• Ad Age, Thursday, May 18, 2006 11:32 AM

When it cones to return on advertising investment, the major automotive marketers are among the least efficient in the nation. New research shows that the automotive industry spent $192 to reach a single shopper in 2005--a dollar more than the prior year--yet didn't generate any more potential purchasers than it had in 2004. The study was conducted by industry consultant Compete. The study revealed that the top 37 auto brands each spent an average of $353 million last year in measured media, including online, or roughly $1 million daily per brand. Compete measures unique, in-market shoppers across 30 independent online channels as well as offline and compares each brand to its measured media spending as compiled by TNS Media Intelligence. Based upon Compete's estimate of 3.4 million shoppers a month, automakers are shelling out $41 million more to reach the same number of people. Compete's Lincoln Merrihew said that rather than generate more shoppers, the industry simply redistributed them because of incentives by major players reacting to General Motors Corp.'s employee discount offers begun last summer. And in fighting over that same pool, the industry sold 16.99 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, only a bit higher than 2004's 16.91 million. Compete also reported that the brands that spend most efficiently are niche imports: Isuzu, Mini, Scion and Porsche.

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