared to Q1 2008, bringing some automakers to file for bankruptcy protection.

Nevertheless, there is a silver lining. First, US demand has recovered in Q3 2009 after the introduction of the Cash for Clunkers program in America that provided rebates for new cars. Second, demand from other countries, particularly China, is expected to elevate world sales. China, the world’s most populous nation, has succeeded the US as the largest auto market in 2009.2

While sales are not expected to slump back to the lows of the beginning of 2009, they are not expected to return to the pre-recession rates seen in early 2008 anytime soon. Wells Fargo analysts estimate that it will take years for US car sales to reach the pre-crisis sales figures. Even by Q4 2011, they do not expect sales to reach the figures of early 2008. According to the forecast, unit sales growth is expected to sum to 6.6% annually from 2010 to 2011.

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Still, depressed car sales are not expected to severely impact US automotive online advertising spending. Forrester Research estimates that automotive online advertising spending in the US will increase exponentially over the next four years. According to Forrester, online advertising for the automotive vertical is expected to grow by 21.2% annually from 2009 to 2014. Overall, spending is forecasted to more than double from $1.5 billion in 2009 to $3.9 billion in 2014.

Chart 2: Automotive Online Advertising Forecast

Chart 3: Average Impressions per Auto Advertiser 2007-2009

Note: Includes online display advertising, search, e-mail, social media and mobile marketing.Source: Forrester Research, “Interactive Advertising Forecasts”, October 2009.

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: 2007 to 2009, Auto, Worldwide.

According to Forrester, in 2010, the automotive industry represents 6.1% of overall online advertising spending, and has the sixth largest presence online. Expedited growth of online advertising indicates that many automotive dollars are going to switch hands from offline advertising to online advertising.

Furthermore, the hard times in the automotive industry have not dented the industry’s advertising volume in Display – quite the contrary. Even as automakers were experiencing declining sales, there has been a significant increase in automotive ad impressions served by MediaMind, and specifically in the average impressions served per advertiser.

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Data on online display advertising impressions served by MediaMind from 2007 to 2009 suggest that the global slowdown in automotive sales has actually done well for automotive Display Advertising3. In 2008, the number of total impressions increased and there has been no decline in the average impressions per advertiser. Furthermore, from February 2009, impressions increased significantly, potentially reflecting tighter competition for every customer and plans by governments in Europe and North America to launch new car rebate programs to stimulate the economy.

In 2009, one of the worst years in recent memory for automakers, online Display impressions per advertiser served by MediaMind have shot up. This signals that when advertising budgets are becoming tight, advertisers are trading off-line budgets for more targeted and efficient online campaigns. For automakers, online display advertising represents a cost effective way to interact with prospective customers.

This trend is partly derived from a change in consumer behavior.

Almost 90% of consumers today use the

Internet to research new vehicles, up from

61% in 2005.

From February 2009, impressions increased

significantly, potentially reflecting tighter

competition for every customer and plans by

governments in Europe and North America to

launch new car rebate programs to stimulate

the economy.

3 The definition of the automotive vertical at MediaMind is not limited to auto manufacturers and dealers. For MediaMind, automotive includes all products and services related to the automotive industry. They typically include manufacturers and dealers of cars, trucks and motorcycles. In addition, car rental agencies, car repair shops, car parts manufacturers, and gas stations are also included. However, auto manufacturers represent the vast majority of advertisers in the verticals.4 Capgemini. Cars Online 09/10.

A global survey by Capgemini, a consultancy, indicates that almost 90% of consumers today use the Internet to research new vehicles, up from 61% in 2005. According to the survey, dealer and manufacturer websites are the two most important sources of information for prospective car buyers.

Capgenimi’s survey also indicates that the consumer buying cycle has shortened. The survey points out that more than two thirds of respondents start their research two to four months before the purchase, as compared to the traditional buying cycle of six months. Capgemini attributes the shrinking buying cycle to the availability of more information on the web, so consumers do not have to go to the showroom to seek information.4 It appears that for automakers, reaching consumers at the showroom may be too late to make a significant impact on buying intentions.

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Willing to Spend MoreA new car is one of the single largest financial purchases that many individuals make during their lifetime. That explains why carmakers and dealers are willing to spend more than other industries for each sales lead.

