Auto Advertising in Printed Newspapers Skidding to a Stop?

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We’re keeping an eye on the movement of local advertising dollars from traditional media to digital and here’s another report that confirms the extent of the transition.

Newspaper auto ads decline

 

Now we quickly remind everyone that we’re dealing in billions of dollars here so there is still a decent amount of revenue for printed newspapers, but the fall is stunning.

This chart is from a post on Reflections of a Newsosaur where he goes on to make this point:

Although the sales of new vehicles hit a five-year peak in 2012, automotive advertising at newspapers was on track at year’s end to decline for the ninth straight year – and likely headed to the lowest level since 1979.

The continuing slump in auto advertising at newspapers, which has persisted in spite of a healthy rebound that powered new vehicle sales to 14.5 million units  in 2012, is perhaps one of the best examples of how technology irrevocably has changed the behaviors of both buyers and sellers in what once was one of the most significant and reliable categories for publishers.

He also explains why:

Instead of kicking tires at car dealers on Saturday morning, consumers today “talk pre-sale with dealers by email, live chat, text and social media,” said AIM.  Noting that 15% of consumers are shopping for cars on mobile devices and many shoppers also are comparing models among themselves on the social media, Jim Townsend, the editor of the AIM report, said “social-mobile” services will further transform the way buyers and sellers interact.

“If you think about what your customers already are doing with their phones and tablets, you really can’t afford to ignore the trend of social-mobile,” said Townsend.  “Incorporating social-media tools like Facebook, user reviews and social sharing of information into auto advertising is the direction every publisher needs to go.”

I would modify the last sentence to replace the word “publisher” with “brand”.

 

 

 

 

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