Cinema and Mobile To Benefit From More Auto Ads

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

According to a new Borell Associates Inc. report, at $22.6 billion this year, automotive is the second-largest advertising category (behind general merchandise stores).

The 27-page report, 2011 Local Automotive Advertising Outlook, is forecasting an overall increase of 7.2 percent, from $21.1 billion in 2010 to $22.6 billion this year, with every medium except yellow pages seeing an increase in auto advertising.

The largest percentage increase goes to cinema advertising (up 98% to $246 million). However, the largest dollar increase is expected for online media, which is projected to be up 11%, from $6.6 billion to nearly $7.3 billion. Online now dominates nearly one-third of all auto advertisers’ budgets and is likely to grow as dealers migrate more toward social media and mobile marketing.

The full 27-page report draws on research from the National Association of Automobile Dealers, Manheim Auctions, Scarborough Research and Borrell Associates’ ongoing surveys of more than 6,000 local advertisers.


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