To determine the finalists and winner, Nielsen leveraged three research studies to incorporate awareness levels and perceptions across media types. The studies included:

• A custom survey of nearly 7,000 consumers’ cross-media awareness and perceptions of environmental messages by automotive brand
• Response data from 2.5 million viewers of national television advertising collected by Nielsen’s ad effectiveness measurements service, focusing on green automotive ads
• Measuring social media “buzz” sentiment within green-related discussion threads

The results showed that consumers have definite high awareness of environmentally friendly ad campaigns, with eight in 10 consumers in the cross-media awareness survey reporting seeing “green” auto ads recently. Also notable is the generally positive nature of discussion surrounding green topics for auto brands in consumer-generated media (CGM). Less than 1 percent of discussion was negative on average. This is also reflected in the number of consumers who said green ads shift their opinion of the brand, with two-thirds saying their opinion was more positive after seeing these ads.

“We have seen a heightened awareness among consumers for environmental initiatives in the auto sector,” said Lois Miller, President of Nielsen Automotive. “The key benefit is that with this awareness is also a more positive view of the brand and ultimately, this can help auto manufacturers reach consumers that may not have considered their brand before.”

Motivating Factors
In a recent Nielsen online survey, car owners from Russia’s largest cities cited practical reasons such as wanting a safer or better equipped car when considering an automobile change. But while sensible reasons dominate, there is evidence that less practical motives are driving forces as well. The Nielsen study showed there are signs the Russian consumer market is recovering and that discretionary spending like car purchases is expected to grow. The research reveals an increasing importance placed on emotional motivation—one in five car owners say they want to change a car because they are ‘bored’ with the current one.

Price is Paramount
While Russians are feeling confident in the stability of their personal finances—two in three expect the state of their finances to remain the same or improve over the next 12 months—there is caution. One-third of those planning a car change in the next three years are prepared to spend conservatively by choosing lower-priced brands, more economical models, and basic packaging. Consumers cite the growth of car prices in Russia and increased interest rates as factors.

Payment Plans
Russian car owners plan to fund a vehicle purchase mostly through loans. Loan demand is expected to grow in the very near future—44% of those planning to buy a car in the next 12 months intend to use a loan; and both large, well-known financial institutions and small banks will have an equal crack at winning consumer attention. However, receiving a loan from a recognized bank is less of a priority than securing a loan with the most benefits. Options like early payoff without penalty and simple, clear credit terms are favored by consumers.

Funding Options
The Russian government’s recently launched subsidy program to encourage sales of Russian-produced cars received a lukewarm reaction—only 15% said they are interested. But 37% of consumers are ready to use the trade-in option offered by auto dealers.

Car dealers have an opportunity to better educate prospective buyers about trade-in options. Sparse or unclear information about the service and its benefits was cited by 15% of consumers who said they do not have enough information to make an informed choice. The majority of skeptics believe they would make more money selling their cars directly.

Cautious Optimism
The continuing uncertainty in the stability of the national economy and the current high rate terms of loans make one in three potential buyers moderate their appetites to avoid risking the family budget. A reduction of loan rates and the active promotion of alternative car sales programs would likely provide a timely solution to help car owners receive what they want without breaking the bank.

SUMMARY: Chinese consumers have relatively high awareness and strong purchasing intention for electric vehicles, according to Nielsen’s China Electric Vehicle Market Report. Conservation and low operation costs are the key factors of consideration for Chinese consumers.

With global energy and conservation concerns, new energy vehicles are becoming the focus of all leading auto manufacturers. Though the electric vehicle is not at a mass production stage just yet, Nielsen’s China Electric Vehicle Market Report shows that there is still a high percentage (68%) of Chinese consumers showing awareness or familiarity of this developing technology.

And while the ever-developing lithium battery allows the electric vehicle industry to accelerate, leading auto manufacturers are concentrating on concept design and sample testing of electric vehicles. To uncover and answer questions regarding Chinese consumers’ needs and user behavior, Nielsen conducted a nationwide survey among 1,478 vehicle owners and potential vehicle owners.

