Will Facebook Overtake MySpace For Auto Ads, Too?

Online advertising remains strong, even as ad spending has decreased across other media, and MySpace has benefited from this trend with several large-scale campaigns from auto makers.  But in recent months, Facebook has surpassed MySpace in terms of monthly unique audience and stickiness: its monthly unique audience grew 177 percent in the last year compared to a 9 percent decrease for MySpace and time per person on Facebook went from 1 hour 8 minutes in March 2008 to 3 hours 16 minutes in March 2009.

When it comes to auto ads, MySpace continues to garner more overall ad spend: Honda, Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan and Toyota all recently ran ads, with the Honda Fit campaign generating more than 600 million ad impressions in the first quarter of 2009.  A year earlier, Toyota generated over 2.5 billion impressions for its Matrix.  This year, Toyota has allocated more of its ad dollars to Facebook.

As Facebook continues to grow, it will be interesting to track whether the automotive ad spending follows. To receive detailed monthly updates on the auto industry contact Julie Enzweiler

A Bright Spot Online For Automotive Ad Spend

Julie A. Enzweiler, Automotive - Research Director, Nielsen Online

The automotive industry was hit by a Mack truck the second half of 2008 with all-time high gas prices, a shrinking economy and growing consumer fear of making a large purchase.  Advertising spend reflects how the automotive industry reacted to the crisis, highlighting channels that are the most vital to intercepting new vehicle prospects.

The first half of 2008 showed growth in advertising spend over 2007 for TV (+2%) and Internet (+55%) while outdoor, magazine, radio and paper decreased (20%, 18%, 14%, and 4%, respectively).  The second half of 2008 yielded a lower advertising spend over 2007 across all channels.  Radio and paper took the biggest hits with decreases of 42 percent and 40 percent, while Internet exhibited a similar level of spend vs. 2007 with only a 0.5 percent decrease.  Overall automotive advertising spend decreased 8.2 percent from 2007 to 2008, with the Internet being the only channel to witness growth.

Automotive Estimated Ad Spend: 2007 - 2008

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Advertising Stalls For Big Three Auto Makers

As Washington considers a multi-billion dollar bailout package for the American auto industry, a look at this year’s ad spending by car manufacturers provides even more evidence that Detroit is struggling.

Through July 2008, the Big Three American car manufacturers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) all showed negative advertising growth over 2007, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Ford and Chrysler each spent 22% less on advertising, while GM dropped its spending by 6%.

Compare that with the relative success of foreign automakers. Honda added the most spending in dollars over 2007 (an extra $71.5 million, or 13%), while Daimler (48%) and Volkswagen (23%) showed the most growth percentage-wise.

But not all foreign automakers saw the same success. Hyundai’s spending dropped by 17%, Nissan’s fell 15%, and Toyota’s numbers remained unchanged. The numbers reflect a 10% dip in ad spending across the entire auto industry through July.

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Some Growth, Despite Overall Ad Decline In Q1-Q2 2008

Advertising spending for the first half of 2008 declined by 1.4% compared to the same period last year, Nielsen Monitor-Plus reported Thursday.

Despite a continued softening of the economy, several media showed healthy growth in advertising for the first half.  Advertising on Cable TV (+8.1%), Syndication TV (+7.2%), and National Sunday Supplements (+7.2%) saw the largest growth, according to Nielsen.  Spot Radio fared worst among the 19 media categories analyzed by Nielsen (-10.1%). 

Although overall Internet ad spending, when including paid search and online video advertising, was up by 11% during the first half of this year, image-based Internet advertising declined by 6% during the first half of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007.

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