Land Rover LRX concept with an iPhone docking station integrated into the center console.

But for those looking for full on car-phone convergence, the Land Rover LRX concept car shown at the Detroit Auto Show in January may be closer to the mark. Users can start the engine and adjust seat and window settings via the iPhone as seen in this video.

Even more radical is Delphi’s latest vehicle-access software created specifically for the iPhone. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Delphi demonstrated a concept application that can be used to start a car’s engine, lock or unlock doors, and monitor gas usage via a Bluetooth-enabled key fob. The diagnostic capabilities of the application suggest numerous opportunities for roadside assistance-related services.

Delphi’s Wireless Vehicle Access software as viewed on an iPhone.

What does all this clever hacking mean for the auto industry?
With the automobile rapidly becoming a powerful mobile computing platform, close collaboration among car designers, mobile device manufacturers, software developers and wireless carriers will be required as future cars are developed. This all comes at a time when the “American Idolization” of mobile application development is in full swing: venture capitalists Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers’s March announcement of its $100 million iFund launch was timed to coincide with the release of the new iPhone SDK; Google has been running a $10 million competition for Android applications; Blackberry has announced its own $150 million contest; and Nokia has been holding its Mobile Rules competition for a couple of years now. These competitions are fostering a new wave of innovation within the mobile industry and it will be interesting to see what sort of automobile-related applications emerge out of them.


One can imagine a restaurant directory and Google Maps mash-up that takes advantage of the new 3G iPhone’s built-in GPS capabilities for example. Or for environmentally conscious drivers there might be apps like Eco2Go, one of the top 50 applications selected from the first round of the Android Developer Challenge. Eco2go calculates a users’ carbon footprint over time. As drivers become more eco-conscious, applications like these could help them monitor how their vehicle usage is affecting the environment. For example, this Eco2go can display a list of recent trips and recommend public transit alternatives.

At present time the iPhone may have the upper hand in terms of potential automobile compatibility. While there is definitely a certain amount of cache that comes from being associated with the Apple brand, it is the ease-of-use that makes the iPhone top-of-mind for in-car integration. From a user experience perspective, what has been most significant about the iPhone is that it has shattered the long-held notion that cell phones must be inherently difficult to use. To that end, there is a shared ethos among Apple designers and car interior designers — simplicity rules. Very little learning time is required — ideal for when you are trying to operate the device while driving. Factor in the iPhone’s music player and speech-recognition capabilities (via VoiceSignal for example) and it will be difficult for other phones to compete in the near term.

As numerous “iPhone killers” come out of the woodwork, expect to see new alliances develop between car manufacturers, mobile device manufacturers, platform developers (iPhone, Google, Blackberry) and carriers in the near future.

Talk back
What car-phone alliances would you like to see? What kinds of car-related applications should developers be thinking about?

Related links:
BMW welcomes the new Apple iPhone; bmw.com
Ford says SYNC goes over big at CES; Autoblog, 01.12.07
Now this is how a Nokia-branded car should look — the Nokia Ford Mustang; IntoMobile, 10.05.07
A Nokia-branded Renault Twingo Nokia special edition? Lame . . .; IntoMobile, 10.04.07
iPhone featured in Land Rover LRX Concept Car; The iPod Observer, 12.14.07
Land Rover LRX concept unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show; Autoblogvideo on YouTube, 01.14.08
Delphi: Remote-control your car with an iPhone!; PC Magazine, 01.07.08
iPhone controls vehicle in real time using Delphi’s concept web app; Gizmodo, 01.10.08
Latest iPhone SDK agreement limits GPS software capabilities; Ars Technica, 06.11.08
UW engineers win Google Android; The Iron Warrior (the newspaper of the University of Waterloo Engineering Society), 06.11.08
The hybrid promise: One owner’s experience; headlightblog.com
Android Developer Challenge; Android, Google.com, 06.10.08
iPhone speech recognition demo; Gizmodo, 08.22.07
LG, Samsung have Apple phone killers ready; X-bit labs, 02.13.07


Further reading:
What would the i-Car be like?; Engadget, 08.29.07
Ford says SYNC goes big at CES - Autoblog
The Nokia Mustang is at CTIA; IntoMobile, 03.27.07
Nokia, Renault co-brand Twingo car; ZDNet, 10.03.07
Eco2go homepage and Facebook group

The mobile automotive sites with the strongest inventory focus are those from Cars.com and Vehix.com. Both list new- and used-car inventory search as the first two links from their landing screens.