Chart 4: US Average CPM

Source: Adify, “Vertical Gauge Report Q3 2009”, November 23, 2009, and MediaMind Research.

An analysis by Adify indicates that carmakers pay twice as much, on average, for a CPM as compared to other online advertising verticals. The main reason for the higher CPM is that automotive ads tend to be placed in sites that focus on automotive rather than on broader and more general media and therefore tends to be pricier. Another reason is that automotive makes higher use of Rich Media – 53.3% of automotive impressions are Rich Media, as compared to 50.6% in other verticals.

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Top Advertisers

General Motors, Ford and Toyota represent more than half of the total spending of the top 10 automotive advertisers, according to Nielsen. This is not surprising; these three advertisers represent 52.9% of light vehicle sales in the US in 20095.

Honda, the fourth largest carmaker by November 2009 sales volume is not even in the top 10 online display advertisers. Chrysler, the fifth largest automaker is lagging way behind in seventh place. Thus, advertising spending per car varies greatly between automakers. As more automakers increase spending in par with the three largest automakers, the online display advertising market for automotive will grow significantly.

Chart 5: Top 10 US Automotive Advertisers by Impressions – November ‘09

Source: Nielsen Online AdRelevance, cited from eMarketer.

5 Wards Auto. “U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Summary – December 2009”. Available at: http://wardsauto.com/keydata/USSalesSummary/6 The basis for these estimates is data from Nielsen on impressions, data from Adify on average CPM, and annual car sales from Wells Fargo.

HyundaiFuji Heavy IndustriesChrysler

CarsDirect.com

AutoNation

Nissan

Park Auto Mall

Toyota

Ford

General Motors

Spending per CarOn average, the three largest automakers spent an estimated $142 on online advertising per car sold in the US in 2009.6 While this may seem high, considering the amount of money that changes hands with each new car sale, and the automotive marketing budget, there is still room for growth. The three largest automakers served an estimated 9,465 impressions for every car sold on average in the US in 2009.

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Getting the Most out of Your CampaignThere are four online metrics that are helpful for advertisers to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. Dwell Rate and Average Dwell Time measure users’ engagement with ads. CTR and Conversion Rate measure the effectiveness of ads in generating traffic to the advertiser’s websites.

Many automotive advertisers measure how many users seek more information on the product on their website using conversion tags. This allows advertisers to gauge how many users have advanced through the purchase funnel and have shown intent to purchase. Nevertheless, users may also go directly to the dealership after seeing the ad, without stopping at the website. Therefore, the effectiveness of automotive campaigns should not be limited to counting conversions, and advertisers should also use Dwell, which measures the proportion of impressions that were engaged with.

Conversion Rate measures the total number of conversions from the advertiser’s website, divided by the number of impressions served. Conversions are not necessarily a monetary transaction, but signify an action that the advertiser would like users to take, such as downloading brochures, submitting forms, requesting a quote or scheduling a test drive. Conversion Rate may vary between advertisers based on the placement of the conversion tags on the website7. During their several months of research before buying a new car, users may view multiple ads and visit the advertiser’s website multiple times, generating multiple conversions.

While it is important to measure the traffic that ads created, it is also important to measure the proportion of impressions that were engaged with. This can serve as a proxy for the branding effect of ads. To measure the effectiveness of branding we use two metrics: Dwell Rate and Average Dwell Time. Dwell Rate measures the proportion of Rich Media impressions that were intentionally engaged with by touch, interaction or click. Average Dwell Time measures the duration of a Dwell in seconds for users who engaged. In both cases, unintentional Dwell lasting less than one second is excluded.

Dwell provides an estimate of the share of impressions that were seen by users with high likelihood. A user’s natural tendency is

Conversion tags allow advertisers to gauge

how many users have advanced through the

purchase funnel and have shown intent to

purchase.

to follow the mouse cursor movement with their eyes. Dwell measures the proportion of impressions that had a meaningful mouse-touch, lasting more than one second. While there have been users who have seen the ads and have not touched them with the mouse, Dwell allows us to gauge the number of users that are very likely to see the ad.

