internal guidance · title: internal guidance author: rebecca mary smith subject: created date:...

Autos

marketplace:

Device-specific

trends and usage

during lockdown

May, 2020

Microsoft Advertising. Intelligent connections.

1 National emergency timeline (3)

2 Objectives (4-5)

3 Market overview (6-13)

4 Consumer journey (14-20)

5 KPI insights (21-26)

6 Search patterns (27-31)

7 Disaster recovery (32-43)

8 Appendix (46-49)

Navigating

devices

Analysis compares pre vs. post timeframes

“Pre” timeframe “Post” timeframe

Determined by the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) Declaration date (March 13, 2020)

4-Jan 11-Jan 18-Jan 25-Jan 1-Feb 8-Feb 15-Feb 22-Feb 29-Feb 7-Mar 14-Mar 21-Mar 28-Mar 4-Apr 11-Apr 18-Apr 25-Apr 2-May 9-May 16-May 23-May

January February March April May

Have device usage and performance shifted as

auto shoppers acclimate to the new normal?

+3%Slight increase in handheld device share

-25%Overall decline in in-market cost-per-clicks (CPCs), driven by the

Partner Network on handheld

+69%Improvement in post-NE vs. pre-NE handheld query volume delta

(-4%) compared to prior year same period delta (-13%)

Macro state of the market year-to-date (YTD)

Automotive shoppers are actively searching

the Microsoft Network on their PCs

Source: ComScore qSearch (custom), U.S., December 2019; industry categories based on comScore classifications.

16MAutomotive PC searchers noton Google

46%Automotive PC Paid click share

The partner network drives the Automotive

space with 62% share of searches, 89%

attributed to Mobile + Tablet

Mobile PC Tablet Microsoft

Microsoft Internal Data, January-May 24, 2020.

Autos = in-market for new + CPO and aftermarket; Total Market = total universe of MSFT + Partner Network queries.

However, the search opportunity on Microsoft

is not limited to PCs. Handheld is critical to

Autos advertisers, generating 76% more query

volume for Autos than for the Total Market.

YTD search results page views (SRPV) share by Network & Device

Handheld

devices

account for

67% of all

partner

network

queries

PC

Handheld

Partner Network

10% 26% 52% 7% 3%2%

11% 50% 4% 12% 1%22%

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Americans are spending

more time on devices: smartphones (45%), tablets

(22%), desktops (24%), and laptops (43%)

Source: GWI The Global Consumer Impact Wave IV – May, 2020

Although autos queries declined

Post-NE, trends followed (and

improved upon the prior year’s

-11% drop) historical Jan-May

seasonality

Microsoft Internal Data, January-May 24, 2020; January-May 25, 2019.


Driven by a slump in PC volume, Autos

queries fell -6% post-lockdown, while the

Total Market (TM) grew +14%

Automotive

Search volume trend YTD

Mobile PC Tablet

Total Market

Search volume trend YTD

LowHigh

-10%

-4%

Post-NE absolute SRPV delta I BY DEVICE

2019 Auto SRPVs

Attributed primarily to handheld, the

number of served ads on in-market

Autos queries dropped -5% post-NE.

Meanwhile, ad serving increased +2%

for the total market (TM).

Secure your positioning and

establish history by returning to

market while the search engine

results page (SERP) is less

saturated


Autos = in-market for new + CPO; Total Market = total universe of MSFT + Partner Network queries.

Competition wanes in the in-market Autos

space post-NE, effecting surging

efficiencies and an unprecedented return-

to-market opportunity

January February March April MayApril 20

Monthly CPC trends by device YTD

Total Market I PC TabletMobile HighLow

Automotive I PC TabletMobile HighLow

-4%

-6%

Post-NE density delta I BY DEVICE

January February March April MayMarch 15 March 30 April 20April 20

Driven by the Partner Network, CPCs

for Autos declined by -25% and by

-17% for TM, contributing to overall

platform efficiencies (and widening

the return on investment (ROI) gap

between Microsoft and its SEM

competitors).


