Automotive Web Advertising Impressions Accelerate.

Nielsen//NetRatings revealed that automotive Web advertising jumped 30 percent from August to October according to its AdSpectrum service. During the late fall, various automotive companies leveraged the Web to showcase zero-percent financing, highlight year-end sales and introduce year 2002 models.

Automotive Web advertising grew 30 percent from August to October to more than 132 million impressions. By comparison, automotive advertising impressions jumped 18 percent in October, compared to 112 million impressions in September (see Table 1, CLICK above on ‘More Images’).

“Car manufacturers have been one of the most persistent and creative advertisers this past year. The automotive sector uses the Web for indirect marketing and branding, to create brand awareness among consumers in order to influence offline purchasing decisions,” said Allen Weiner, vice president of analytical services at NetRatings.

Toyota Motor led the way with nearly 26 million impressions in October, reaching nearly 6.4 million surfers (see Table 2). Nissan Motor followed with more than 21 million impressions and attracted the largest audience of nearly 6.5 million unique viewers. General Motors issued nearly 20 million advertising impressions and drew more than 4.2 million surfers while Ford Motor had more than 13.5 million ad impressions which were seen by 3.9 million viewers. Rounding out the top five list, Mazda Motors distributed more than 9 million impressions which attracted more than 2.7 million surfers.

Overall online advertising spending for the automotive category jumped 20 percent to $2 million from August to September and continued to rise through October. Spending for the category grew another 12 percent from September to October, exceeding $2.3 million.
“Automotive manufacturers rallied in September and October to launch integrated advertising campaigns across different media, including television, print, radio and the Internet,” said Weiner. “Incorporating the Web into their overall advertising strategy has allowed automotive manufacturers to deliver a single marketing message across all media.”