As January's International Auto Show ran its course in Detroit, it became apparent that in 2006, there will be more new car launches than any year ever before. Although there's really no better place to see the details and feel the excitement around these new vehicles than the Auto Show, attendance declined for the third straight year. What have all these people been doing in place of visiting the biggest Auto Show in the United States? From what all the recent studies are saying, most likely they are online looking for the next car that interests them.
Users are looking toward the web to find the latest and greatest on model introductions and concept vehicles. But can the web provide a similar platform to convey the true energy of OEM vehicle unveilings, and can we compete with the glitz and glare of the Auto Show?
Awareness & consideration
I don't like to admit it, but I helped launch the Pontiac Aztek in 2001 during my time at Digitas. After dedicating most of our lifestyle budget to CBS for ads to run during the first Survivor series, our biggest struggle was finding enough large awareness ideas on endemic auto sites, where we knew consumers were guaranteed to be searching for their next new car. There were very few ideas. The most exciting thing we could find was a 180x150 homepage, with no rich media or looping allowed, though there was also a significant number of less-than-exciting logo sponsorships.
Lifestyle sites were sought out due to the extreme nature and unique identity of the Aztek. This was required to support the significant launch budget, promote the new unique model and create brand awareness among a broader audience. But, significantly more money would have been placed on the in-market sites, if they had had more extensive and exciting upper funnel creative opportunities. The car shoppers are guaranteed to be there, and that's the most valuable audience to an OEM. At that time, even sponsorship of an Auto Show area would have been groundbreaking. Maybe the lack of these opportunities led to the slow movement of the Aztek off the lots… then again maybe it didn't matter for that specific vehicle.
Some say that in-market sites don't need flashy creative or messages that cater to the masses because their users already know what brand -- and maybe even the model --they want. But an opposite argument can be made: that many people reach in-market sites at the consideration stage of purchase, especially within the homepage and category level pages. And maybe the thought is to forget about clicks to the OEM site and instead focus messaging at a point where a consumer is still defining their vehicle consideration set.
Pushing the limits
Today is a different story for pre-launch and launch creative opportunities online, compared to 2001. Back in 2001, I could never have imagined Flash ads on the homepages of in-market automotive sites. You may have recently seen a very nice Mazda 5 peel-down ad in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage of Kelly Blue Book, which folded over the homepage content if the user initiated it. This would never have flown in 2001. The in-market automotive sites had a much harder battle with editors at that time, and they didn't need to alter the content of the site or be overwhelmingly creative to get a good portion of launch budgets. NADAguides.com now allows full animation ads within the site header that sync up with the NADA logo. These are the types of ads agencies are looking for to help their clients launch models-- where they know that auto customers are in that six-month purchase decision window.
But, we can do better. Why aren't we pushing the rich media limits creatively on in-market automotive sites? What ever happened to innovative beta programs provided by rich-media partners that tested new technologies and released innovative new formats? These beta campaigns challenged publishers and rich-media companies, and really moved the online marketing industry forward in the process.
In my mind, nobody has produced more groundbreaking creative work and better invested in beta programs than Honda, along with its agency, RPA. It seems like they have been launching "first mover" creative campaigns for 20 years. More recent examples can be seen like the "Faces" campaign utilizing Unicast's beta of their Video Commercial format, and the first ever clickable video program powered by Avant Interactive to promote the Accord Hybrid. Meridee Alter, senior vice president and media director at RPA, says, "We always are looking for more innovative and effective ways to communicate Honda's messages to consumers. That is not to say that we will participate in any beta opportunity that is presented, but we are absolutely interested in testing and helping to develop promising new creative formats and technologies."
What's unveiling in '06?
What can the interactive media industry do to translate the look and feel of the Auto Shows? Video presents a great opportunity for a user to view a substantial part of the launch vehicle, but it's still within a pretty small window, with minimal pixels and detail. But video is a good start that conveys the sound, sight and motion of the Auto Shows. Also, keep an eye out for more ideas coming from OEM agencies this year. (My next article will feature upcoming launch campaigns by Honda, Nissan and Toyota.)
Hyundai is another OEM with very important new car launches in 2006, and it is contributing a significant amount of time and money on promoting these launches online. Robert Brown, interactive marketing manager online at Hyundai Motor America, says, "OEMs have always been challenged with reproducing the energy and excitement of the in-person Auto Show experience anywhere, including online. There is just nothing like being there, and though we offer online video coverage of the unveiling of our new products at the shows on our site, there is more opportunity to leverage and syndicate the experience to a greater audience."
Robert and the industry are still looking for the next best thing to launch new vehicles online and provide that Auto Show experience within the in-market automotive arena. And his vehicles are much better than the Aztek.
Chad M. Beasley is Jumpstart Automotive Media's vice president of west coast sales and creative development.