Cars.com Mobile, which launched in June 2007, is the best site for consumers who wish to check out local inventory, find a dealer and get maps and directions. The site also makes it easy to quickly find the make you are looking for – the new-car listings screen displays multiple makes side-by-side. [Full disclosure: I am the former Managing Editor of Cars.com, a position I held until December 2004. However, I did not have any involvement with the current iteration of the Cars.com mobile site.]

The one advantage that Vehix Mobile, which launched in October, has over Cars.com is a cleaner interface. Unfortunately, I was unable to compare inventory results between the two sites because of “internal server” errors I encountered both times I tried to use the Vehix mobile site.

The company also touts its send-to-phone text messaging feature. Car shoppers accessing the Vehix site from their PC can click the “Send to my mobile” link on any vehicle detail page. A plain text message with basic vehicle details and dealer name and number is sent automatically.

The downside of doing vehicle research on Cars.com Mobile is that car reviews do not include pricing; you need to navigate to the new-car pricing section for this information. Other frustrations include getting used-car inventory mixed in with new-car search results. When searching for a new Mazda6, I had to refine the multiple-model-year search results — more than 200 “new” Mazda6s from the 2005 through 2008 model years were returned for my area — by adding a 2008 model year filter.

One of the best features of Cars.com Mobile is the get directions to a dealer functionality, which includes a map and turn-by-turn driving instructions.

Few options for doing in-depth vehicle research for mobile browsers
With mobile automotive sites primarily focused on inventory search and dealer locator tools, there are not too many places for mobile browsers to read reviews, get detailed pricing and research vehicle specs. The two major exceptions are the Car and Driver and Edmunds.com mobile sites.

The Car and Driver mobile site has helpful vehicle overviews, enthusiast and consumer ratings, detailed reviews, road tests and photos. However, consumers would be advised to take a pass on the dealer locator tool, which did not deliver meaningful results.

Both the Car and Driver and Edmunds.com mobile sites serve consumers who are looking for detailed vehicle research.

The Edmunds mobile site offers a wealth of information, particularly on vehicle pricing and specs, and useful tools such as a payment calculator. However, users may be frustrated by the multiple clicks required to select makes along with the commingling of editorial and advertising links on each car menu page.

One manufacturer’s success with its mobile site
In May 2007 Mazda Mobile was launched and since that time has attracted more than 40,000 unique visitors who have completed more than 38,000 buying-related activities, such as using the dealer locator and inventory search tools and opting in for the “Keep me updated” feature.

Although the number of mobile visitors to mazdausa.com pales in comparison to those who are accessing the site from PCs, the high level of buying-related activities taking place is a good indication of the intentions of these visitors.

In addition to providing in-market consumers with easy access to request a quote, search inventory and dealer locator tools, the site also makes it easy for mobile browsers to contact the company.

What this means for automakers and automotive marketers
Mobile automotive is about more than marketing and advertising campaigns. Even though the percentage of in-market consumers who now do vehicle research from a mobile device is still in the single digits, it will not remain so for long. Now is the time to start planning how you will serve your future customers who access your brand site from a mobile device.

Talk back
In addition to Mazda USA and the third-party sites listed here, are there other mobile automotive sites worth mentioning? Please add your suggestions in the comments.

Methodology:
All mobile automotive sites mentioned in this article were accessed several times between June 15 and June 25 on a Motorola Q handset. Additional testing was done on a Nokia N70 and Sony K750 emulator.

Related links:
Americans spend more than 4.5 hours per month browsing on smartphones; M:Metrics press release, 05.21.08
Car and Drive mobile
Cars.com mobile
Edmunds.com mobile
Mazda mobile
Vehix.com mobile
Measuring results for Mazda; iCrossing case study

Further reading:
Amit Aggarwal conducted a similar analysis of these five mobile automotive sites in April for the J.D. Power Online Automotive Review.

Does the 3G iPhone represent the final catalyst before automotive marketers jump into mobile headfirst?

Careful crafting is required
Greater consumer access to services beyond voice, such as Sprint offering a $99 unlimited services plan, would seemingly spell a perfect opportunity for engaging phone experiences to showcase vehicles and attributes. While this opportunity does exist, it takes crafty experience planning and above-average logistical skills to implement.

