Posted on February 13, 2012, at 8:44 am
 Leslie Cocco Coping with changing government regulations—such as increases in CAFÉ (corporate average fuel economy) standards—and adjusting and aligning OEM production and distribution with a declining number of dealer locations in the US market, were two topics on the minds of automaker and retailer executives during afternoon presentations and a panel discussion at our recent 1-day 2012 International Automotive Roundtable in Las Vegas, NV.
Volkswagen of America’s President and CEO Jon Browning touted VW’s global success, claiming that the company was the fastest-growing automaker in the US market in 2011. He attributed VW’s success largely to the company’s marketing efforts, which began with the launch of the new Jetta that is built in Nashville, TN, and continued to be propelled by VW’s popular Super Bowl commercials last Sunday. Browning said VW’s marketing strategy: “Telling human stories with a touch of humor” is a strategy that the company plans to use throughout 2012. In the spirit of the Super Bowl weekend, Browning also showed off some old and new Super Bowl TV commercials, which brought applause from the Roundtable audience. Continue reading ›
Posted on February 10, 2012, at 7:00 am
 Aimee Canlas The future of automotive retailing is being shaped by evolving consumer needs and by changing technology, spurred by the increasing adoption of mobile devices in addition to the entry of younger consumers into the market, suggests John Humphrey, J.D. Power’s senior vice president of global automotive operations.
Humphrey discussed both opportunities and challenges that will face automotive retailers now and in the future during his global automotive outlook that kicked off our 2012 International Automotive Roundtable held at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas last week.
He pointed out that the proportion of Generation X and Generation Y vehicle buyers* in the U.S. market has been steadily increasing since 2000, and is expected to reach 42% of the market in 2015. These two demographic groups display characteristics that may make it particularly challenging for dealers to build customer relationships, loyalty and retention. Continue reading ›
Posted on January 27, 2012, at 11:46 am
 Acura’s website ranks highest in usefulness in the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study (MWES)SM—Wave 1. The premium brand website receives a score of 808 (on a 1,000-point scale), and performs particularly well in two of the four index measures: navigation and speed.* Continue reading ›
Posted on January 26, 2012, at 3:47 pm
 Arianne Walker The most useful automotive websites tend to provide users with social media access from a variety of pages, including the home page, model pages, configurator tool and photo gallery, according to results in our 2012 Manufacturer Website Evaluation Study (MWES)—Wave 1, which is based on evaluations from more than 9,400 shoppers who indicate they will be in the market for a new vehicle within the next 24 months.
We see that the widespread usage of social media has created an expectation of constant availability. By integrating links to social media platforms throughout several site features, automotive brand websites enhance convenience for users and also increase the possibility that website users will promote the brand within their social networks. Continue reading ›
Posted on December 9, 2011, at 8:19 am
 Jeremy Detgen Cultural, sociological and technological differences need to be considered in digital marketing approaches around the world, according to a panel of experts including an OEM, digital marketing firms, and an online car service, at our 2011 Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas, NV. J.D. Power’s Tim Dunne, director of global automotive business coordination, asked them to comment on how digital marketing is being conducted and how consumers are influenced and reacting to digital marketing around the world.
Panel members included:
• Will Hodgman, executive vice president-International, ComScore, Inc.
• Daniel Leon, general manager, Mobile, Groundlink Inc.
• Michael Sachs, general manager, CRM & Owner Loyalty, Volkswagen of America, Inc.
• Chris Worrell, head of European Consumer Insight, Specific Media Continue reading ›
Posted on November 30, 2011, at 10:39 am
 Jeremy Detgen The auto industry has been pushing the boundaries of Internet advertising beyond what many other industries are doing so far, according to Blake Irving, executive vice president and chief product officer of Yahoo! He told participants at this fall’s 2011 Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas, NV, that “personalization” is on the horizon and it will be conducted through social media. The technology is available as an “Into Car App” that allows consumers to track their vehicle purchase process and help select the ideal car for them. This would be building off of the already existing “Into Now App” that tags commercials and provides relevant information to consumers.
Irving described a scenario from the near future where a consumer takes a photo of his current vehicle. The app will capture that consumer’s music tastes, where he drives, where he shops, etc. The app can then download information from his PC as an authenticated user. The app gathers data from the cloud and processes it—gathering TV shows that are watched, etc. All of these bits of information and data can help select a car on a personal basis. The app can tell the consumer what dealer to shop, the price of the selected vehicle, dealership hours of operation, and more. Irving’s message was all about “signals” and how the many numerous signals being put out by consumers can be made valuable when captured, processed and analyzed. Continue reading ›
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