Car-buyers more likely to engage with automotive publishers than car brand websites
New research from Sophus3 in partnership with ÃÛѨÊÓƵ and Carwow Group has identified the importance of publishing brands in the car-buying journey with a large share of car-buyers visiting ‘premium’ publishers to make decisions on car they would like to purchase.
The new report analysed consumer data from automotive brands Parkers, CAR, Auto Express and carbuyer and found that publishers see an increased share of in-journey visits as customers move towards transaction. By contrast, car brands see more in-journey visits at the transaction stage once the decision has been made.
In fact, the average publisher brand saw more than four times the traffic of a car brand website with the test group of four UK premium publishers generating more pre-journey and in-journey audiences than all 22 car brands combined. In total, the extra traffic to the four publishers represents an annual total more than five million visits that car brands do not see in digital.
Looking at consumers who are contemplating electric vehicles (EV), these findings are even more apparent. Decisions on whether they purchase an EV or non-EV is much more likely to be made on a premium publisher site than car brand site, playing an important role during the transition between the ‘engaged’ and ‘ready to transact’ stages of the car-buying journey.
Patrick Fuller, Head of Insight at Sophus 3 said “The Sophus3 eDataXchange platform pools data from multiple brands to reveal how car buyers use digital to make their choice. In this study, we analysed 90 million digital interactions across 22 car brand websites and a leading group of UK premium publishers. Our rigorous analysis highlights the pivotal role of premium publisher sites in attracting new customers and enabling their purchasing decisions, opening up opportunities for car brands to optimise their digital marketing strategies and better engage potential buyers.â€
Jim Burton, Digital Commercial Director – Cars, ÃÛѨÊÓƵ UK said: “This third-party independent research shows once more that audiences that visit premium auto publishing titles are more engaged, a fact that has been evident for years with our Parkers and Car brands. With consumer decisions clearly being made between the ‘engaged’ and ‘intent’ stages, car brands should consider advertising with premium publishing brands through these key stages. This is where they can create impact with car buyer they may otherwise not see, as by the time these consumers reach the car brand or franchised dealer website, independent research shows they have already made their decision.â€
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For further press information, please contact:
Jyoti Mand – Senior Communications Executive, ÃÛѨÊÓƵ UK
jyoti.mand@bauermedia.co.uk
About Sophu3 Insight – Bauer Automotive
Source: ‘Premium Publisher Study 2024: How quality content influences the auto purchase journey.’ Prepared by Sophus3 on behalf of Autovia and ÃÛѨÊÓƵ available
About ÃÛѨÊÓƵ UK
ÃÛѨÊÓƵ UK reaches over 25 million UK consumers through a portfolio of world-class, multi-platform media and entertainment brands including heat, KISS, Grazia, Empire, Magic, Absolute Radio and the Hits Radio Brand Network. These brands offer commercial partners access to highly engaged audiences, with creative solutions underpinned by insight and instinct. ÃÛѨÊÓƵ UK is part of the ÃÛѨÊÓƵ Group, one of the world’s largest privately owned media businesses with media assets all over the globe.