By Robert Farago
March 21, 2008
General Motors may be singularly unwilling to tell its shareholders and stakeholders when the company will return to profitability (or exactly how they're going to get there), but they're happy to announce a three-year plan for their annual ad spend. And the winner is.. online media. GM says it will allocate fully $1.5b of its $3b annual advertising budget to the Internet. The revelation keeps the death knell pealing for newspapers. According to followthemedia, GM's 2007 online display ad spend clocked-in at somewhere between $193m to $208m. At the same time, America's most profligate auto advertiser trimmed newspaper advertising by 32 percent, to $149.3m. The new Internet-heavy target will also eat into TV advertising. And where GM leads– in ad spending anyway– other automakers follow. "You know it’s getting dangerous for traditional media," scribe Steven Stone wars. "When the likes of Joel Ewanick, Marketing VP for Hyundai Motor America, says, 'Online is getting to the point where it may be more important than the 30-second spot.'" So look for GM advertising on TTAC soon. In other news, Hell is getting chilly.
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POWERED
March 21st, 2008 at 10:02 am
Just spend $100 million on snazzy ads that will send people to the GM buypower page with all the models. That would be very convenient!
At least they’re trying… maybe a couple years too late but still.
I can’t remember the last time I saw a television ad from GM that wasn’t for a Silverdo. And I’ve been seeing a lot of those lately. I might be pushing Cobalts and Aveos at the moment.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Yo Robert there is GM advertising on TTAC and on this article.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:08 am
Shhhhh.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:34 am
I think I’ve clicked on an internet ad about 10 times in 12 or so years of being online, and I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything/used any service that I first heard about through an internet ad. I really don’t see the benefit of internet ads, but judging from the massive amounts of money generated from online advertising, I might be alone
March 21st, 2008 at 11:33 am
The interesting question to consider is whether the dynamics of advertising are going to change as a result of this.
I’m sure it will…
March 21st, 2008 at 11:37 am
$3b on ad spend. Here’s a thought: Spend that money on 3 new cars/year (or maybe even fix what you currently sell). It’s $1b for a new car.
Hire smarter marketing people that can reach out to young buyers through guerilla marketing campaigns.
Send all upside profit to me.
Your welcome.
March 21st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I think sometimes internet ads work… I’ve pushed 3 or 4 links in my life on things that interested me and I’d be buying shorty. The Mazda one on this site for the $199 lease on those Mazdas got me interested in the Miata. I even went in and took a look and drove one. They offered me less out of pocket than that special and even ate part of the tax… I was on the verge of closing it, but reality set in and I checked what my insurance would be… more than my 3 other junkers combined (liability for those only), so I took a pass.
Robert’s ad did work, though, because ultimately I told my sister about going there, and I went with her that night where she closed on the same car I wanted at the same deal.
The only thing I found stupid about it was they never asked verbally or written how I (we) became interested in a Miata… I wonder how they gauge the effectiveness of the ad then?
March 21st, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Task: update my Firefox browser with popup blocker, script blocker and ad blocker.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Jaje: Firefox blocks pop-ups and scripts automatically, or by changing the setting in the Edit:Preferences menu item. You can also download AdBlock Plus, which I highly recommend.
March 21st, 2008 at 11:35 pm
I’d rather take the bus than drive a Chevy Cavalier.