High Interest Revealed
Chinese consumers hold a relatively high purchase intention to buy an electric vehicle. Nearly eight in ten respondents showed intent to buy an electric vehicle if price was not taken into consideration. Among the respondents, car owners that currently drive a car of 1.5 L displacement or less showed the highest intention (80%) to purchase the electric vehicle.

Deciding Factors
Among 1,104 existing and potential car owners with purchase intent, nearly nine in ten (88%) stated that they would take into consideration the fuel emission and how environmentally friendly the vehicle was. Second in importance was the low operational cost for no fuel consumption (81%).

Other key factors in a potential purchase decision include:

• Low engine noise and passenger room (66%)
• The appeal of new energy-source technology (61%)
• Potential government subsidy (48%).

Even though the electric vehicle is only in the market fostering stage, the fact that Chinese consumers already hold a high awareness and purchase intent for this new energy-source technology presents huge opportunities for manufactures. To effectively convert intention into action, it is important for manufactures to truly capture the consumers’ tipping points through understanding demand. How the right message engages the right demand target and where the right supply meets higher profit demands, are the keys to capturing a higher percentage of profitable demand.

Imposing Views
A few key factors are impeding consumers from purchasing the electric vehicle. Among 374 existing and potential car owners without purchase intention, 77% of consumers stated that the electric vehicles’ underdeveloped charging facilities and the inconvenience of battery charging are main concerns. Also, short running mileage after a single charge (67%), immaturity of new technology and potential fault in technology (64%), long charge times (43%), underdeveloped maintenance techniques (36%) and incomplete driving experience from a lack of boisterous engine (25%) were also mitigating factors when looking at consumer purchase intention.

Automobile manufacturers need to narrow the gap between electric and traditional gasoline-consuming vehicles to capture consumers’ hearts, and eventually their wallets. They need to accelerate the development and promotion of micro or small electric vehicles. Home-use vehicles with high mileage endurance, fast charging, long battery life and stable performance will be favored by most consumers of electric vehicles.

Negative Buzz Increases Post Launch of “Cash for Clunkers”

In the two months prior to the official launch of the CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) program, 10.5 percent of all discussions were positive, while an additional 10.7 percent of the discussion focused on actual intent to purchase a car through the Clunkers program. On the other side of the argument, 7.9 percent of the discussions were negative, containing sentiments like this New York Times blog comment:

“The worst part about this program is that the government is encouraging people to take on more debt. Those clunkers are mostly PAID FOR. Why on earth are we telling U.S. citizens to go and take out another big loan on a depreciating asset? It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

While positive sentiment around the U.S. government’s program outweighed the negative in the weeks prior to the launch of the program, bloggers began to shift their opinions in the week following the official launch, with negative buzz increasing to 10.1 percent of all discussions and conversations that focused on purchase intent fell to 7.1 percent. As the program quickly ran out of money, negative buzz again increased, growing to 11.4 percent while intent to buy continued its downward trajectory, this time falling to 6.1 percent of all CARS discussions online.

CARS.gov Attracts the Wealthy

Online visitors were also heading over to the government Web site created specifically for the program, www.cars.gov. Month-over-month, unique visitors to the site increased 733 percent, from 287,000 unique visitors in June 2009 to 2.4 million in July. Unique visitors between the ages of 35 and 49 were 35 percent more likely than the average Internet user to visit cars.gov. Contrary to what many may assume, visitors to the site also over-indexed among the wealthy. People who make between $100k and $149k were 33 percent more likely to visit the site, and visitors who earned over $150k were 36 percent more likely to visit the site in July.

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Findings & Analysis:

• Total diesel buzz decreased 28% from June ‘08 to June ‘09, while diesel fuel fell by $2.15 per gallon or 45%
• Domestic trucks and German cars are most prominently mentioned within diesel buzz
• Mercedes-Benz and BMW are gaining share of diesel discussion
• Some consumers believe there is more potential opportunity for diesel in the U.S. market, particularly if original equipment manufacturers repurpose their small, fuel-efficient European offerings.

