Optimizing Marketing Spend Across Evolving Channels and Technologies

The Challenge: The automotive customer journey is becoming increasingly complex, with consumers interacting with brands through a multitude of online and offline channels – from social media and digital advertising to dealerships and experiential events. CMOs must decide how to allocate their often substantial marketing budgets across this evolving landscape to maximize reach, engagement, and ultimately, sales. They also need to evaluate the effectiveness of new marketing technologies and platforms.

Why it’s hard: Traditional marketing channels that have historically been effective for automotive brands (e.g., television commercials, print ads) may have diminishing returns with younger, digitally native audiences. Deciding how much to invest in emerging digital channels, personalized marketing, virtual reality experiences, and influencer collaborations requires careful consideration of ROI and audience targeting. CMOs must also navigate the complexities of data privacy and ensure their marketing efforts are compliant and ethical. Accurately measuring the impact of different marketing channels on car sales, especially with longer purchase cycles, adds another layer of difficulty.

Example: A CMO might need to decide whether to shift a significant portion of their budget from traditional TV advertising to targeted digital campaigns and interactive online experiences to reach potential EV buyers. This involves assessing the digital savviness of their target audience, the effectiveness of different online platforms for automotive marketing, and the ability to track conversions from digital touchpoints to actual sales.