Autos = in-market for new + CPO; Total Market = total universe of MSFT + Partner Network queries.

Efficiency gains in the Partner Network

enabled advertisers in the in-market Autos

space (and across TM) to achieve more

visits for a much lower cost

Partner Network CPCs by device YTD

Total Market I PC TabletMobile HighLow

Automotive I PC TabletMobile HighLow

-14%

-23%

-17%

-37%

Autos vs TM post-NE CPC delta I BY NETWORK

-3%

4%

Device usage share for the Total

Market also saw minimal yet similar

movement post-NE

*When removing the Partner

Network, TM device share remained

relatively flat (-2% drop in

handheld; +0.5% in PC)



Device usage patterns shifted slightly post-

NE: Autos share on handheld devices

increased 3% while PC decreased -5%.

Autos device share growth post-NE

-6%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

PC Tablet Mobile

TM post-NE search results page views (SRPV) share

delta I BY DEVICE

Consumer journey

With the limited real estate on handheld devices,

customizing ad messaging to speak to your

customers’ needs throughout their shopping journey

is imperative

Although auto shoppers began

their journeys on handheld devices

10% more frequently post-NE than

pre-NE, PCs continued to be the

most prevalent starting point in the

auto journey with 84% device share

Journeys compared: start date Pre-NE vs start date Post-NE.

Microsoft Internal Data, January-March, 2020. Query paths include 2+ touchpoints.

MSFT Owned & Operated, All Devices.

Automotive journeys starting on mobile

jumped 68% following the lockdown

announcement

Auto

journeys

analyzed

crossed 23

Makes and

10 3rd

Parties

-2%

10%

-2%

-19%

68%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Device share of first searches growth post-NE

PC Tablet Mobile

Post-NE first search share delta I BY DEVICE

-3%

14%

Auto shoppers who began their search

paths post-NE were 14% more likely to

end on handheld devices than when

starting their journey pre-NE




Automotive journeys starting after

lockdown saw a 36% increase in mobile

share of path endpoints

Device share of last searches growth post-NE

-3%

-9%

36%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

1

PC Tablet Mobile

Post-NE last search share delta I BY DEVICE

With only four ad placements on a

mobile device, stacking ads allows

OEMs to own the SERP

Enable all tiers to serve

simultaneously and capture

shoppers at every stage in the

purchase funnel, increasing share

of SERP


Microsoft Internal Data, January-March, 2020. Query paths include 2+ clicked touchpoints.


Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) visits

double when stacking 2+ ads. Multi-serving

is increasingly effective post-NE, generating a

14% higher response.

Stacking ads (2+ vs. 1) OEM page click-through rate (CTR) increase by device

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

160%

Pre-NE Post-NE % Delta Post vs. Pre

1 Ad

2 Ads

3+ Ads

Post-NE mobile OEM page CTR I BY ADS SERVED

92% more

effective than

serving 1 ad

62-78% of Americans approve of brands advertising in

response to COVID-19, running promotions / loyalty

perks and offering flexible payment terms


Handheld device share of organic

automotive clicks dropped -12%

With the mobile screen size

limitations, the implications of the

inability to update search engine

optimization (SEO) in real-time were

more pronounced than on PC

Leverage responsive search ads

to ensure the right message

reaches your customersJourneys compared: start date Pre-NE vs start date Post-NE.



Handheld users are clicking on paid

automotive results 20% more frequently

while in quarantine, finding comfort in

automakers’ relief ad messaging

Paid / Organic click share growth on handheld devices post-NE

-28%

20%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

Organic Paid

2%

-12%

Post-NE organic click share I BY DEVICE

Key performance indicator (KPI) trends


Although overall volume declined

along with the Autos marketplace,

dealer share of the Autos queries

remained relatively flat following

stay-at-home mandates across all

devices



Aside from a slight dip in April as users

adapted to modified shopping tactics,

dealer queries primarily sustained its share

of mind

Dealer query volume by device vs. all Autos

In April,

Mobile

Dealer

SRPVs fell

-22%

MoM and

-18% YTD.

