Online Share-Of-Voice: Auto Groups Face Traffic Gridlock

On a month-by-month comparison, the number of online display campaigns in June 08 was approximately 86% higher than the corresponding period the year before - from 2,219 to more than 4,300 campaigns a month, or almost 11 new campaigns a day! (Source: Adrelevance)

Into this mix sits the automotive sector, of which one of the largest online display advertisers is Toyota Australia. Coincidentially (if you believe in coincidences), the number of automotive campaigns in June 08 was also up 86% on the same period a year before. However, it is the broader automotive sector which seems to be providing impetus to that growth - in particular auto publishers/classifieds groups, like Drive and CarsGuide.

This is to the detriment of manufacturers, which in June 08, made up 59% of all auto campaigns, compared with 61% from the year before.

Toyota, as a case in point, slips to 14% of all manufacturing campaigns, despite an increase in the real number of online display campaigns. This four point slip in share-of-voice amongst auto manufacturers is predominantly the result of exceedingly aggressive behaviour from brands below the top three, including Honda, Jeep, Subaru, VW and Mazda.

In the case of Honda, for example, there have been some spectatcular jumps in online campaign activity. In March, its online campaign index jumped more than 1500% relative to its performance in January 08, followed by a similar increase in June.

With auto groups increasingly committing significant advertising dollars to online, at the expense of above-the-line, there is added pressure on media planners to justify higher CPM charges and lower response rates associated with an increasingly saturated automotive media. Unfortunately for planners, auto groups are unlikely to reverse their media thinking given the increasing investments they are making in website-initiated CRM programs.