I work in outdoor advertising as I mentioned several times and honestly the market overall has been down. In advertising all around it has been down. People are scared to advertise – I’ve seen this first hand. Small businesses would rather hold their marketing budgets until their sales turn around.
I get that. I truly do especially being a small business owner myself.
Image via Wikipedia
However thanks to @ridestory Audi has a different story. Audi has recently announced that they are going to advertise in this years Super Bowl.That’s right a car company will be advertising during one of the most watching programs of the year. Which means MILLIONS of dollars to do so.
So how can they truly afford to do so with the car market in downward spiral? The question truly should be how could they NOT!
According to Collective Intellect and Nielsen Buzz Metrics, Audi was the number two Super Bowl advertiser in total buzz after the game. In the months following the game, traffic to www.audiusa.com increased almost 200% and the Audi R8 became the top search term on Google immediately following the ad’s airing.
How does that equivalent into sales?
Audi experienced a record year for sales in 2007. In 2008, despite the worst sales climate in nearly 25 years, Audi has increased market share against other imported luxury brands to 8.6%, up from 6.2% just 12 months ago.
Now, one thing ’should’ be noted Audi is not one of the car companies that are asking for monies for the bailout i.e. Car Czar. It should be interesting to see how well the stat’s show for this coming super bowls ad when a company in a dying market tries to survive.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve never understood the philosophy behind cutting marketing budgets when revenue is down. Why cut back on getting the word out about your product?
Audi does it right, though. They build a product that car enthusiasts want. Yes, it’s at a premium but they don’t flood the market. They sell what they build. It seems simple. The American car makers could learn a lot from how their competitors do business.
I completely agree. It looks like Audi have really taken a professional approach to their advertising, and obviously highlighted their key areas. And the statistics work, a 200% increase in website traffic is an amazing achievement.
It’s said that during bad times, increase your advertising to spread brand awareness. If the foundations were right initially, then companies shouldn’t REALLY be having this problem. Audi have shown they are one step ahead of the rest.