Autobytel Network Launches Dynamic Marketing Programs Allowing OEMs to ``Interact'' With Internet Auto Shoppers as They Make Their Car-Buying Decisions
IRVINE, Calif.--Dec. 3, 2002--Autobytel Inc. today announced that it is expanding dynamic, targeted marketing programs across the Autobytel Network, which reaches millions of online auto shoppers and buyers each month at Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and AutoSite.com. The new programs are designed to optimize OEM marketing dollars and market share by enabling manufacturers to engage, inform and impact a vast, concentrated audience of serious, "ready to buy" shoppers -- as they rule cars in and out of consideration on the multi-brand Autobytel sites.
A recent study(a) confirms that the Internet has become a singularly influential marketing medium for new car buyers. When asked to name their top three most important sources of information during the vehicle shopping process, a full 60% of survey respondents identified the Internet as the "most important" source. Despite the fact that OEMs continue to spend 97% of their ad dollars on traditional advertising (TV, radio, newspaper), only 16% of respondents indicated that traditional advertising was the "most important" information source.
According to J.D. Power & Associates(b), 60% of new vehicle buyers use the Internet while shopping, and almost 90% of all Automotive Internet Users (AIUs) shop online before going to a dealership. These online shoppers continue to prefer independent, third-party sites, with over 80% of AIUs visiting such sites. The Autobytel Inc. sites lead this category, with Autobytel.com alone generating more than twice as many car sales as any other independent site.
Dynamic Content Placement (DCP)
A key new feature of the Autobytel Network is Dynamic Content Placement (DCP), the first online marketing program that allows automotive manufacturers to automatically present specific comparative information -- relevant to the vehicle that is being researched -- to Autobytel's vast audience of online car buyers. Supported by data and technology provided by AIC (Autobytel's vehicle data and content division), DCP targets consumers deep into the research and decision-making process as they compare various vehicles online. For example, a consumer who is researching a sport utility vehicle can be automatically presented with factual information spelling out the advantages of a competing SUV model.
"Dynamic Content Placement moves beyond standard targeting capabilities," said Jeffrey Schwartz, president and CEO of Autobytel Inc. "It's a real-time information 'matchmaker' between consumers actively looking for specific vehicle attributes and marketers seeking to showcase the attributes of their vehicles -- at the precise moment when it can provide the largest benefit to the consumer and the manufacturer."
Schwartz added that while many online marketing programs allow advertisers to target a certain consumer demographic, DCP is the only program that provides auto manufacturers with the ability to deliver a specific message -- relevant to the research the consumer is actually conducting -- at the critical time when he or she is making a buying decision. DCP message advantage statements correlate to thousands of model trim data points and are delivered dynamically as the car buyer compares vehicles on the Autobytel websites. This provides a key efficiency benefit for advertisers, who are not required to craft thousands of individual messages.
Additional Autobytel Network programs include: category sponsorships ranging from single ad units to unique multi-page programs; multiple e-mail newsletter sponsorships, including full-page e-mails delivered to consumers who indicate they intend to buy a specific vehicle and have requested additional information; and an online showcase for manufacturers. The Autobytel Network also meets the industry's demand for rich media by hosting several campaigns that utilize technologies such as Ad4Ever, Eyeblaster, PointRoll and Viewpoint.
Adds Schwartz: "Market share is won and lost online, with Internet car shoppers -- who represent a bigger and bigger piece of the car-buying pie -- switching brands more often than not, and clearly more often than their offline counterparts. The Autobytel Network of web sites offers marketers a unique opportunity to impact millions of in-market, multi-brand car buyers. Simply put, this is the program automotive marketers need to use if they are serious about maintaining and increasing market share."
About Autobytel Inc.
Autobytel Inc. , a leading Internet automotive marketing services company, helps retailers sell cars and manufacturers build brands through marketing and CRM (customer relationship management) programs. Autobytel Inc. owns and operates the popular websites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and AutoSite.com, as well as AIC (Automotive Information Center), a leading provider of automotive marketing data and technology. Autobytel Inc. generated an estimated four percent of all domestic new vehicle sales -- $17 billion in car sales in 2001 -- for dealers through its services. Autobytel Inc. is the largest syndicated car-buying content network, reaching millions of unique visitors as they are making their vehicle buying decisions. Autobytel Inc. content and technology has potential exposure to over 90 percent of total web traffic(c).
(a) Lieberman Research Worldwide, Nationwide Phone Survey of Recent Buyers, Future Buyers and Autobytel Inc. Site Visitors, September 2002
(b) J.D. Power & Associates 2002 New Autoshopper.com release (10/10/02)
(c) Jupiter Media Metrix October 2001 Digital Media Audience Report (Autobytel Inc. sites is the unduplicated audience of the Autobytel and Autoweb properties and Carsmart.com. The car-buying and ownership category as defined by Autobytel. Autobytel Inc. provides content to Yahoo! Inc., AOL websites, MSN.com and Lycos.com. The unduplicated audience of these four sites accounts for over 90 percent of total traffic.)