The BB Blog: Is Auto Ready for CTV? Yes!
By: Mark Genung, Pro-Blockboarder South West and Paul Kurrie, Pro-Blockboarder Mid West
Of all the industries impacted by the change in consumer behavior, auto was one of the most interesting ones to watch. Now, nearly three years after the pandemic began, the auto industry gathered at the JD Power Auto Summit in Dallas - and we were there!
The conference, which historically was held in Las Vegas over a three-day period, has now been condensed down to one day and it leads into the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) trade show. So there were a lot of people visiting both events concurrently.
It was interesting seeing the state of the auto industry through the lens of the automakers. Lots of discussion around the recession, pre and post pandemic comparisons and the chip shortage. It was amazing to learn that even though the automotive industry had a very lean year in selling new cars (11.7 million in 2022 vs. 16-17 million per year prior to the pandemic), profits were at an all time high. Since microchips were in limited supply, OEMs were prioritizing the manufacturing and assembly of higher end vehicles (trucks and SUVs) that generate more profit per vehicle sold.
For 2023, there’s a lot of optimism amongst the auto executives with the chips starting to roll back out and the car inventory getting back to where it was for the dealerships pre-COVID. The discussions around the digital advertising space was unfortunately limited since JD Power condensed all the conversations into a one day event instead of having the three day conference before COVID. It was interesting to hear what Adam Povkov (Industry Manager, auto – Meta) and Brian Cordes (VP of Client Partnerships at DirectTV) had to say about how their companies look at media in the auto industry and how they help their clients on all Tiers.
The JD Power Summit consisted of a lot of Tier 3 dealerships anxious to hear what the auto executives had to say with new products, chips and where the market is going. One of the most important topics of conversation was around how advertising and technology is converging to drive consumers down the sales funnel - and exploring how each Tier can be effective independently as well as how they can collaborate for results.
At Blockboard, we have been able to help a range of Auto clients succeed in the CTV and OTT space. For dealerships small and large, each media dollar needs to work hard.
Reach out to hello @ myblockboard.com to learn more about our Auto solutions and success stories.