Auto makers and dealers are making a comeback. From 2008 when many seemed unable to give cars away, lots are filling up and sales and looking up. And, according to new data out from BIA/Kelsey Group, their ad dollars are moving up, too.
Look for more automotive ad dollars to move local. That is the takeaway from new data out from BIA/Kelsey. According to their new report auto brands will increase their local ad spend to the tune to over $15 billion this year. That would push auto ads to about 11% of the $137 billion local ad pie.
“The auto industry and television came of age together as keystones of twentieth-century American culture,” said Dr. Mark Fratrik, SVP and chief economist BIA/Kelsey. “The two industries remain closely tied, with the auto industry being dependent on over-the-air television advertising, and all auto vertical subcategories relying heavily on traditional media to get their message to their audience. Despite traditional media’s dominance in the current automotive marketing mix, digital advertising is on the rise, and will represent nearly one-third of automotive local ad spending by 2019.”
Other interesting takeaways from the Insights into Local Advertising – Automotive Vertical report include:
•One-third of auto’s local ad budget will go to local TV
•Automotive brands will spend 14% of budgets in newspaper, 12% online and 11% on radio
•Most online budgets will go to search marketing
BIA/Kelsey’s research also indicates one change: we’ll see more online advertising from auto brands. The data indicates about one-third of automotive budgets will be pushed online by 2019.