Advertising channels that attract Australian car-buyers

With car sales on the up in Australia over consecutive months, which advertising channels can marketers use to drive their potential consumers into making a purchase?

Data from YouGov Profiles shows that consumers who plan to buy a new car in the next 12 months say that online advertising channels are the most effective in catching their attention (56%). And with lockdown restrictions ensuring more time indoors for many, TV adverts too continue to play a pivotal role – half of car-buyers tell us TV spots draw their attention (49% vs 43% Nat Rep).

The data indicates that out-of-home (OOH) advertising channels may be further down the list of tools for marketers. Only one in five consumers, for example, say that billboards catch their attention, while the support for LED signage as well as cinemas drops to one in six potential car-buyers (16%).

But when it comes to choosing a car, what factors do Australians take into consideration? Our data suggests that three in five consumers who plan to buy a car in the next year say that the overall price is key to their purchase decision (61%). Half of this group also consider the safety and performance of their future cars (54% and 50% respectively). While space and size (46%), petrol mileage (44%) and in-built features (41%) come next, it is the location of a local dealer that is of least significance to car buyers (15%).

It’s clear that as many carmakers gear up to launch new models in Australia, online ads that focus on price, safety and performance can spur engagement among consumers to buy their future cars. Image, they tell us, no longer matters.

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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Online interviews were conducted between July 2020 – July 2021. YouGov Profiles data is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.