Case Studies > Automotive Online Marketing Program

Automotive Online Marketing Program

Company Size

1,000+

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

APT Test & Learn software

Tech Stack

Digital Advertising
Data Analytics

Implementation Scale

Departmental Deployment

Impact Metrics

Brand Awareness
Customer Satisfaction
Revenue Growth

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics
Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics

Applicable Industries

Automotive

Applicable Functions

Business Operation
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Predictive Replenishment

Services

Data Science Services
System Integration

About The Customer

The customer is a leading US automaker collaborating with a digital publisher to enhance its marketing strategy. The company has a significant presence in the automotive industry, producing a wide range of vehicles and investing heavily in marketing to maintain its competitive edge. With a large-scale operation and a diverse portfolio of car models, the automaker is constantly seeking innovative ways to optimize its marketing efforts and improve sales performance. By leveraging digital advertising, the company aims to reach a broader audience and drive incremental sales for its promoted car models.

The Challenge

The client, a leading US automaker, sought to understand the role of digital advertising in its overall marketing strategy. They aimed to evaluate the ROI of online marketing activities compared to traditional channels, focusing on a specific car model. The challenge was to isolate the true incremental impact of digital marketing efforts amidst the noise in sales data from individual zip codes. The client turned to APT’s Test & Learn software to analyze the effectiveness of online digital spend in driving incremental sales.

The Solution

The automaker invested over $700K to generate almost 400 million impressions during the campaign. They used APT’s Test & Learn software to compare test markets with high media spend to control markets with minimal spend. The software matched test zip codes to similar control zip codes, allowing the manufacturer to compare performance changes. The analysis answered three key questions: Did the digital marketing campaign drive incremental sales and what was the ROI? What elements of the campaign were most effective? Is there an opportunity to target specific zip codes for higher ROI? The results showed an immediate and sustained increase in unit sales for the promoted brand, with a 2.5% lift translating to 1,000 incremental automobiles per month. The campaign's performance varied across car models, leading to hypotheses for future ad tailoring. The digital campaign performed best in zip codes with higher median income, home value, and population density, guiding future targeting efforts.

Operational Impact

The digital marketing campaign delivered an immediate and sustained increase in unit sales for the promoted brand.
The campaign's performance varied widely across different car models, providing insights for future ad tailoring.
The digital campaign was most effective in zip codes with higher median income, home value, and population density.
The automaker was able to determine which zip codes would deliver the highest return on digital campaigns.
The company gained valuable insights into the effectiveness of digital advertising, enabling better-targeted future campaigns.

Quantitative Benefit

The digital marketing campaign resulted in a 2.5% increase in unit sales, translating to 1,000 incremental automobiles per month.
The automaker measured an ROI of over 5X for the campaign.