It’s not as simple as flipping the switch on mobile marketing and moving some online or print assets over to the phone. The restricted screen size on most mobile phones can often mean a very low-common-denominator experience if the effort is aiming for broad penetration.

Then when the screen size and technical capabilities are well understood, mobile planning requires a unique set of design conventions in order to engage consumers rather than annoy them. Unlike desktop web browsers and Auto OEM sites, there are very few standard design conventions to guide the development of mobile content. While there are pockets of standards among Blackberry addicts or iPhone fanatics, these players make up just a fraction of smartphones on the market and, according to JD Power, smartphones represent just a tenth of all phones in consumers hands today. So we are still many years and many partnerships away from audience numbers and standards nearing that, of say, Internet Explorer and Firefox for the web.

New engagement models
These exceptional issues might begin to sound daunting and insurmountable, but it certainly is accomplishable and automotive marketers who get it right stand to win over the hearts and minds of an influential early-adopter audience. And while they present challenges, mobile marketing’s inherent differences open the door to new engagement models that align very well with the automotive dealer sales model and can break through passive media’s white noise.

In addition to offering some elements similar to a web experience, mobile phones contain unique offerings regarding location-based marketing and allow users to easily toggle over to voice and text messaging two-way communication. As Terri Walter suggested, these features could pave the way for an entirely new dealer and showroom experience while shoppers are physically out in the market.

Navigating the last mile
With dozens of carriers and phone manufacturers, deploying content and features often require use of mobile service partners. These partners, sometimes referred to as aggregators, will ensure that your marketing campaigns can be executed across the major players like AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Additionally, most outbound mobile campaigns must be approved by each of the carriers and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) - your aggregating partners will often oversee this process.

If your campaign crosses countries, regions or even age groups, it also might take on unique experiences tailored to language, network bandwidth, phone capabilities and common consumer behaviors. For example, markets such as Japan and Korea might be fully prepared for a video feature, but other markets might only be comfortable with text.

-Grant Owens

Related links:
Mobile Marketing Association
Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0; W3C, 11.06.06
Understanding the Mobile Marketing Ecosystem; ClickZ, 05.01.08
Apple is third in global smartphone rankings; ZDNet.co.uk, 06.08.08

Automotive marketers are also not new to mobile marketing. Brands like Chevrolet, Ford, Jeep, Jaguar and Toyota are all investing in mobile-marketing strategies to create awareness, drive leads to dealers and/or enable “in-your-pocket” exploration and interaction with their products. SMS campaigns that include click2call, which enables consumers to call a dealer immediately, or click2locate, which asks consumers to enter their ZIP code to locate the closest dealer, are meeting with solid success for lead-gen purposes.

As smartphone penetration increases — smartphones make up nearly 6.5 percent of the U.S. market and 10 percent of the global market for mobile phones — and MMS usage becomes more widespread, the ability for consumers to use click2video to view advanced video experiences built for automotive marketers will also increase. Until then, auto marketers will continue to use mobile WAP sites to empower users to research and customize their cars and carry their preferences with them as they shop.

But what is new in mobile marketing is not the activity initiated by auto marketers; it is the growing use of mobile marketing by auto dealerships. Dealers are looking for more efficient and streamlined ways to communicate with prospects and improve the sales experience, and mobile holds promise, particularly for younger audiences.

A proposed mobile microsite for the 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Visitors would be able to view vehicle features, select a color and opt-in for email offers.

Companies such as Gumiyo, Nexteppe, OneCommand and Acuity Mobile have recently launched mobile platforms that enable mobile couponing and bi-directional communication and transactional capabilities between dealers and customers, streamlining the car-buying process for consumers and dealers alike.

According to Nexteppe, “dealers can use mobile marketing as part of an integrated campaign by displaying new and pre-owned inventory on a WAP site and using SMS for inventory. They can also issue updates, maintenance reminders and inform customers about promotions and financing deals….the response has been overwhelming.” This solution was recently tested in a New York Toyota dealership.

OneCommand’s OneConnect Mobile, which the company demonstrated at the National Automobile Dealers Convention in February, enables dealers to have real-time, two-way communication in a variety of ways:

• Service Reminders: consumer alerts via text message to remind them of upcoming service appointments, etc.
• On-the-lot marketing or SMS integration in print ads: customers visiting a lot after hours or those accessing print promotions can input a model code by SMS to automatically receive more information, including text description of vehicle, color, link to WAP brochure, etc. They can also request that information be sent to them via email, and choose to be contacted by a sales representative via phone.
• Customer satisfaction surveys: automatic surveying of the sales experience via mobile.

