Online auto spending shifts into high gear

Cory Bergman May 9th, 2007

If you work in local media, you know automotive is the bread and butter of local ad sales. Borrell Associates released a report today on the incredible shift of automotive ad dollars to the internet. “For newspapers and TV stations, the days of easy automotive money are over,” reads the report. “The rush is on to meet car buyers on the internet, where they spend an average of five hours researching vehicles before they make a purchase.” While Borrell predicts that newspapers will continue to get pounded on the automotive front, there are promising opportunities for TV stations online. “The local online marketplace remains in flux. Lead-generation programs appear to be faltering. And programming that is based on listing fees and banner advertising is less attractive to dealers than campaigns that can generate excitement about products – such as online video – or can goose traffic to their web sites – like search engine marketing,” reads the report. But another threat looms: Borrell notices that people who research their next purchases are increasingly going straight to local dealers and manufacturers’ sites, skipping over third-party sites. Free executive summary is available here.