Ad Age is reporting that several automakers, including Audi and Lincoln, will increase their advertising push for 2015.
Audi has made the Super Bowl and the Emmy Awards major ad pushes while incorporating digital media to extend the reach of its campaigns; however, for next year, marketing spending will grow by 10 percent. “Our focus is clear: We still stay true to the platforms that have been successful for us, but we’re putting more money with it,” says the director of marketing at Audi of America, Loren Angelo, at the Automotive News Marketing Seminar in New York this week.
Over at Dearborn, the director of Global Lincoln, Matt VanDyke, continues to work on the luxury brand’s transformation. “We’re building the brand, we’re growing the brand, we’ve got new products to launch. We’re a challenger. We have to be smarter and scrappier than the next guy.”
VanDyke added that Lincoln will forego the Super Bowl for 2015, saying that while the size of the audience is appealing, it’s currently not a good fit for Lincoln’s launch plans. “The game makes a lot of sense as a marketing platform. It’s got incredible reach, it’s compelling, it’s got people who are tuned in to literally watch advertising so there’s a ton of merit to it from a marketing perspective. For us, we considered being back in the game, but it’s going to be driven by what our launch activities are … and that’s not the area of time where we need to focus this year.”
Volkswagen also may join the party, as the VP of Volkswagen of American, Vinay Shahani, says that the company’s budget for 2015 would be the same as this year’s or increase slightly. One thing that we can expect VW to avoid is increasing its presence in digital media. Shahani notes that over 200 million people have downloaded Google’s app that blocks online ads. “People are taking a stand, [with consumers saying], ‘We want to get the content the way we want it and we don’t want to listen to what you have to say as an advertiser.'”
A focus that is becoming increasingly important is technology, especially when younger, tech-savvy car buyers continue to grow. Audi’s Angelo says that his brand is already heavily promoting its advanced powertrain offerings, which includes a campaign for diesels.
And while autonomous vehicles are still in their infancy, VW’s Shahani feels that they will be here “before you know it.”
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