Furthermore, new research by MediaMind, Microsoft Advertising and comScore shows that Dwell does have an actual effect on brand metrics. The results of the study indicate that users who were exposed to campaigns with high Dwell are three times more likely to search for brand related keywords as compared to users who were exposed to campaigns with low Dwell. Furthermore, campaigns with high Dwell increased advertisers’ site traffic by

69% and increased brand engagement – increasing page views and time spent on the brand’s site.8

For the purpose of this analysis, MediaMind Research has analyzed the results of nearly 26 billion automotive impressions. Impressions were served by MediaMind between Q1 2009 and Q4 2009. This analysis covers global data, unless noted otherwise.

A new study indicates that high Dwell boosts

search for brand related keywords, increases

advertisers’ site traffic and increases brand

engagement—page views and time spent on

the brand’s site.

7 Conversions are attributed to an impression up to 30 days after serving. 8 Available for download at: http://advertising.microsoft.com/europe/dwell-on-branding

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Rich Media Outperforms Standard BannersWhile online display advertising generates traffic to the advertisers’ website, Rich Media does it much better than Standard Banners. This finding makes it easy for advertisers to improve campaign performance. Switching from Standard Banners to Rich Media may double a campaign’s expected direct response performance.

This elevated performance has a few explanations. Rich Media outperforms Standard Banners by drawing users’ eyes away from the publishers’ content to the ad. Furthermore, by enabling users to interact with the marketing message, Rich Media increases recall. Rich creatives also have the ability to feed data dynamically and increase relevancy. When all of these effects are combined, the result is an increase in clicks and conversions, as compared to Standard Banners.

Chart 6a: CTR by Format Chart 6b: Conversion Rate by Format

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: Q1 2009 to Q4 2009, Auto, Worldwide.


While Rich Media costs more to produce and serve, new capabilities for dynamic creative such as MediaMind’s Smart Versioning allow the advertiser to better control long term creative costs by dynamically generating multiple versions of the creative. Click Through Rate for Rich Media is nearly three times higher as compared to Standard Banners. Conversion Rate is twofold for Rich Media as compared to Standard Banners.

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Auto Goes Mobile

A deeper analysis of CTR and Conversion Rate by ad type shows surprising results. Mobile banners are rated right after Floating Ads and Wallpaper Ads in the case of Conversion Rate and right after Expandable Banners in the case of CTR. While mobile Display advertising is still in its infancy and includes a limited number of ads, this shows a promising future. Users are responding to mobile solicitations by clicking on ads and are browsing to the advertiser’s website.

Chart 7: Click Through Rate by Format

Chart 8: Conversion Rate by Format

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: Q1 2009 to Q4 2009, Auto, Worldwide. Mobile Banner data is US only.

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: Q1 2009 to Q4 2009, Auto, Worldwide. Mobile Banner data is US only.

Mobile ads also have a similar Conversion Rate to that of Expandable Banners and Polite Banners. This shows that size does not necessarily matter. A small mobile banner can be as effective as a browser based banner and generate similar results.

Typically, floating ads are still the best for direct response. Highly visible, Floating Ads appear above the publisher’s content and generate a high breakthrough. The results of both high CTR and high Conversion Rate indicate that the clicks are not the result of users trying to close the banner. On the contrary, the high Conversion Rate indicates that their very high visibility makes them successful in generating traffic for automotive advertisers. Expandable Banners and Polite Banners have more or less similar performance both in CTR and Conversion Rate.

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Conversions During 2009Another way to look at Conversion Rate is as a barometer for users’ intent to purchase. Users who browse to the advertiser’s website after viewing an ad, with or without a click express their interest. The feeble sales of the automotive industry this year provide an interesting test case for users’ behavior, and what increases or decreases users’ interest in buying a new car.

Chart 9: US Conversion Rate and Car Sales

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: Q1 2009 to Q4 2009, US. Autodata Corp. “Total U.S. Light Vehicle Retail Sales (SAAR, Mil.Units)”.Annual Rate (SAAR)

Following the global downturn, US car sales sustained a hit. The US Conversion Rate for the first half of 2009 has been low as well. As part of the stimulus plan and in order to help carmakers through the recession, the American Congress created the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), which is widely known as the “Cash for Clunkers” program. The program was designed to provide incentives to trade old gas guzzlers for new, fuel efficient vehicles.

The program, which officially started in July 2009, turned out to be a great success, and the initial $1 billion allocated for the program was exhausted by the end of the same month. In response, Congress budgeted another $2 billion for the program. The additional budget was exhausted by the end of September 2009.

