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.”

The U.S. market, which faced six straight quarters of declines in ad spending, has seen a turnaround in 2010. In total, advertisers spent an estimated $54 billion during the first half of 2010. The increase in U.S. advertising reflects a modest improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in the first half of the year, as advertisers look to highlight value deals and increase promotions in the hopes of spurring consumer spending.

However, with confidence still well below pre-recessionary levels, automotive was one of only a few bright spots in the top 10 product category ad spending.

Overall, there was a 3 percent increase in the top 10 product categories, with the largest growth by far seen in automotive (+27%) and auto insurance (+23%). The automotive advertising was driven largely by increased spending by General Motors which was up 73% over 1H09. Ford and Toyota also grew their ad spending by 15% and 22% respectively. An increase of 82% for UAW Health Care Trust contributed to the first half growth in the auto insurance category. All other categories, except department stores (+5%) and restaurants (+2%) showed declines in the first six months of the year.

“Not surprisingly, auto ad spending is closely tied to auto sales given that those sales dollars enable increased marketing expenditures,” said Sallie Hirsch, SVP of Research for Nielsen’s automotive unit. “Last year was abysmal for the auto industry as economic factors drove down sales to very low levels. Now that we’re seeing an improvement in the market and consumers are more willing to open their wallets, car sales have started to rebound and that’s what’s driving the increase in ad spending for 2010.”

Looking at ad spending across media types, U.S. television (network, cable, syndication, spot, Spanish Language network and Spanish Language cable) continues to dominate, accounting for $33.8 billion in advertising during the 1H10, a 6 percent increase over last year. Spanish language network TV and Cable TV in particular saw the biggest gains, up 24 percent and 13 percent respectively over 1H09.

Print media overall (national and local magazines, newspapers, Sunday supplements and B2B) was flat, however, national Sunday supplements received a significant uptick with 21.6 percent growth over last year. National newspapers were also up 10.8 percent. Alternatively, B2B and local Sunday supplements declined 19.2 percent and 12.1 percent respectively.

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

Winners will be announced by Lois Miller, President of  Nielsen IAG Automotive, at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday, April 8.

“The automotive industry faced a very challenging year in 2008,” said Miller. “These awards celebrate the creative advertising process and they recognize how the talents of great ad agencies, savvy media planners, and automakers with a vision can work together to effectively reach their audience.”

Nominees for the ad categories are as follows:

GREEN AD OF THE YEAR

• Lexus – “Missing H” – Agency: Team One, Media: Team One
• Chevrolet - “Disappear 2.0 Volt Reveal” – Agency: Campbell-Ewald, Media: Starcom Mediavest
• Cadillac Escalade Hybrid – Checkmate – Agency: Modernista! Media: Starcom Mediavest

SALES EVENT CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

• Toyota – “Toyotathon of Toyotathons” – Agency: Saatchi and Saatchi, Media: Saatchi and Saatchi
• Volkswagen – “Autobahn for All” – Agency: Crispin Porter and Bogusky, Media: Mediacom
• Lexus - “December to Remember” – Agency: Team One, Media: Team One

AUTOMOTIVE AD OF THE YEAR

• Chevrolet – “My Truck Anthem” – Agency: Campbell-Ewald, Media: Starcom Mediavest
• Volkswagen – “Nimoy” — Agency: Crispin Porter and Bogusky, Media: Mediacom
• Ford – “Focus Briana” — Agency: J Walter Thompson, Media: Mindshare

For more information on this year’s awards or for media credentialing, please contact Ian Beavis at (714) 813-6300 or ian.beavis@nielsen.com.

The automotive industry has witnessed an extremely volatile and game-changing 2008. With Ford, BMW, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen leading the way, here is a look at the top 25 automotive brands that consumers discussed online in 2008 relative to all online discussion.

In mid-November, following GM released its quarterly earnings report – which highlighted the gravity of the Big Three Automakers’ financial situation, and online consumers began comparing the potential auto bailout to the U.S. government’s bailout of the financial industry or the Chapter 11 benefits/consequences of the airline industry.

Around November 21, the first Congressional bailout hearings spurred consumers’ opinions across the Internet.  Many questioned how the domestic OEMs will be held accountable for using bailout funds.  Others heavily criticized the Big Three Auto CEOs for flying corporate jets to the hearings.

In non-bailout related blog discussions, online consumers expressed enthusiasm about potential future Toyota hybrid models, such as a sport coupe version of the Prius or a Lexus-only hybrid compact.

Online consumers were also abuzz during the L.A. Auto Show, with many expressing interest in alternative fuels and new versions of vehicles, such as the Ford Fusion and Mustang, Lexus RX, Mazda 3, Nissan 370Z, and Cube.

View the complete “Automotive Industry Overview” for November 2008.

Stay tuned on Nielsen Wire for monthly installments of Nielsen Online’s monthly “Automotive Industry Overview” of online, consumer-driven automotive discussions.

In the coming months, the “Monthly Automotive Industry Overview” will include staple features such as top blog posts, most-cited online news articles, “buzz” trends of the top six automotive manufacturers, as well as key topics that are influencing online discussion about the automotive industry. For more information or a complete copy of the report, visit Nielsen Online.