Automotive Industry's Mobile Ad Spend Increases by 200 Percent: Report
By Narayan Bhat, TMCnet Contributor
Mobile ad spend in the automotive industry has grown over 200 percent in the last year, and advertisers are finally realizing that they can make a real impact with consumers, according to a research report from Millennial Media (News - Alert).
The report, which Millennial prepared jointly with comScore, says Auto brands are using mobile to drive local consumers into dealerships or to the auto brand’s mobile site.
The report, which is a collection of special reports in the mobile advertising landscape, is designed to guide marketers through the immediate and very real opportunities in mobile advertising. Interestingly, the report finds that 21 percent of mobile auto consumers access auto-related content almost every day.
The automotive whitepaper contains information on the mobile auto audience, and how they use their mobile devices to research cars, find dealers, engage with brands post-purchase and more. The report also contains data on what top auto brands are doing in mobile today, and how they are reaching and engaging consumers.
According to the comScore (News - Alert) study, 68 percent of mobile auto consumers are male, and 55 percent of the consumers are between the ages of 18-34. Mobile auto consumers also tend to be more affluent than the general mobile population, with 34 percent of users having an annual income of over $100,000.
These consumers also choose to access auto content frequently, with 31 percent of mobile auto consumers accessing the content at least once a week, and 21 percent accessing the content almost every day.
The increasing interest in mobile advertising is global, with only minor differences between mobile auto users in the U.S., Europe and Japan, according to the report.
Most of these ads in Q2 carried information on product launches or releases (i.e. new car models). However, brand awareness was the campaign goal for 19 percent of all ads that ran in Q2, the report found.
“Whether they are trying to increase brand awareness, drive consumers to a dealership, or increase app downloads, mobile is a medium which works for auto advertisers. We hope the latest version of the Mobile Intel (News 
- Alert) Series can help brands navigate this landscape,” said Jamie Fellows, Senior Vice President, Product, Millennial Media.
Narayan Bhat is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Narayan’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves
