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Sophus3’s quarterly journal is now redesigned and split into two:
Quarterly overview of digital, campaign and registrations performance in each market.Objective is to provide clear and timely benchmark for each brand.
Whitepaper: focus on developments and concepts that are driving car brands’ digital strategy.
Part 1: 2015 in numbersSector performance in the ‘Big 5’ markets
Part 2: Themes8 things that will occupy Automotive Digital Marketeers in 2016
2015/16 in review
Where the numbers come from2015 data for ‘Big 5' MarketsGermany, France Italy, Spain and UK63% of EU population72% of the EU new car market
Sources digital: eDataXchangecars: ACEA / IHS automotivespend: Ebiquity
Part 1: 2015 in numbers
Digital
Social media
Ca
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Ca
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Headline KPIs
KPIs by market
Part 2: Themes
8 things that will occupy
Automotive Digital
Marketeers in 2016
#1 “Add to basket” the next new website feature?
Seen as one of the wilder fantasies of the dot-com boom era
Citroen and BMW have recently implemented buy-online functionality
35% of interviewees in Capgemini survey said they would purchase a car online
Objections are weakening? Third of buyers no longer test drive PCPs and other forms of purchase
define end value – ‘haggle factor’ reduced
Audience for Car Brand YouTube channels is nearly double audience for Car Brands’ own websites
But no connection between YouTube success and share of website audience, or share of registrations
Much YouTube content is repurposed TV advertising – its use online not thought through
Many channels are an incoherent melange of ‘stuff’ with no drivers to further engagement
#2 Searching for a YouTube strategy
-7% decline in visits from PCs in 2015 54% of visits in UK now on mobile or tablet 2015 Audit by Sophus3 of 21 Car Brand
sites found only one brand with a configurator functioning on all platforms
Most brochures are laughably unreadable on a mobile device
Contact forms needlessly complex for engagement by the keyboardless
Starting point to fixing this is to review and test all digital platforms using ‘real’ mobile devices, to use sites as they are being used
#3 Fixing mobile (again, finally!)
Volkswagen is undertaking an 11 million vehicle recall as a consequence of ‘dieselgate’
Estimates that final cost to brand may be up to €78 billion
‘Reputation’ seen as one of the most seriously affected assets that could take years and be costly to rebuild
But all brands are at risk from recall crises and reputational damage. (e.g. Takata airbags)
Social media enables any crisis to be amplified into a catastrophe
Digital departments need to be prepared and to rehearse their action plan to respond to a reputational ‘event’.
#4 Rehearsing digital disaster recovery
Car brand managers risk being swamped by the deluge of ‘big data’
Combining relevant data from different sources – both internal and external – to deliver reports that clarify the actions required is time consuming and distracting.
Sophus3 (other brands are available!) is working in partnership with more OEMs to support, or take on, critical parts of the data collation and reporting function.
#5 Dealing with Data overload
Speculation about Google and Apple entering car market – both have grown sizable automotive divisions
Both technically capable with huge brand equity and billions of dollars in reserves.
But rate of return at present unlikely to prove attractive
Tech giants are biding their time awaiting the opportunity afforded by future technological disruption
#6 Threat of new market entrants
Driverless technology will cause far greater disruption than emissions legislation and the search for alternative powertrains
It may be closer than we think: most of the technical building blocks are in place. There are many vehicle systems where driver already cedes control to a robotic system
First major threat is the reduction of the global car fleet. Likely that it will usher in a ‘sharing’ model reducing demand volume for vehicles eroding the status of vehicles to ‘pods’
Car brands therefore busy reinventing themselves as ‘mobility solutions providers’
#7 Disruptive new technologies
As the mobility solutions market opens up, then we can expect the tech giants to enter
Their interest is to control, own and profit from the information network a fully autonomous vehicle fleet would depend on
Google and Apples’ battle to become the dominant provider of embedded infotainment systems is a Trojan horse exercise to control the car to network communications which is the value opportunity of this technology
Most car brands seem to be complacently surrendering ground to the tech giants to achieve their ambitions
#7 Disruptive new technologies
The second threat stems from the ‘pod’ analogy – driverless technology demands an almost existential redefinition of the car
The proposition the car industry has offered since its birth is one of personal autonomy: the driver as individualist: pilot, knight even rebel
Driverless technology makes that proposition, and most of the rhetoric used to sell cars today suddenly meaningless
Those marketing cars need to start thinking about an entirely new rhetoric to make the car desirable, to execute a near 180 degree turn in the proposition they are making
#7 Disruptive new technologies
Short term the major threat to the car market is clearly the economic climate
A ‘perfect storm’ is brewing that could drag the world economy back into a tailspin
Main factors are Collapse in oil prices and domino effect on
financial institutions European stock markets down 10% in the
year so far – another portent of recession China may be forced to devalue its currency
adding deflationary stress that will hit other emerging markets
EU car market has a distinct déjà vu: torrid growth, yet household disposable income remains lower than at time of 2007 crash?
#8 Enough futurology: “It’s the economy stupid!”
See you soon!
YOU
www.sophus3.com
THANK
