Black cars have the highest conversion rate, study shows.
The key factors that contribute to the success of automotive digital advertising campaigns have been identified by Rocket Fuel, a major provider of artificial intelligence advertising solutions for digital marketers. The company studied the results of more than 7,500 digital automotive adverts managed on its platform between September and November 2013.
Black cars are in fashion
The colours that obtained the highest conversion rates were black cars together with the option to customise the colour.
Black cars are often associated with luxury and are targeted at a mature audience. The main attraction of campaigns that allow consumers to personalise the colour is their interactivity.
When analysing the predominant background colour in marketing materials there are clear differences in terms of performance. Adverts with a white or black background achieve fewer clicks but more conversions, with a rate of between 10% and 20% compared to the industry average.
Images of the vehicle are more effective than photos of people
Counter to the belief that adverts showing human faces tend to be more effective, Rocket Fuel’s research shows that this is not the case with automotive campaigns. Campaign success increases when images of the vehicle are used, whereas using a human face only contributes to success when it appears together with the car. In this case, the conversion rate increased by 72%.
Price more important than special offers
Adverts displaying the original price without promotional offers are the most effective according to the study. On the whole, adverts that include offers tend to achieve a lower click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate (CVR) for the campaign.
With regards to messaging, safety (+134% CVR), reliability (+92% CVR) and awards (+90% CVR) are the most effective tools. Ads that have the best CVR and CTR include claims relating to awards.
Customisation leads to action
The option to create or configure your own vehicle, including selecting add-ons and controlling the price accordingly, makes campaigns more effective in attracting consumers’ attention, achieving 116% more conversions than the industry average. The most common customisation campaigns are those that allow users to change the colour of their car. These campaigns frequently drive the user to the manufacturer’s website in order to personalise the design.
Other popular calls to action used by advertisers are, in order of effectiveness: “view details”, “find yours”, “compare”, “see/view offers”, “find a dealer”, “learn more”, “click here” or “shop now”.
Based on the results of the research, Rocket Fuel has developed a list of five best practices for effective automotive advertising campaigns:
Dominic Trigg, managing director, Europe at Rocket Fuel, said: “Rocket Fuel has strong relationships with most of the leading car manufacturers and, by analysing the success of the campaigns run on our platform, we can help them to better design future advertising campaigns.”
Joel Christie, Client Strategy director at Rocket Fuel, added: “This is the kind of insight that we are really excited to offer to our clients across verticals, and the reason why we have brought on board vertical specialists to leverage these insights and provide the relevant information across the sectors.”
A summary presentation of the research may be downloaded here.
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Trained as a journalist from the age of 18 and enjoying a long career in regional newspaper reporting and editing, Sally Hooton joined DMI (Direct Marketing International) magazine as editor in 2001. DMI then morphed into The GMA, taking her with it!
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