Citroën marketing chief Jules Tilstone on the challenges of digital integration for auto marketers

However, car marketers must approach such emerging technologies with caution and consideration, ensuring they provide genuine utility around such innovations rather than just creating new bells and whistles, according to Citroën’s marketing director Jules Tilstone.

Speaking to The Drum Tilstone said: "Dashboards are evolving, new technologies are simplifying the use of vehicles and making them smarter, the challenge is to not replicate technology that people already have at their disposal."

To this end Citroën has been focusing on mobile applications that serve new mobility-related needs. "Obviously the landscape has changed and mobile is the way that people interact and manage their everyday lives. We're looking for solutions that will offer a fresh and functional purpose relating to mobility," said Tilstone.

This agenda is just as relevant to Citroën's brand strategy as it is to service development, and points to the company's heritage as pioneers in automotive technology. "We've always been about technology that people will use because there is a need, rather than producing technology just because we can," said Tilstone, who claims that efforts in this area are an investment in the company's character.

"This is not something that we're necessarily looking to commercialise, it's something to reinforce our creative technology background," he added.

Tilstone also referred to the wider ethos at Citroën, one that takes a contemporary approach to brand engagement. "Gone are the days of telling people who you are, we're keen to demonstrate who we are through truly engaging content," he added.

But with four Citroën brand new products set to launch in 2014, double its yearly average, Tilstone said the efficient use of media and marketing budgets is a major challenge. With over a quarter of its spend dedicated to digital channels, a portion that will continue to grow, relevance is central to achieving that efficiency, according to Tilstone.

One way that Citroën aims to achieve efficient spend is through collaborations. The vibrant, colourful brand values of its DS3 model for instance, are underscored by a partnership with cosmetic brand Benefit. In addition to this approach Citroën has plans to partner with a leading online fashion distributor, giving access to the target audience for both DS3 and Benefit.

A new Citroën website will also launch this July, designed to tailor the content experience to individual users based on their viewing history on the site.

Yet although Tilstone sees automated and data-driven relevance as an exciting opportunity, he expressed uncertainty about best practice. "The question is how far to go and how to best engage those audiences. When we've got databases of hundreds of thousands of people, how do you interact at the right levels to engage rather than annoy?"

Amongst concerns about efficiency and optimisation is the equally topical issue of delivering effective multiplatform experiences. "Making sure that we come across coordinated and consistent in terms of our brand and how we use new models to cement our brand foundations, and that means across all media channels including mobile and tablet."

The Drum Marketing Awards are sponsored by Havas Worldwide London, The Gask & Hawley Group, The Recommended Agency Register, Tube Mogul and The Drum Network.

More information on The Drum Marketing Awards, judges, categories and how to enter can be found on The Drum Marketing Awards website.

The deadline for entries to the Awards is 24 January.