• by Tameka Kee , May 15, 2007

With consumers doing an average of five hours of online research in the final weeks before buying a new car, according to Borrell Associates, GM and other manufacturers have jumped at the chance to showcase informational HD videos on DriverTV.com, the newly launched offshoot of the DriverTV cable VOD channel.

"driverTV met a need by creating video assets in high definition that were formatted and relevant to the TV experience, so we're interested to see how this translates to the Web," said Ryndee Carney, manager, advertising and marketing communications, GM. "We want to test and learn how best to play in this space (Internet video) because we see video as the next big area of transformation."

driverTV.com aims to engage users at the key point in their purchasing decision by providing "simple, neutral, and deeply immersive place" to find information, said Jan Renner, founder and CEO of driverTV.

The site features three- to-four-minute detailed vehicle overviews in HD video. Produced by driverTV, they differ from videos found on manufacturers' sites because they are neutral and objective. In a section titled "Driver To Go," users can download these videos or send them to an iPod or PSP, in addition to printing a comprehensive spec list via pdf.

"Buyers will realize that every video follows a pattern," said Renner. "From the trunk to the dashboard, we cover the same features for every brand."

While the videos feature no taglines or marketing, display ads for the relevant vehicles run alongside them. Brands pay a combination of production and standard media fees, for which driverTV guarantees a specific number of views on both the Web site and the original cable VOD channel.

But even with its wealth of HD video, driverTV.com has a tough fight to become the definitive Web destination for car buyers. It faces competition both from manufacturers' own sites and from auto enthusiast sites like Edmunds.com, even as interactive marketing agencies also edge into the space. Hachette Filipacchi Media's recent acquisition of vertical ad network Jumpstart Automotive Media, for example, underscores the industry's overall shift toward seeking out the online auto buyer.

According to Renner, driverTV.com's has an advantage in this crowded playing field because most other sites are still text and photo driven. "Our HD content brings the showroom to the computer screen. As broadband penetrates more households, HD video will become the standard users expect," he said.