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The digital age has spawned effective ways for auto marketers to swipe customers from competitors.
By monitoring the online shopping habits of millions of consumers, marketers can place online ads in front of shoppers quickly and precisely.
"If you go to Edmunds and shop for a RAV4, and then you go to Sports Illustrated, I can hit you with an ad on Sports Illustrated for the Tiguan two hours later," says Kevin Mayer, vice president of marketing for Volkswagen of America.
He says an online campaign designed to win over Toyota RAV4 shoppers for the VW Tiguan compact crossover helped boost the Tiguan's February sales 20 percent from January.
Online research traffic for the RAV4 spiked after Toyota's Super Bowl campaign for the vehicle. To capitalize on that surge, VW ran conquest ads for the Tiguan that targeted users who had researched the RAV4, Mayer says.
Mayer and other auto marketers have taken advantage of the digital data trail most Internet users leave on the Web. Less than a decade ago, marketers used more guesswork than they do now to place ads online. Marketers launching an SUV, for instance, might have placed ads on Web sites geared to outdoor enthusiasts. While that still happens, data now help automakers target consumers for whom online ads will be the most relevant.
"It's a new world," Mayer says. "There are so many different tools coming in that allow you to do so many different things."
By monitoring the online shopping habits of millions of consumers, marketers can place online ads in front of shoppers quickly and precisely.
"If you go to Edmunds and shop for a RAV4, and then you go to Sports Illustrated, I can hit you with an ad on Sports Illustrated for the Tiguan two hours later," says Kevin Mayer, vice president of marketing for Volkswagen of America.
He says an online campaign designed to win over Toyota RAV4 shoppers for the VW Tiguan compact crossover helped boost the Tiguan's February sales 20 percent from January.
Online research traffic for the RAV4 spiked after Toyota's Super Bowl campaign for the vehicle. To capitalize on that surge, VW ran conquest ads for the Tiguan that targeted users who had researched the RAV4, Mayer says.
Mayer and other auto marketers have taken advantage of the digital data trail most Internet users leave on the Web. Less than a decade ago, marketers used more guesswork than they do now to place ads online. Marketers launching an SUV, for instance, might have placed ads on Web sites geared to outdoor enthusiasts. While that still happens, data now help automakers target consumers for whom online ads will be the most relevant.
"It's a new world," Mayer says. "There are so many different tools coming in that allow you to do so many different things."