3%

0%

Autos (All Devices)PC Tablet Mobile

Post-NE dealer query share delta I BY DEVICE

SRPV = search results page view

MoM = Month over month

YTD = year to date


Size of text indicates frequency.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2020/05/28/coronavirus-car-buying-pandemic-home-deliveries-online-sales/5274230002/

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/21/the-coronavirus-pandemic-has-upended-auto-sales-and-buying-a-car-will-never-be-the-same.html

Automotive shoppers searched not only to

buy, but to understand how and when to

purchase

Frequency of tokens in emerging dealer queries across all devices post-NEHome deliveries have shot up

from less than 5% of new-vehicle

sales to nearly a quarter of all

sales

Add relevant keywords and

customize copy to address

interest in alternative shopping

options


Size of text indicates volume.


Question queries are prevalent in emerging

dealer queries

Top emerging dealer queries across all devices post-NE

64%

36%

Anomalous to the autos marketplace,

emerging dealer queries (many of

which focused on home deliveries)

were searched more frequently on

[home] PCs than handheld devices

Remarket to these shoppers with

updates about dealership

openings and delivery offerings

Post-NE emerging dealer query share I BY DEVICE


Despite post-NE incentive SRPVs

declining -5%, incentive share of IMNV

queries rose 9% driven by PC’s 16% jump

Incentive share of IMNV queries on

handheld devices is currently 23.4%

Respond to both new vehicle and

incentive queries with special offers

and timely promos in your ad copy


*IMNV: new or undefined (ie not CPO / used)

Incentive queries for in-market-for-new

vehicles* (IMNV) drove the Autos

marketplace up in March with OEMs

pushing their relief efforts broadly

IMNV query volume by device vs. Autos*

16%

7%

Post-NE incentive share delta I BY DEVICE > HANDHELD



The decline in fuel economy is seen

primarily on PCs and Microsoft

Owned & Operated properties

Target UV and Truck shoppers

searching on home computers

with alt fuel vehicle options in

the same segments

Audience target consumers

interested in sustainability



Interest in fuel-efficient vehicles dropped -11%

post-NE as the U.S. Corporate Average Fuel

Economy (CAFE) standards relaxed

Fuel Economy absolute SRPVs by device vs. all Autos


Post-NE fuel economy query share delta I BY DEVICE

-11%

-1%

Search patterns

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%

Medium to long (3+ words)

automotive query share grew 5%

across all devices post-lockdown

Leverage search term reports

to identify longer tail

keywords additions



With more time to search, automotive

queries grew in length, primarily on tablets

Query length share growth patterns post-NE by device

Short Medium / Long

5%

4%

Post-NE 3+ word share delta I BY DEVICE

57% more males than females say they will prioritize

purchasing cars / vehicles after COVID-19

(% who say they will prioritize making these large purchases first)


-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%


*Only logged-in users are identified by gender (~50% of O&O; 1% of Syndication).

**https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/kff-health-tracking-poll-late-april-2020/


Likely attributed to a blend of decreased necessity

and dwindling disposable time, post-NE share of

females searching for autos declined across all

devices, with mobile usage falling -14%

Autos search share by gender* post-NE

Female Male

Female Male

March 15 March 30 April 20

% More Females

In surveys** conducted post-NE, share

of Americans who say their lives have

been disrupted by the coronavirus

outbreak has increased, with females

consistently feeling more impacted

than males (11% greater in aggregate)

Leverage audience targeting to

customize messaging to each

demographic

https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/kff-health-tracking-poll-late-april-2020/

Apart from Tesla, all makes seeing a

statistically significant drop in female

interest share are imports

Remarket imports to re-engage

with women and to retain male

shoppers


*Only logged-in users are identified by gender (~50% of O&O; 1% of Syndication).


