How to leverage the biggest trends in automotive branding campaigns

The automotive industry is a complex and dynamic landscape, with new trends and technologies emerging all the time

As a result, automotive brands need to be constantly on the lookout for new ways to stand out from their competitors and keep current customers happy.

Nowadays though, selling cars is now only part of the picture. Increased awareness around issues such as the environment, and sustainability, etc., means that potential customers are also interested in the messages brands are sending surrounding these social issues. As such, brands also need to focus more on branding activities and the message they are sending.

What are the biggest trends in automotive branding campaigns?

In this increasingly digital world, many brands are turning to innovative marketing strategies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and personalization to stand out from the crowd and remain relevant.

• AI can help automotive brands understand what people actually want when they're looking at products online, and which elements of the product are most appealing to them, so that they can tailor their branding campaigns accordingly.
• Personalization is another key trend in modern branding campaigns that uses AI to provide tailored suggestions for other products they might like based on their previous searches.

These two trends are closely linked—both rely on understanding customer preferences to make better suggestions about what they should buy next.

While these tactics are not new by any means, they're becoming more important than ever before as consumers continue to shift their attention toward online platforms like social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp or Messenger.

The rise of personalization

Personalized content is an increasingly popular approach in branding campaigns because it makes consumers feel in control of their experiences. According to Accenture’s Interactive Pulse Check Report 2018, 91% of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands who “recognise, remember, and provide relevant offers and recommendations.” It goes on to state that 83% of customers would share their data “to enable a personalized experience.”

For automotive brands, personalized content is one of the most effective ways to connect with current and potential customers. A recent Mercedes-Benz campaign that targeted users who browsed relevant content with display and video ads reached over 3 million unique users and had a video completion rate of 78%.

Interactive content marketing, such as contests and surveys, creates a two-way dialogue which can enhance the customer experience. Additionally, utilising user-generated content, such as reviews and images, can help brands create standout branding campaigns by leveraging diverse customer stories for a better customer experience, whilst also improving brand visibility and social presence.

Other types of personalization include:

• Experiential Personalization
  A personalized experience extends beyond digital channels to the dealership experience. Many car buyers turn to live experiences to do their research, so combining technology and personalization during them can make them more relevant and help make the cay-buying process more seamless
• Data-Driven Personalization
  Using a data-driven approach can help automotive brands develop relationships with customers by helping brands understand them better and build highly relevant content and experiences based on their preferences. This type of marketing also enables brands to engage at scale with thousands of potential customers.

However, one of the most effective ways brands can reach out and engage with its audience, both current and new, is through personalized videos.

Personalized video content

Personalized videos appeal to a customer’s desire to be acknowledged, and this highly engaging content form takes the customer’s personal data and turns it into engaging video content that speaks to their specific needs, e.g., showing a family car to a new mother, or a sports car to a car enthusiast, etc.

Using personalized videos is easy and effective, and brands can create them in a number of ways, including incorporating them into email content, social media campaigns, and post-click landing pages.

Live-action videos can be a powerful way to engage customers, for example, introducing a new product or welcoming new customers. Whereas product training videos will appeal to self-service consumers who want to improve their skills and increase their knowledge about a product. Whether content is educational or entertaining, personalize video content can help brands create a more personal connection with their customers, wherever they are on their customer journey. It may even result in more engagement, higher conversions and click rates, as well as increasing a brand’s affinity and loyalty.

Nissan Brazil ran two different personalized campaigns to impact new customers on an emotional level and increase qualified traffic to their website. The personalized video campaign reached 3.8 million users and impacted more than 600k, while the ad to drive qualified traffic to the website resulted in 80k visits to the homepage and a connect rate 38% higher than the market average.

Use AI to increase customer engagement

Thanks to technology, over the past few years, the car customer’s journey has almost completely changed. They can now research cars, have virtual tours and even buy cars using their digital devices in the comfort of their home instead of spending hours traipsing round car showrooms.

And the latest AI-based technology can be used to make marketing campaigns more effective. By analyzing large datasets on content, algorithms can target potential prospects with more accuracy, predict a consumer’s preferences and display more relevant ads.

Conversation Intelligence

By using conversational AI, i.e., AI Chatbots, to enhance the customer experience, brands can increase customer engagement, streamline the customer journey including improving customer support, and identify potential customers to build a pipeline of qualified leads.

While conversational AI doesn’t replace human interaction between brand and customer, it can be trained to recognise certain keywords and phrases which will allow it to make recommendations to the customer based on those keywords.

Retargeting

Retargeting with AI is a powerful marketing strategy that can help brands reach potential customers across the web. A key advantage is the ability to create customized ad experience for each user using advanced algorithms to recognize patterns in their past behavior. These ads can be targeted at a single web user or a user who has browsed a site on a mobile device.

Using retargeting reminds past visitors about your products or services and can help build brand awareness by keeping your name in front of your target audience.

Another benefit of retargeting is that it can help brands launch new products more effectively, as it allows them to test demand beforehand. People who have previously purchased from the brand are known to be interested in their products, and suggesting products to them will be more likely to result in conversion.

Takeaway

Buying a car is a serious commitment, so brands need to work hard to attract customers so they can identify with the brands and keep them interested. Using modern solutions and a trusted partner, such as RTB House, can help automotive brands reach their KPIs, strengthen their desired image and target potential customers with the most relevant ad.