The result of the Cash for Clunkers program on sales was overwhelming. Light vehicle sales increased by 15.8% in July, the first month of the program, compared to June. Light vehicle sales peaked in August 2009, with an increase of 45.2% as compared to June.

The Cash for Clunkers program has also boosted online interest in the automakers’ ads. Conversion Rate increased twofold in July and threefold in August, as compared to June. An analysis of CTR during 2009 has achieved similar results.

This shows the importance of reaching consumers when they are making their buying decisions. During the Cash for Clunkers program, many users were deciding whether they would like to buy a new car and were highly receptive to automotive advertising. A significantly higher proportion of impressions ended up as conversions since more users were interested in cars and got the ad just in time.

While the Cash for Clunkers program is a unique episode in the automotive industry’s history, it makes for a broader lesson for online advertising. Online advertising effectiveness is at its peak when served to users while in the process of researching a potential purchase. Getting the message across to users who are seeking more information anyway generates an overwhelming increase in response. As this research shows later on, in some verticals including automotive, sites with razor sharp segmentations perform much better than others. Automakers and dealers are likely to increase their Conversion Rate when targeting users who have already signaled on their interest on a new car, and what better place to look for them than automotive websites.

During the Cash for Clunkers program, a significantly higher proportion of impressions ended up as conversions since more users were interested in cars and got the ad just in time.

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Automotive by PlacementAs one of the largest purchases in their lifetime, users are likely to conduct significant research before zooming in on a few models they are considering. It is during this research that users’ responsiveness to online advertising is at its peak.

In automotive, conversions can serve as a measure of intent to purchase. For example, automotive websites attract car enthusiasts and people who are looking to buy a new car. These people are conducting research and are more likely to end up on the website as compared to other users. Therefore, catching users who are already actively looking for a car can significantly increase Conversion Rate.

Chart 10: Conversion Rate by Placement


Automotive placements include websites that specialize in reviewing cars such as the auto channels of the large portals and other sites that are dedicated to automotive. Other automotive placement provides used car price quotes. Conversion Rate for an automotive placement is double that of the next placement, and demonstrates an extremely attractive proposition for advertisers.

Other placements such as travel, weather, music and news tend to have an average Conversion Rate, and still, these placements have only half the Conversion Rate of automotive sites. Technology, mail, entertainment and social networks tend to have the lowest performance for the automotive vertical. Users are proving less responsive in these environments than others, perhaps as users associate them less with automotive.

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Chart 11 analyzes the link between Dwell Rate, Average Dwell Time and Conversion Rate. The x-axis measures Dwell Rate, the y-axis measures Average Dwell Time, while the size of the circle measures Conversion Rate.

This chart indicates that users on Instant Messaging, Music, Finance, and Social Networks are more likely to engage with ads as compared to automotive placements. How can that be reconciled with automotive placement’s high Conversion Rate?

Users who convert in an automotive placement, are actively looking for a car, and are more likely to convert by browsing or searching for your brand, rather than clicking on ads. Only one in five of the conversions in automotive websites is post click, while the other four are post impression. When accounting only for Post Click Conversion Rate, automotive placements come in only fourth after travel, finance and music.

Chart 11: Dwell and Conversions by Placement

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: Q1 2009 to Q4 2009, Worldwide.

This is a testament that the audience in automotive sites is the right target. One possible explanation for the lower engagement is that users of automotive websites encounter fierce competition from many other automotive ads, as well as from the publishers’ content that is automotive focused. Still, the precise targeting means a higher Conversion Rate, even with lower engagement and Dwell.

Other placements may have higher engagement and Dwell, but less precise targeting and therefore a lower Conversion Rate. The audience in these placements may not be actively looking for a car at the moment. Therefore, while they may be engaging with the ad, they are not likely to take the next step and go to the advertiser’s website.

Chart 11 shows that there is a correlation between a high Dwell Rate and a high Conversion Rate. Besides automotive sites, a high Dwell Rate leads to a high Conversion Rate, because when users engage with ads, they are more likely to retain the message and arrive at the advertiser’s site if they need more information.

While automotive placements have the

highest Conversion Rate, users engage with

ads more often in other environments.

Dwell Rate

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Finance

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EntertainmentNews

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Increasing Campaign PerformanceWhen you plan your next campaign, after you design a great engaging creative and choose the most effective placements, there are several that can help you increase performance. MediaMind data shows that using Synched Ads and creative optimization can considerably increase your Conversion Rate.