For more, download Nielsen’s Automotive Industry Overview: Diesel Focus

Julie Enzweiler,  Automotive Research Director, The Nielsen Company

SUMMARY: In economic terms, the auto industry was hit by the perfect storm: high gas prices, tight consumer financing, plant closings, brand reductions, dealership pruning, employee layoffs, longer vehicle retention, surplus inventory, manufacturer bankruptcies and waning consumer confidence. Despite a 37% decrease in total auto sales over 2008, bright spots persisted: the redesigned Forester revved up Subaru sales while price leaders Hyundai and Kia gained traction from new models. Online media has changed the rules of the road for auto marketing by placing consumer generated media squarely in the driver’s seat.

Unprecedented. Unbelievable. Unfathomable. The state of the auto nation is shaky at the moment, but all is not lost. Offsetting the unrelentingly negative news are 2009 highlights like a 69% spike in Sorento model sales, a 48% increase in Sedona sales, and the successful launch of the economically-priced Hyundai Genesis and Kia Soul, both targeting younger drivers.

Conversely, luxury vehicles that attract middle-aged consumers managed to outpace the market, although the category experienced a long tail effect, a two to three month delay from shopping to closing the sale. Only one domestic car manufacturer—Lincoln—outperformed the market, even though sales remained in negative territory on a year-to-year basis.

Fueling sales

The Nielsen online panel, comprising 250,000 individuals representing the U.S. online population, detected another hopeful sign for new vehicle sales based on Internet new vehicle shopping patterns. While online new car shopping downshifted by 9%, this represented a mere fraction of the precipitous 37% sales decline, suggesting the existence of pent-up demand. Consumers sought out roadworthy vehicles like the new Ford Fusion, proven gas sippers like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, or buttoned up their wallets and opted to maintain their current car or buy used.

Foreign automakers benefited disproportionately from escalating gas prices because of the consumer perception that their vehicles—especially hybrid and diesel models—are more fuel-efficient. German and Korean automakers realized the largest gains in online vehicle shopping activity, posting 1.7 and 2.2 percentage point share increases respectively, while their U.S. counterpart slid 5.5 percentage points. The Volkswagen Jetta and CC models, BMW 1- and 3-series and Mercedes-Benz E class were among the variants driving shopping inquiries.

Model behavior

Sport utility vehicles, with some 61 models available, continue to hold the “most shopped” position and rank number one in the U.S. for share of new vehicle shopping. Although activity waned with rising gas prices, consumers appeared to be hedging their bets, shopping longer in the hopes that gas costs would plummet and justify the purchase. And while the government is putting pressure on automakers to reduce these larger vehicles from their fleet, demand at the moment is not supporting this mandate.

The biggest disappointment among model types proved to be the basic economy vehicle, which peaked with a nearly 30% online shopping share in May 2008 when gas prices were at the highest (around $4.00/gallon), and dropped to half that a year later when gas prices declined to about $2.00/gallon.

Upper middle car models like the Fusion, Camry, Accord and Altima maneuvered into the second most shopped segment by April 2009, with hybrid variants moving the sales needle. Hybrids remain an exciting, but emerging segment, as consumers wrap their heads around the concept and take their time investigating the genre. Luxury entrants cruised along with steady sales, experiencing a boost from the Hyundai Genesis introduction. Luxury models attract aspirational buyers who savor the shopping experience and take their time to consider price before taking the plunge, elongating the buying cycle.

Trading places

Rankings of the Top 25 automakers based on online shopping activity wheeled in some interesting changes, with Kia jumping 11 slots from number 24 last April to number 13 in

April 2009. Volkswagen leapfrogged seven spots from number 15 to number eight courtesy of the CC—their most-searched vehicle on the Internet. The redesigned Forester sparked consumer interest as well and elevated Subaru to the number 22 slot, up from 27.

Saturn fell out of orbit, dropping 13 spots to number 23, followed by Buick’s 12 point decline, GMC’s six point downslide and Pontiac’s five point plunge. A heads-up to Volkswagen, the beneficiary of online buzz over the curvy CC: while initial online interest spikes rapidly, it can quickly taper off. The trick is to sustain interest over time and keep the vehicle top of mind with prospective buyers.

