AUTOMOTIVE MARKETING TRENDS
How the past year impacts our immediate future.
In 2019, the Automotive market was far behind the rest of industry in terms of online marketing and sales. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced a shift to digital being at the forefront of Automotive marketing strategies. Long term plans have been compressed into months and this incredible effort has transformed how the industry is able to approach its customers. At least technically.
In 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic has continued to change how people live, work and shop. Consumers are not just happier than ever to interact online, both professionally and personally, some feel safer doing so. This means the automotive industry has had to refocus on its digital channels for everything from sales and marketing to shows and events.
Supporting this change in emphasis to digital sales relationships, many manufacturers have used their new Battery Electric Vehicles to spearhead this change. One reason is that although their growth in 2021 has been a huge success, they still represent a relatively small part of the vehicle market and so naturally have the features of a pilot. Another reason is that their buyer profile is still generally innovators and early adopters, who are likely to be more relaxed about the ‘radical’ online purchasing approach. Many manufacturers also directly sell their Battery Electric Vehicles, using Dealerships as agents. This also supports the early online sales process.
However, change is not just occurring in the automotive market. The digital marketplace continues to evolve, forcing even seasoned players to continually catch-up. Google has announced that it will stop the use of third-party cookies in Chrome by the end of 2023, joining a growing list of browsers ditching the notorious tracking technology. Third party data will eventually be outdated, forcing the retargeting of campaigns based on cookie-based advertising. Businesses will need to turn to focus on their first party and server-side data. Exploring opportunities that do not require cookies such as contextual ad targeting (the ‘traditional’ practice of displaying ads based on a website’s content e.g., a car advert on a used car site).
At the same time, it is predicted that in 2022, over 80% of online traffic will be driven by video. Consumers are increasingly watching videos across their media devices from smartphones to their televisions on channels such as YouTube.
A part of this trend is live streaming, which is still very much under-utilised in automotive marketing strategies. A live stream does not have to be a small movie production, it can be a simple Q and A about a new service or product. Modern smartphone camera technology and the growth in visual social media make these incredibly accessible to customers.
The challenge for Automotive Manufacturers and their Franchised Networks is now the pace of change. A formerly traditional industry which has only slowly changed how it has sold its products is now rapidly gaining modern sales and marketing tools and a customer base ready to respond.
However, change is enabled by people and to create a ‘single’ omnichannel like response, manufacturers and their dealer franchises need to create a coordinated approach to the use of tools and messaging.