Shifting interest from imports post-NE,

females prefer domestic brands across all

devices

Post-NE female SRPV share delta by rising make

-11%

-11%

-10%

-8%

-6%

-6%

-5%

-5%

-4%

Nissan

Volkswagen

Honda

Hyundai

Tesla

Toyota

Kia

BMW

Subaru

GMC7%

Dodge8%

Jeep10%

Chevrolet11%

Ford12%

GMCDodgeJeepChevroletFord

Post-NE female SRPV share delta I BY DECLINING MAKE

In-market vehicles: disaster recovery guide

DISASTER RECOVERY: Performance expectations and recommendations to operate in a pandemic

Analysis compares immediate pre vs. post timeframes

“Pre” timeframe “Post” timeframe

Determined by the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) Declaration date (March 13, 2020)

25-Jan 1-Feb 8-Feb 15-Feb 22-Feb 29-Feb 7-Mar 14-Mar 21-Mar 28-Mar 4-Apr 11-Apr 18-Apr 25-Apr

Jan. February March April

The following sections analyze the

immediate 7-week impact post-NE and

offer guidance on how to most

effectively manage your business

In-market vehicles by model year

Post-NE, overall searches for new vehicles peaked

in weeks 11 to 13, largely due to strong purchase

incentives. Since then, new vehicles searches have

been declining on all three device types.

Microsoft Internal Data, January - April 30, 2020

Post-NE period of Weeks 11 to 17 compared to Weeks 4 to 10

Since the NE, the top rising branded

searches for new vehicles were for UVs

on mobile, followed by cars on mobile,

UVs on PC, and trucks on mobile

Nati

on

al Em

erg

en

cy

Shift budgets to support new

UVs and cars on mobile, and to

cover UVs on PCPC Tablet Mobile

Branded searches for new vehicles

Rising branded models by searches for new vehicles

Searches for new vehicles by device type post-NE (includes

brand & non-brand)

Since the NE was declared, overall searches

for used vehicles have decreased by -20% on

PC, -4% on tablet, and -3% for mobile



Since the NE, the top rising branded

searches for used vehicles were for

trucks on mobile

Consider prioritizing keyword

budget for used trucks on

mobile, followed by cars and

UVsPC Tablet Mobile

Branded searches for used vehicles

Rising branded models by searches for used vehicles

Searches for used vehicles by device type post-NE

(includes brand & non-brand)

In-market vehicles by segment

Truck searches on mobile have increased +6% while

cars and UVs saw minimal movement at +1% and

-3% respectivelyCPCs across all defined segments dropped -36%, driven by the Partner

Network’s (-41%) decline

Although mobile searches for UVs

are down post-NE, five of the top

ten rising models are UVs



Car Truck UV

Top 10 rising models by searches I MOBILE

Prioritize trucks and cars /

UVs with gains while

efficiencies in the market are

optimal

Branded mobile searches

Mobile searches by vehicle segment post-NE

(includes Brand & Non-Brand)

Since NE was declared, PC searches for cars and UVs

have decreased by -13% and -12% respectively but

increased for trucks by 11%. Truck lift is likely

attributed to incentive benefits / personal use needs1.CPCs across all defined segments dropped -16%, driven by O&O’s $0.30 (-

16%) decline.


Post-NE period of Weeks 11 to 17 compared to Weeks 4 to 101 https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2020/3/The-Impact-of-COVID-19-on-the-Auto-Industry

Despite declines in car and UV

queries on PCs, cars and UVs

represent nine of the top ten

rising models.