Setting your sites

The auto industry enjoys a relatively unusual electronic landscape, with a host of powerful, established third party shopping sites available to consumers like Yahoo! Autos, Kelleybluebook.com, AutoTrader.com and cars.com to name a few. Manufacturer or OEM web sites need to maintain a polished look and feel with robust content to stay in the game, offering complementary information and highly interactive features like build-a-car customization tools, 360° rotating car views, dealer information, engaging games that keep customers returning to the site, virtual experiences, testimonials and incentives.

While 86% of online shoppers rely on third party sites for price information, OEM sites are the preferred source for visualizing build-outs, researching special offers and obtaining financing information about tax incentives, special offers and government programs. The combined use of both third party and OEM sites actually enhances the consumer shopping experience, providing complementary rather than competing information.

Value of video

Kia Soul, one of the year’s most successful launches, earned kudos for an exciting web site that features techno pop music, robot animation, a personalized video from the chief designer about his “rhino with a backpack”  vision, a floating picture gallery, build-a-soul feature and “Escape from Hamsterdam” game, which leverages the primary advertising visual—hamsters. Of course, the under $14,000 price tag and 31 MPG green angle helped jump start things.

Video streaming is playing out across the computer screens of America, with 124% annual growth overall, and a turbocharged uptake rate of almost 200% for Ford videos. At last count, there were more than 80 million videos available on YouTube, and that video library is growing by some 200,000 clips per day. Nothing engages consumers like real-life clips from owners and test drivers sharing their experiences. In addition to posting videos on OEM sites, manufacturers can enhance both reach and impact by pushing out digital clips to social media outlets like YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, Facebook and others.

Ad impressions

Nielsen data show local magazines, national newspapers and local radio taking the biggest hit with shrinking ad budgets, accounting in large part for the precipitous 31% downtrend in total first quarter auto ad spending from 2008 to 2009. Online ad impressions ramped up during Q1 of 2009, stabilizing at approximately five billion impressions per month during the March to May period, with a correspondingly constant spend rate of $35 million per month.

Following a classic advertising paradigm, exposures may indeed be rekindling demand. Nielsen surveys suggest that “intent to buy” is rebounding from an all-time low in the Spring of 2009 to a more historic level as seen in summer’s past. It seems that consumers have been kicking the tires, but doing so via virtual showrooms.

Listen and learn

“Listening” is the new marketing. To succeed in a multi-media world, automakers will need to engage and interact with shoppers, delivering a complete experience from initial contact through post-purchase. In the process, they’ll need to leverage the power of search and social media, developing a cadre of independent reviewers and product evangelists willing to spread the word about their cars, without filters.

Search engines represent the first point of contact for many shoppers, and carmakers would do well to influence the tone of the conversation and their placement on the page one rotation. Deploy the power of Web 2.0 on OEM sites, incorporating quotes, surveys, reviews, testimonials, buyer videos, interactive games, audio and video feedback loops, special offers and incentives that hook the consumer and give them a reason to keep coming back.

The report, released this month, found many consumers were still looking, but just not buying during the first four months of the year. However, 12 percent of the U.S. population said they will probably or definitely buy a new car or truck during the next six months, per the 250,000 U.S. adults that make up the Nielsen MegaPanel. That was up slightly from 10 percent in the spring.

Continue reading at Brandweek.

“These estimates help manufacturers and marketers better understand the markets that have ‘green’ potential, and help them focus their resources,” said Bruce Wilkinson, Vice President of Media and Communications for Nielsen Claritas. “Additionally, it helps them to plan media campaigns and determine inventory levels for each model, market-by-market.”

The research looked at the national ownership rates of high-mileage vehicles including the Honda Fit, Toyota Prius, Toyota Yaris and Mini Cooper. Using auto registration data from RL Polk and Nielsen’s PRIZM segmentation, the percentage of each segment owning these vehicles was calculated. Individual market potential then was calculated based upon the segment composition of each market.

