亚信科技

In 2023, thanks to the relevant policies introduced one by one by governments at all levels, coupled with the improvement of the macroeconomic environment and the gradual fading of COVID-19’s impact, the domestic automotive consumption market has quickly rebounded to show strong growth momentum, injecting robust energy into the stable and positive economic operation.

iResearch from AsiaInfo unveils the 2023 Automotive Industry’s Network Marketing Monitoring Report today. Based on in-depth analysis of trends in the network marketing of the industry, the report, starting with changes in perceptions, thoroughly analyzes the marketing characteristics, strategies, and typical cases of vertical media, video platforms, lifestyle community platforms, and private domain channels of automotive industry. It also releases the Automotive Industry User App Preference Ranking (by scale).

The following is an excerpt from the report.

Marketing trends: Advertising spending grows stably, sponsorship in variety shows lead to good results

Display advertising

From January to October 2023, the confidence of automotive industry advertisers was fostered, with an investment index of 5.93 billion. There was a small peak in advertising placement from March to May. Top advertisers were cautious, with Dongfeng Honda and BMW newly entering the top 15 advertisers. In terms of display advertising spending strategy, mobile and OTT channel shares continue to grow, and “large size” ads are more favored. Vertical media such as Autohome, Yiche, and Dongchedi are the main advertising platforms.

Variety show sponsorship

The demand of embedded advertising into variety shows of automotive industry grew, with 28 brands sponsoring variety shows in the first ten months of 2023. The peak period was from April to August. The strong demand of embedded advertising made single-brand and single-model placement more common. Besides, observation-based programs remained the main focus, with an increase in the proportion of online variety shows.

Among the 28 variety show sponsorships of automotive brands from January to October 2023, 12 exceeded the industry average, accounting for 42.9%. Celebrity competition and comprehensive game shows had high sponsorship value, with on-list rates of 66.7% and 60.0%, respectively.

Marketing strategies: “product-effect-sales integration” is favored in network marketing

A profound change has occurred in the marketing concept of automotive manufacturers. Automotive industry has demonstrated a stronger demand for the “product-effect-sales integration”, with digital marketing becoming mainstream, and marketing channels, forms, and contents becoming more diverse. By using digital tools and integrating data-driven marketing on various internet platforms, automakers have optimized resource allocation and achieved the goal of precise targeting of users. Automakers increasingly value direct communication with consumers, thus private domains have become an important channel for automotive brand marketing.

Vertical media: Covering the entire chain of “seeing, buying, using, changing” for car purchases, precise marketing based on user behavior analysis has been achieved. Combining rich content such as discount information and explanatory reviews with offline experiences and car community activities enhances the conversion effect of automotive brand marketing.

Video platforms: Brand visibility has been increased through KOL recommendations and sponsorship of variety shows/dramas; sales have been promoted through various methods, including co-created videos and live streaming by official brands and influencers.

 Social media: Due to its high proportion of female users and recommendations from influences, RED by Little Red Book has become the main platform for sharing female content for automotive brands. KOL marketing on the platform focuses on life scenes, uses popular topics to divert traffic, and creates concepts related to female “freedom” and “independence” in collaboration with offline activities to strengthen the target audience’s value recognition and increase conversion rates.

Private domain channels: Automotive brands utilize public domain touchpoints to expand their private domain traffic pool. Through refined operations on their communities, mini programs, and apps, they reach a larger range of high-intention potential customers, tapping into the full lifecycle value of users. 

Big News: Automotive Industry User App Preference Ranking (by scale)