Synched Ads are designed to stand out from the clutter on the page. One of the challenges in automotive sites is to lure users’ attention from the automotive related content and other automotive ads to your creative.

Chart 12: Conversion Rate for Synched Ads

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: Q1 2009 to Q4 2009. Auto, Worldwide.

There is a way for automotive advertisers to attract attention, even when the competition is tight. Synched Ads are two ads that appear simultaneously on the same page as one unit. First, it means that more space is delivering your brand message, rather than having more messages from other advertisers at the same time. Second, it makes the message stand out from the content more clearly. The result is an increase in Conversion Rate of 67%.

Another way to boost performance through the MediaMind platform is Automatic Optimization. Automatic Optimization chooses the best performing creative and serves it the vast majority of the time. The result is an increase in Conversion Rate of 79% on average. This is a testament to the importance of the creative in advertising – creative optimization does make a difference.

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Chart 13: Optimization and Conversion Rate

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: Q1 2009 to Q4 2009. Auto, Worldwide.

In 2009, advertisers in the Automotive vertical leveraged MediaMind to perform the following optimizations:

Automatic optimization:• With automatic optimization, the system will automatically serve the best performing ad. Advertisers can choose between Even Odds, where all ads are served, but the better performing ads appear consistently more, and Single Winner, where the best performing ad appears most of the time and other ads only a fraction of the time. Ads can be optimized according to clicks, interactions or conversions.

Even Distribution:• Ads are served equally across impressions.

Time Based:• Serve different ads at different times.

Weighted:• Applying weights, or percentages for distributing the ads between impressions.

Chart 13 clearly shows that Automatic Optimization is the best performing method. The other methods achieve a similar Conversion Rate.

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Automotive by RegionThis analysis used mostly global data to dissect global trends in automotive advertising. There are, however, regional differences. Chart 14 analyzes regional differences in performance. The x-axis measures regional performance in CTR while the y-axis measures regional performance in terms of Dwell Rate.

Regions can be roughly divided in two – low on CTR and Dwell that include North America and Australia and New Zealand, and high CTR and Dwell that include South America, Europe and South Asia. East Asia is in between with high CTR and medium Dwell.

Chart 14: CTR and Dwell by Region

Source: MediaMind Research. Data: Q1 2009 to Q4 2009, Automotive, Worldwide.

These differences can be largely attributed to differences in user’s habits. Users in North America and Australia and New Zealand tend to engage less and click less on ads, as they are the more mature online advertising markets. In other markets, users tend to engage and click more. The results of campaigns in each region should be compared to the benchmarks of the prospective regions. Benchmark tables are included as an appendix to this research.

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Reaching prospective customers while they are researching a new car

significantly boosts the Conversion Rate.

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Conclusion

Even when facing hard times, automakers and dealers have increased their volume and spending on online marketing and display advertising. They recognize that online display advertising presents a more efficient and economical way to market cars than traditional advertising.

For automotive, Rich Media generates significantly higher traffic as compared to Standard Banners, both in CTR and in Conversion Rate. In addition, mobile banners are doing well in terms of CTR and Conversion Rate and achieve similar and even superior results to the traditional Expandable Banners and Polite Banners.

Reaching prospective customers while they are researching a new car significantly boosts the Conversion Rate. Automotive placements have a far higher Conversion Rate as compared to other placements. Users who visit automotive websites are interested in cars to begin with, and therefore are more receptive to the advertiser’s message. Nevertheless, many of these conversions are Post-Impression Conversions, and may be the result of users who plan to visit your site anyway. Other environments tend to generate higher Dwell, as users do engage with the ads but do not take the next step of browsing to the advertiser’s website since they are not looking for a car at the moment.

Two simple ways of boosting conversions are the use of Synched Ads and Automatic Optimization. Synched ads stand out of the clutter on the page and increase performance by 67%. Automatic Optimization uses a sophisticated algorithm to deliver the most impactful creative and increases conversion by 79%.

When 90% of car buyers use the Web to research vehicles, automakers and dealers cannot afford to be left behind. Online advertising is providing great value for the automotive industry, and advertisers are voting with their dollars. When users are looking for their next car online, winning or losing a prospective customer to the competition may be just an impression away.

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