Spectrum car brand index~the consumer view of car brands

spectrum-consulting.net

SPECTRUM CAR BRAND INDEXWhich car brands generate consumer interest on social media and why?

The motor industry invests billions each year in growing its brands, trying to shift and shape perceptions in order to press the right emotional triggers.

It knows that buying a new car is a decision made with the heart rather than the head – otherwise we’d all be driving old bangers and putting the money we save into our pensions. So how do the main players compare in a branding game that contributes approximately 5% of Google’s ad revenues each year? Spectrum’s Car Brand Index sets out to show just that. By benchmarking and tracking changes in online content, conversation and behaviour we lift the bonnet on what brands really mean to us.

PREMIER LEAGUE

RANK CAR

1 HONDA CIVIC

2 FORD FOCUS

3 HONDA ACCORD

4 AUDI A4

5 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT

6 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

7 VAUXHALL ZAFIRA

8 FORD FIESTA

9 HONDA CR-V

10 LAND ROVER FREELANDER HONDA CIVIC

FORD FOCUS HONDA ACCORD

RANK 1


These top ten car models generated the highest volume of mentions on Twitter in October – December 2011 (base – car brands sold in the UK):

WHICH BRANDS APPEAR MOST FREqUENTLy WHEN CONSUMERS GOOGLE SEARCH FOR CARS?


This is how visible car brands were compared to each other (share of voice) in content returned by Google in December 2011:

Renault was the most visible brand, followed by Ford and BMW Mini was the least visible brand In q4 2011, (chart not shown), Ford was the most visible brand

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ONLINE BRAND PROFILE: FORD

Ford Focus


• Ford was positioned as the top brand for families in Q4 2011

• The topic of ‘safety’ was a key benefit associated with the brand, thanks to mentions of its active and passive safety systems

• Ford was also the brand most viewed as ‘innovative’

• It was also best ‘value for money’, beating Fiat and BMW

• Ford received 21,072 likes on its Facebook wall in December 2011, less than 1/10th of the volume received by Ferrari

• Ford generated more Twitter mentions than any other manufacturer in Q4 2011

ONLINE BRAND PROFILE: TOyOTA

Toyota Prius


• Toyota was positioned as the top brand for environment in Q4 2011

• The subject of ‘hybrid’ appeared in 19% of online coverage for Toyota in December 2011. Only Honda came close to this level

• Among 40 competitors, Toyota had the fourth largest number of mentions relating to ‘running costs’

• Toyota received only 321 likes on its UK Facebook wall in December compared to almost 5,000 likes for Volkswagen’s UK wall

• The Toyota Prius was the model in 16th place on the league table of brands most talked about in Tweets in Q4 2011

• Toyota was among the top five brands on Twitter overall, with 12,967 mentions among Tweets for ‘cars’

ONLINE BRAND PROFILE: HONDA

Honda Civic


• The Honda Civic was the most talked-about car model (sold in the UK) in online conversation on Twitter in Q4 2011

• The recall of 304,000 cars due to concerns over faulty airbags meant Honda received a high volume of Retweets in December 2011

• ‘Hybrid’ appeared in 15% of Honda coverage after it showcased its plug-in hybrid at the Tokyo Motor Show

• Honda received only 509 Facebook wall comments in December 2011, its lowest level in any month that year and ten times lower than its best month (5,012 in October)

• After Toyota, Honda was the car brand most closely associated with ‘environment’ in December 2011

ONLINE BRAND PROFILE: RENAULT

Renault Megane


• Renault was the most visible car brand in content returned by Google search for ‘cars’ in December 2011

• Online coverage positions Renault as a ‘family’ car, although to a lesser extent than Ford

• Among 40 competitors, Renault is a middle-of-the- road brand when it comes to generating mentions in consumer Tweets, with ~1,200 per month

• Renault’s global fan page attracted 10,345 likes in December

• The highest-placed Renault model in the league table of most-mentioned cars in Twitter was the Mégane

ONLINE BRAND PROFILE: BMW

BMW 3 Series Coupe


• The BMW 3-Series fell just outside the top ten most talked-about car models on Twitter in Q4 2011

• BMW is strongly associated with ‘premium’ in online coverage – only Jaguar scores higher against this term

• Among 40 competitors, BMW is also the brand most associated with ‘speed’ in online coverage for ‘cars’

• Attracting 87,810 likes on its wall in December 2011, BMW was the third most liked brand behind Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz

• In Facebook consumer comments, BMW is the brand most often referred to as ‘best’

ONLINE BRAND PROFILE: VOLVO

Volvo XC90


• Volvo was the brand most talked about in relation to ‘fuel consumption’ in online coverage from December 2011

• Volvo is one of the few brands whose online share of voice versus 40 competitors has increased steadily since 2010

• Volvo was mentioned in Tweets 2,942 in Q4 2011, compared to Volkswagen’s 9,725 mentions

• Volvo was 6th on the list of brands associated with ‘safety’ in consumer comments on Facebook in December 2011

• On Facebook, Volvo accumulated 5,020 wall likes in December 2011, compared to Saab’s 16,439

ONLINE BRAND PROFILE: CITROEN

Citroen DS-5


• Citroen’s links with ‘family’ were strengthened in December 2011 when BBC’s Top Gear named the DS-5 ‘family car of the year

• The Citroen Xsara was the model that achieved the highest place in the ranking of most talked-about car on Twitter – 48th place in Q4 2011

• Citroen generated a respectable, 7,815 Facebook wall likes in December 2011, ahead of Peugeot’s 5,010

• In Twitter, Citroen was outrun by Peugeot, with 1,708 mentions in Q4 2011 compared to Peugeot’s 2,783

• Citroen was the brand with the smallest number of Retweets in December 2011, with 5 Retweets compared to Honda’s 468

ONLINE BRAND PROFILE: MERCEDES

Mercedes C Class


• Mercedes was the top car brand for ‘luxury’ in December 2011, ahead of BMW and Rolls-Royce

• The brand was also closely associated with ‘servicing’ in online comments

• Mercedes was second only to Ferrari in generating consumer comments on its Facebook wall in Q4 2011 – 315,630 new comments

• In Twitter for ‘cars’, Mercedes generated 18,611 mentions in the six months to December 2011, but was overshadowed by BMW’s 30,577

• The Mercedes C-Class was 17th in the list of most talked-about car models on Twitter in Q4 2011


ABOUT US

Spectrum provides evaluation and customer insight across a range of industries and markets, based on what people say about brands in online and social media, whatever language they speak. Our cost-effective, in-depth research goes far beyond metrics to comprehensive strategic and tactical insights and recommendations.

Please get in touch for a copy of the Spectrum Car Brand Index. Or, ask us a different question about how your customers are engaging with your brand and why.

www.spectrum-consulting.net83 Baker Street, London+44 (0) 207 7034 7090

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Spectrum car brand index~the consumer view of car brands