Nielsen//NetRatings has revealed that automotive web advertising jumped 30% from August to October according to its AdSpectrum service, as various automotive companies leveraged the web to showcase
zero-percent financing, highlight year-end sales and introduce year 2002 models.
Overall online advertising spending for the automotive category jumped 20% to $2 million from August to September
and continued to rise through October.
Spending for the category grew another 12% from September to October, exceeding $2.3 million.
Web advertising in this sector grew 30% from August to
October to more than 132 million impressions. By comparison, automotive advertising impressions jumped 18% in October, compared to 112 million impressions in September.
Toyota Motor led the way with
nearly 26 million impressions in October, reaching nearly 6.4 million surfers. Nissan Motor followed with more than 21 million impressions and attracted the largest audience of nearly 6.5 million
unique viewers. General Motors issued nearly 20 million advertising impressions and drew more than 4.2 million surfers while Ford Motor had more than 13.5 million ad impressions which were seen by 3.9
million viewers. Rounding out the top five list, Mazda Motors distributed more than 9 million impressions which attracted more than 2.7 million surfers.