Nielsen Auto Marketing Report 2018 -- Rethinking the Path to Purchase

quotTwo things jump right out of our researchquot says Nate Hutchins anamp160expert on automotive consumer behavior and Vice President Watch Client Strategiesamp160Automotive at Nielsenamp160 quotThe first is that as you might guess the quality of advertising messaging is more important than the quantity Seventyfive percent of all car buyers reported that they intend to purchase their topofmind brandamp160 As the name suggests this is the highest quality of unaided awareness a brand can achieve and it provides a significant edge over the competition before a shopper even sets foot in a dealershipamp160 On the other hand somewhat surprisingly we also found people don39t shop for cars by a simple process of elimination starting with a list of preferred vehicles and whittling it downamp160 Consumers actually increase the number of brands they consider as they get closer to purchasequotThis feels like a contradictionamp160 On the one hand building topofmind awareness is clearly a powerful indicator of purchase intentamp160 On the other consumers actually tend to increase their openmindedness to brands as they get nearer to purchaseamp160 On this point Nielsen39s findings are clear and consistentamp160 Aamp160typical consumer is considering between two and three brands when they first begin thinking about a car purchaseamp160 But by the time they are actually searching for a car this number has doubledThe key learning to take away Hutchins says is that auto marketers need to develop campaigns that serve two distinct but related ends as a consumer moves down the path to purchaseamp160 The first step is building longterm brand equity using broad reach traditional methods including television and radioamp160 But it is equally important to understand how to use highly targeted advertising such as digital to keep a consumer39s attention and interest as they near purchase as that is the time when they are most open to communications from the competitionOf course the way to communicate with shoppers varies by their ageamp160 While over 75 of new vehicle purchases are made by people who are 40 or older Gen Xers and Baby Boomers the brand preferences and buying habits of Millennials will make a major impact on the auto industry in the foreseeable futureamp160 quotThis is already being felt as recall of automotive ads in digital mobileamp160and social channels is on the rise driven by the increase in Millennial car shoppersquot Hutchins notesamp160 quotTherefore it is important to address all three groups and on their own termsquotYounger car shoppers tend to be the most openmindedamp160 Their brand allegiances tend to be more flexible than those of their older counterparts and they are more open to messaging from brands outside of their initial favoritesamp160 Being the heaviest users of new media and conversely those least likely to engage with broad reach media like television they are somewhat easier to identify and create highly specific messaging for at least for marketers who understand and embrace digital marketingBoomers and to a lesser extent Gen Xersamp160use significantly less digital mediaamp160 They tend to be more easily reached through traditional broad reach media including television radio and printamp160 quotThey are more loyal to the brands they39ve used beforequot Hutchins points outamp160 quotMarketing dollars and messages should be used to reinforce the brand narrativequotOf course there are more factors impacting purchase intent than simply where a consumer is in the sales process or what his or her age happens to beamp160 A market share of a brand also plays a big role and those with 7 or more of the market have a big advantage these brands have 4 to 5 times the unaided awareness of smaller brandsamp160 However though purchase consideration starts lower for smaller brands it increases by nearly 70 at purchase time far outpacing the equivalent lift for larger brandsamp160 This may not quite even things out but it does provide significant helpTaken together all of these findings reinforce a singular pointamp160 While brands that have captured the attention of their audience early and effectively will have a significant advantage consumers are nonetheless willing to begin seriously considering brands other than those they initially preferamp160as they near the point of purchaseamp160 The younger the audience the more noticeable this trend indicating that it will only increase over timeThis is cause for optimismamp160 After all marketers have access to more channels and tools than ever before and thanks to research like that provided by Nielsen they have more and better actionable consumer data at hand to guide their strategiesamp160 The opportunities for intelligent and creative marketers to successfully engage consumers have never been strongeramp160 This is no doubt a major reason why Hutchins concludes his report by pointing out that quotThere39s never been a better time to be an auto marketerquotPhoto courtesy of NielsenClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Nielsen Auto Marketing Report 2018 -- Rethinking the Path to Purchase

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Nielsen Auto Marketing Report 2018 -- Rethinking the Path to Purchase

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