Top 10 rising models by searches I PC

Promote rising models and

trucks to target the most

captive audience on PCs while

the market is extremely

efficient.Car Truck UV

Branded PC searches

PC searches by vehicle segment post-NE


Post-NE, segment queries on tablets peaked

during weeks 11 to 13 and subsequently fell,

continuing to decline through April

Driven by the Partner Network, CPCs across all defined segments

dropped -24%



UV models account for 40% of

rising models on tablets, while

cars and trucks are both 30% of

growth by searchesN

ati

on

al Em

erg

en

cy

Consider a relatively even

split on keyword budget

between cars, trucks and UV

for tablets

Top 10 rising models by searches I TABLET

Car Truck UV

Branded tablet searches

Tablet searches by vehicle segment post-NE


In-market vehicles by class

Overall economy vehicle searches have

decreased by -7% on PC, -1% on tablet,

and –7% on mobile post-NE



Although overall economy searches are

declining post-NE, several vehicles have seen

statistically significant search increases:

• Toyota Tacoma (Truck)

• Volkswagen Passat (Car)

• Subaru Outback (UV)

• Toyota Highlander (UV)

• Volkswagen Atlas (UV)

• Chevrolet Silverado (Truck)

• Ford F-150 (Truck)

• Chevrolet Sonic (Car)

• Buick Enclave (UV)

• GMC Sierra (Truck)

• Chevrolet Silverado (Truck)

• GMC Sierra (Truck)

• Volkswagen Beetle (Car)

• Volkswagen Tiguan (UV)

• Toyota Tundra (Truck)

*Bold indicates statistically significant

growth (greater than one standard

deviation)

PC Tablet Mobile

Branded economy vehicle searches

Economy vehicle searches by device type post-NE


After peaking in week 13 due to strong purchase

incentives, luxury vehicle searches have declined

for all three device types, potentially driven by

rising unemployment1 and economic uncertainty2


1 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ICSA

2 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USEPUINDXD/

• Volvo XC60 (UV)

• Acura MDX (UV)

• Cadillac CT5 (Car)

• Volvo XC90 (UV)

• Audi R8 (Car)

• Volvo XC40 (UV)

• Volvo XC60 (UV)

• Audi RS (Car)

• Audi E-Tron (UV)

• Cadillac XT6 (Car)

• Volvo XC40 (UV)

• Volvo XC60 (UV)

• Audi RS (Car)

• Infiniti QX60 (UV)

• Acura RDX (UV)

Although overall luxury searches are declining,

several models have seen statistically

significant search increases post-NE:

*Bold indicates statistically significant

growth (greater than one standard

deviation)

Nati

on

al Em

erg

en

cy

PC Tablet Mobile

Branded luxury vehicle searches

Luxury vehicle searches by device type post-NE


https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ICSA

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/USEPUINDXD/

Strategies and recommendations

Learn immediate and recovery-phase strategies, and how to approach new

opportunities and optimize account health in the Digital Advertiser’s Guide to

COVID-19

https://advertiseonbing-blob.azureedge.net/blob/bingads/media/insight/co/apr6/microsoft-advertising-covid19-guide-en.pdf

Thank you!

advertising.microsoft.com

https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en-us?s_int=en-us-gct-web-src_ppt-sub_0-cam_ic_flx_endslide_msahp

Appendix

“Home shopping enables control over the purchase

process as well as stronger knowledge about prices

and deals.”

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2020/05/28/coronavirus-car-buying-pandemic-home-deliveries-online-sales/5274230002/

“A byproduct of the shutdown is that more dealers are

embracing digital tools to enable sales without having

to show up in person.”

Source: https://www.kbb.com/articles/car-news/coronavirus-COVID-19-car-buying-advice-deals/

“The Trump administration’s rollback of mileage

standards marks a win for Americans who like their

SUVs and pickup trucks.”

Source: https://nypost.com/2020/04/01/trump-rollback-of-mileage-standards-guts-climate-change-push/

internal guidance · title: internal guidance author: rebecca mary smith subject: created date:...

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