The top ten was made up primarily of coastal metropolitan area, including Boston (4th), San Diego (5th), Chicago (6th) and Los Angeles (9th), all with populations of over one million. Two exceptions were the relatively small areas of Monterey-Salinas, CA (7th), which has a population of 234,000 and Honolulu, HI (8th), with a population of 442,000.

Places where gas guzzlers still rule the road tended toward the south and Midwest, with the states of West Virginia and Mississippi holding seven of the ten areas that had the lowest rates of green auto ownership.

Learn more about Segmentation & Targeting.

On the eve of General Motor’s bankruptcy, New York Times blog writer, James G. Cobb, asked consumers to share their experiences with GM vehicles. His personal contribution relates to family vehicles, from deep pride in his parents’ first new Chevy to a later Biscayne exhibiting various quality issues that would ultimately be cited as a reason neither he nor his family have owned GM products since.

This experiential theme resonates among consumers responding to the blog post. Within the 57 percent of consumers expressing mixed to negative experiences, many speak to excitement in their new GM family car tempered or soured by various vehicle problems.Others speak to watching vehicle quality decline over a series of GM vehicles they, family, or friends once owned.

Sentiment breakout from NYT Wheels blog post (May 31 – June 2, 2009)

With nearly half of the stories relating to childhood and family-related experiences, the power of first and early impressions appear to play a large role in shaping the current buying behavior of consumers. Seeing family members disappointed with a GM vehicle or experiencing their own frustrations with a GM model make very powerful impressions on potential buyers.

• 18 percent of memories contain first new car experiences.
• More than twice as many consumers state that they no longer buy GM products (36 percent) than those who mention currently owning or a willingness to consider owning one (16 percent).

While consumers state various reasons why they no longer buy GM – including lack of models that interest them or fit their needs – past experiences with poor quality factor heavily into this decision. Two in five experiences contain some type of quality issue, often including frequent or sometimes expensive maintenance. While these quality problems ranged in severity, several consumers also mention the dealer service experience did little to mitigate the irritation of taking the car to the shop – and sometimes made it worse.

Perceptions extend beyond experiences, and the GM bankruptcy generates significant levels of discussion outside of personal vehicle experiences. Peripheral buzz from the broader spectrum of GM bankruptcy reactions also indicates how closely consumers are monitoring the situation and if they might be more susceptible to brand advocates or detractors.

• 13 percent express hope that GM will emerge stronger and have success in the future, which speaks to opportunities for connecting with advocates as GM moves into “Chapter 1” of its new beginning.
• 10 percent discuss dealership/plant closures and other aspects of bankruptcy that impact current and former employees. Some mention knowing employees or retirees whose income or benefits have been affected.
• 19 percent state opinions about what factors were driving GM to bankruptcy.

Both personal experiences and overall perceptions shape the entire customer experience. Understanding both aspects via listening to online buzz and acting on those findings can help brands toward the goal of improving consumer perceptions.

Thanks to raves about its quality, size, style and dealer experience, Toyota achieved the highest rating of 69 followed by Honda (68), Lexus (68) and Acura (67).

Creating a positive brand image online has grown in importance because that’s where most consumers go to research their purchase decision. “Before people buy a new vehicle they are looking to the Web and social media sites,” said Julie A. Enzweiler, automotive research director, Nielsen Online.

“Auto marketers have to understand that the positive and negative comments people say will impact the sale. It can either pick up a brand up or weigh it down.”

Despite Hyundai’s new offerings and extensive advertising efforts, the brand’s rating falls lower than many other automakers because of quality issues and poor dealership experiences among survey respondents. It scored a 46. Only Isuzu (39), Suzuki (41) and Jaguar (43) ranked lower.

Kia, meanwhile, found itself in the middle with a score of 52. Price and value drove its advocacy, which is common among lower priced brands, however quality concerns dragged down Kia’s overall score.

For brands to be successful and gain advocates, Enzweiler said, “their brand pillars must resonate with consumers. If you want to be known for great quality vehicles, your top consumers need to perceive you that way. The BAQ is a snapshot in time for brands to see the lay of the land and adjust accordingly.” — Kenneth Hein