Westlake Village, California - Online television show content is emerging as an increasingly effective way of reaching new-vehicle buyers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Power Auto Online Media Study.
The semi-annual study, now in its third year, provides an in-depth look at the Internet usage and behaviour of new-vehicle buyers and identifies web sites that most effectively target desirable advertising audiences in terms of reach and scope. It is the only study of its kind that consists exclusively of verified new-vehicle buyers.
The study finds that a substantial majority of new-vehicle buyers — 68 per cent — report going online to find information on television shows, and that the reach of online television show content among new-vehicle buyers has increased by 22 per cent since 2007. In addition, television show content is among the top three types of online information consumed by new-vehicle buyers, along with travel-related information (including maps, driving directions and weather reports) and news (including finance and business-related content).
The U.S. study found that new-vehicle buyers most frequently visit the following web sites when searching for television content: CNN.com (with 30% reach among new-vehicle buyers); MSNBC (24%); ESPN (23%); and FOXNews.com (21%). Among television network Web sites, ABC is visited most frequently by online users (with 16% reach among new-vehicle buyers), followed closely by CBS and NBC (each with 13%).
Buyers of premium-brand vehicles tend to seek online television show content with the greatest frequency, and are 8 per cent more likely to look up information about television shows online, compared with the average new-vehicle buyer. When looking at specific segments, 79 per cent of midsize premium utility vehicle buyers, 76 per cent of compact premium crossover utility vehicles (CUV) buyers, and 75 per cent of midsize premium CUV buyers typically view this type of online content. The biggest increase in consumption of online TV content is among buyers of midsize premium conventional vehicles, a rise of 41 percent since 2007.
