Compete Introduces New Intelligence Offering Designed to Improve Automaker's Vehicle Launch Efforts
BOSTON--Aug. 19, 2002--Compete, Inc., a premier business intelligence firm that provides leading companies in the automotive, financial services, retail and entertainment industries with data-driven market insights and actionable strategies to drive financial performance, today introduced a breakthrough offering - Automotive Launch Intelligence. This new offering interprets consumer behavior across the top automotive Internet sites to provide the earliest evidence of interest and shopping activity surrounding new model launches and enables auto marketers to refine their launch initiatives prior to and immediately following the introduction of their vehicle. Online automotive interest has emerged to be a significant and reliable leading indicator of demand and market share for automakers--more than two-thirds of car buyers now research and option vehicles across multiple OEM, information and retail sites prior to making their purchase.
With more than thirty new vehicle launches planned across the industry through the remainder of the year, there is an urgent market need for timely and accurate information detailing consumer interest in newly launched models. Historically, the success of an individual model is determined within the first several months of its introduction, placing a premium on generating and converting consumer interest into sales. Falling short of milestones can have a severe impact since expensive marketing campaigns and financial incentives quickly erode profitability. Automakers who identify negative trends early and take corrective action throughout the launch will minimize the investment required to support sagging model performance.
To illustrate the impact of this new offering, Compete analyzed the launch of the Honda Pilot, an all-new nameplate vying to penetrate the lucrative SUV market. Specific findings included:
-- High pre-sales Pilot interest, but not with target consumers.
Aggregate interest on independent automotive sites and the
Honda-owned Pilot preview site grew rapidly in the
six-weeks leading up to the sales launch of the SUV.
However, interested consumers were significantly younger
and lower income than the target Pilot customer.
-- Strong positioning against Import SUVs, but weak traction with
Domestic SUV shoppers.
In the two weeks following the sales launch, consumers
cross-shopped the Pilot actively against other import
SUVs, particularly the Toyota Highlander and Sequoia.
However, the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Dodge Durango, key
competitive models for the Pilot, were not represented in
the top vehicles Pilot shoppers considered. Poor
positioning against top-performing Domestics may thwart
Honda's efforts to capture traditional Big Three buyers in
the months following the launch phase.
-- Growth in online interest for Pilot is mirrored by trends in
dealer sales.
Strong consumer response to marketing campaigns propelled
the Pilot to place among the most popular vehicles shopped
online during the six weeks following the launch.
Benchmarking the Pilot against previous launches indicated
the SUV gained shopping interest at a faster rate compared
to other models, which correlated with its strong sales
performance in the initial weeks after its introduction.
"In our work with automakers and their agencies, the resounding need has been for better and faster market feedback on how consumers are responding to their new vehicle launches," commented Man Jit Singh, CEO of Compete. "By providing our automotive clients with the earliest measure of the magnitude and composition of consumers researching their models, as well as the competitive models consumers are considering, we provide precisely the information required to fine tune their launch investments and successfully position the new brand. Automotive Launch Intelligence underscores our commitment to becoming a premier partner and provider of insights and strategies to automakers."
Lincoln Merrihew, Practice Leader for Compete's Automotive Group, added, "Our analysis of the Honda Pilot demonstrates how marketers can improve their launch results by relying on fresh, weekly data to guide their tactical decisions. Historically, the difficulty in collecting accurate and timely market feedback has required launch tactics to be more ad hoc than quantitative. Compete's quick-response approach provides OEMs the information and time necessary to implement changes designed to maximize the model's financial returns and minimize the need for costly sales support."
About Compete's Automotive Group
The Compete Automotive practice provides OEMs with valuable insights into consumers' automotive preferences and buying behavior garnered by modeling shoppers' explicit make/model interests as they research and option cars across the leading automotive Internet sites. Automakers can leverage Compete's automotive intelligence offerings to hone their marketing strategies, optimize their incentive programs, and to forecast demand in order to make better inventory allocation decisions at both a national and regional level. Since launching its automotive practice earlier this year, Compete has worked with leading automakers including Toyota and Lexus to translate its automotive intelligence into actionable business strategies to help OEMs capitalize on new market opportunities and stem competitive threats.
About Compete
Compete, Inc. is a premier business intelligence firm that provides industry-leading companies with competitive insights and strategies to drive their financial performance. Built upon the industry's foremost pool of consumer behavior data, representing over 10 million Internet users, Compete provides an unprecedented understanding of customer and competitor dynamics, plus performance metrics and business recommendations to isolate businesses challenges and opportunities. Based on a patent-pending approach to data management, Compete translates consumers' online behavior into highly actionable information that targets companies' strategic business issues including demand forecasting, pricing and promotions, marketing programs and product optimization. Compete offers its solutions to financial services, automotive, media & entertainment, and retail & consumer products companies.