尼尔森-2018年汽车营销报告-2019.1-32页_1mb

The Nielsen Auto Marketing Report 2018 Summary

Core Content

The Nielsen Auto Marketing Report 2018 explores the complexities of the car buying process and the role of advertising in shaping consumer behavior. It highlights that car purchasing is a long, multi-step journey influenced by both rational and emotional factors, with a focus on the importance of unaided brand awareness and the evolving impact of different media channels on consumer decision-making.

Main Findings

1. Consumer Behavior and the Path to Purchase

• Car buyers are not rational decision-makers: The process involves both utilitarian and hedonic considerations, and there's no one-size-fits-all formula for choosing a car.
• Unaided brand awareness is key: This refers to the brands that come to mind without prompting and is a strong indicator of brand equity and purchase intent.
• Unaided awareness accounts for 23% of total awareness, yet it generates 60% of purchase consideration and 90% of purchase intent.
• Shoppers with unaided awareness have 10 times the purchase intent compared to those with aided awareness.
• Consideration sets grow as buyers near a decision: On average, car shoppers consider five brands when ready to buy, nearly twice as many as they did at the beginning of their journey.

2. Media's Role in the Path to Purchase

• TV and radio are effective for building upper-funnel awareness, while digital, mobile, direct mail, and in-theater advertising are better at driving mid- to lower-funnel engagement.
• TV ad recall is the highest among all media, with 71% of car buyers recalling ads during active searches, far surpassing other channels.
• Ad recall declines over time for TV, but increases significantly for other media channels as the purchase decision nears.
• Mobile is the second-highest driver of purchase consideration, with a +217% increase in ad recall from initial exposure to active search.
• Direct mail leads in purchase consideration despite a decline in volume, showing strong effectiveness in targeted marketing.
• In-theater advertising sees the highest increase in ad recall (+258%), likely due to its immersive, captive audience format.
• TV and social media synergy is notable: combining both channels increases purchase consideration by 29% among heavy TV viewers who use social media, and even 17% among light TV viewers.

3. Demographics and Media Consumption

• Millennials are less likely to buy a new car than older generations, but their brand preferences will shape the future of the auto industry.
• Media consumption patterns differ by generation:
  • Millennials are digital natives, spending more time on digital and mobile platforms than older generations.
  • Baby Boomers and Gen Xers rely more on traditional media like TV and radio.
• Unaided awareness declines for Millennials and Gen Xers as they move through the path to purchase, while Boomers maintain stable levels.
• Millennials exhibit tunnel vision as they near a purchase, focusing on a smaller set of brands due to their digital consumption habits.

Key Recommendations for Auto Marketers

• Focus on quality awareness: Unaided awareness is more impactful than quantity.
• Leverage a mix of media: Use TV and radio for brand building and digital, mobile, direct mail, and in-theater for targeted engagement and conversion.
• Tailor strategies to demographics:
  • Millennials need exposure through digital and mobile channels.
  • Older generations (Boomers and Gen Xers) are more receptive to traditional media.
• Track and measure ad recall and purchase consideration to optimize media spend and ensure consistent brand presence across the journey.

Conclusion

The report underscores the importance of understanding consumer behavior and aligning media strategies with the path to purchase. It emphasizes that unaided awareness is a powerful driver of purchase intent and that digital targeting is essential for reaching younger, more open-minded car shoppers. Auto marketers should focus on building long-term brand equity and capturing attention at the point of decision through a coordinated, multi-channel approach.