Study: TV Doesn't Deliver Bang For Carmakers' Buck

Ford commercial TV stations could see tougher times if one research company's advice is heeded. BIGresearch, a Worthington, Ohio-based consumer research company, says top automotive advertisers are spending too much on TV compared to the influence that TV has with its consumers. It says 17% to 18% of consumers are influenced by TV marketing--but in aggregate, automotive makers spend 40% of their media on TV.

For example, Ford Motor had 41% of its media budget going to TV, according to the researcher, with 18% of its consumers influenced by TV. All other media spending figures show that Ford under-spends, compared to their influence. BIGresearch says 16.5% of Ford's customers are influenced by newspapers, but that Ford only spends 5.9% of its media on newspapers.

With the Internet, 8.4% of Ford's consumers are swayed by Internet sites--but Ford only gives that media 3.9% of its media dollars. Radio brings 6.7% influence, but 1.5% of media spend. Outdoor sits at a 12% influence rate, but Ford only gives it 1% of budget.

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Ford comes closest with magazines--where influence is at 17% and spending is at 13%. That also rings true for General Motors and Toyota.

While the research company says automakers should possibly shift their money, it does note that the greatest influence--on average for all automotive makers--is TV, which helps consumers make decisions about which car they should buy. Print--magazines and newspapers--follows close behind, then outdoor. Radio and the Internet trail far behind the other media.

Toyota is the exception here. Magazines actually are a greater influence for Toyota customers than TV: 19% to 16.8%.

After TV spending, the three big automotives--GM, Ford, and Toyota--on average spent the most on magazines, 12.8% of their media budgets. This was followed by newspapers at 5.1%; the Internet at 3.4%; radio at 2%; and outdoor at 1%.

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