Driving Sales Success: How a Global Automotive Manufacturer Increased Sales Contribution by 50% in Three Years
How moving toward an increased digital mix shifted TV from 60% of spend to 40% without any loss of impact and drove brand consideration that resulted in car sales 34% of the time.
The U.S. division of a global automotive manufacturer, with an annual marketing budget of $400 million, faced the enduring challenge of balancing brand-building efforts with performance-driven messaging. While the company had thoughts about the strengths of its various communication channels, it lacked the insights needed to objectively assess each channel's contribution to success across the marketing funnel.
Initially, the brand’s media mix was heavily weighted towards television (60%) with digital and social channels comprising the remaining 40%. However, they lacked the necessary tools to granularly assess the performance of these channels across the full marketing funnel. Without this understanding, the marketing team struggled to measure the impact of channels on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as brand affinity, web traffic, and sales, and how to plan their media mix accordingly.
The team required clarity on several crucial questions: which channels best build brand awareness and drive consumer consideration? Which ones turn that interest into actual purchases? How do top-funnel investments impact sales down the line?
To address these challenges, the manufacturer leveraged AIOS for its scenario planning capabilities and comprehensive analysis of media investments across TV (national broadcast, spot, and connected TV) and digital channels (display, video, and social media). AIOS enabled the company to track and analyze channel performance, ensuring a clear view of conversions across the entire funnel.
Through monthly data reviews over a 36-month period, AIOS provided continuous insights to fine-tune the media mix. By integrating data on top-funnel brand affinity via YouGov surveys, mid-funnel web traffic, and bottom-funnel car sales, the platform offered a unified view of media impact at every stage.
AIOS found that while linear TV was effective at driving brand consideration, its direct contribution to short-term car sales were less than 10%. In contrast, digital video not only excelled at generating consideration but also drove four times as many car sales as TV.
However AIOS also revealed the long-term value of TV in driving brand consideration, contributing to 2.5% of total annual sales—around 12,000 vehicles out of 600,000 sold. This demonstrated that TV’s brand-building impact justified its investment through long-term returns. Indeed, the client learned that once consumers entered the consideration phase, 34% of them converted into car buyers, further underscoring the importance of robust top-of-funnel strategies in driving conversions.
By showing the client how upper funnel investments influenced downstream behaviors, the client was able to shift TV spend from 60% to 40% without any loss in performance.
50%
Increase in media spend effectiveness and sales contribution
20%
Reduction in cost per acquisition
Over the course of the three-year engagement, the automotive OEM successfully optimized its media mix by reducing TV spend from 60% to 40%, all while maintaining performance levels. This strategic shift allowed them to allocate resources more efficiently without compromising results.
By equipping the marketing team with advanced analytical tools, they gained the confidence to plan their media strategy with precision. These tools enabled them to understand the incremental margin per car sold for each channel, providing clear insights into the performance of their investments.
As a result, by the end of the partnership, the OEM had significantly enhanced its ability to strike a balance between brand-building efforts and performance marketing, all while driving tangible, measurable sales outcomes.