Although these systems are just rolling out, there is much to be excited about in mobile marketing these days as the auto industry embraces mobile not just for branding purposes, but also as a mechanism for overhauling the dealer-consumer experience via real-time, mobile communication.

Related links:
100 leading national advertisers, U.S. ad spending by category and medium; Advertising Age, 06.27.07
Nexteppe test-pilots mobile marketing technology — New York Toyota dealer’s success story; The Auto Channel, 02.15.08

Before EPA mpg estimates were revised, the 2006 Toyota Prius (shown above) had a combined mpg estimate of 55. Using the new EPA mpg estimates, which went into effect with the 2008 model year, the same vehicle has a combined mpg estimate of 46.

During the course of researching his new-vehicle purchase, Krish visited a number of automotive shopping and research sites, including Edmunds.com, MSN Autos and Motor Trend. He looked up pricing on autoweb.com and Cars.com and visited blogs, Prius owner groups and forums to get information on real mileage, engine technology, battery life and battery replacement cost. “I had a feeling that I would never get 60 mpg,” he explains, but he did expect to get at least 50 mpg. Unfortunately, most of the reviews he read online were from owners in California, who did not need to factor in depreciated performance during winter weather.

Disappointment over fuel economy
Krish’s initial excitement about owning a Prius soon abated when he realized that the vehicle was not delivering the fuel economy he had been promised. As has been well-documented by now, the original EPA mileage estimates for the Prius far overestimated the vehicle’s actual performance. Buyers drove home vehicles with window stickers that estimated the car would get 60 mpg in the city and 51 on the highway. (These EPA estimates have since been revised downward to 48 and 45 mpg, respectively.) The best mileage Krish has ever logged in more than two years of ownership is 47 mpg. In winter, he has noticed that the fuel economy of his Prius is closer to 40 mpg.

The display screen in the center console of a 2006 Toyota Prius can depict either energy use or gas consumption.

Unexpected benefits
One unanticipated benefit of hybrid ownership was that after a few months of driving the Prius, Krish started to notice he was getting better mileage on his non-hybrid SUV. Krish attributes this to better habits he developed since driving a hybrid. He is now more aware of wasteful habits, such as accelerating too quickly or slamming on the brakes at traffic lights. The real-time visual fuel-consumption helps drivers realize how these poor driving habits translate into reduced mileage, he said, and he wishes all vehicles had this feature. In addition, the 2006 model year Toyota Prius was one of 10 winners of Kelley Blue Book’s Best Resale Value Awards that year. When Krish does decide it’s time to trade-in or sell his hatchback sedan, he will likely recoup a higher percentage of his original purchase price than owners of roughly equivalent non-hybrid vehicles. Currently, a used 2006 Prius in excellent condition sells for only $1,000 less than it did new two years ago.

–Interview by Mary S. Butler

Related links:
Compare old and new EPA mpg estimates; fueleconomy.gov

Kelley Blue Books’s kbb.com names winners of 2006 best resale value awards; kbb.com, 10.05.05

2006 Prius images appear courtesy of Toyota Motor Corp.

Jeep suggests we have fun out there somewhere

Last July Jeep launched a new brand campaign with “Have fun out there” as the tagline. One interesting component of the campaign was the ability it gave Jeep owners and enthusiasts to share photos and videos on Flickr and YouTube or to become fans of the brand on Facebook.

Although the havefunoutthere.com domain now redirects traffic to the community section of the Jeep brand site, the social media hub is still quite active. The site still takes Jeep-tagged content from the major user-gen sites and aggregates it in a single location.

But, as Jesse Pickard notes in his article about the untapped power of owner communities, creating robust sites for owners is only the first step. Automakers need to introduce potential owners to current drivers. Jeep is only halfway there. None of the vehicle pages have contextual links to this user-gen content.

MINI’s Owner Lounge encourages sharing the “motoring” culture

Interestingly, most automaker sites have steered clear from featuring car owner content. As it stands, a vehicle site is usually comprised of one-sided messages that tend to be met by skepticism by empowered shoppers. If a consumer can instantly see what current owners think of the vehicle they are considering, why even pay attention to brand messaging? This has become more apparent as automakers continue to describe their new offerings as the “fastest,” “safest” and “most powerful.” In the mind of the consumer, an OEM site is just a place where the latest raw information is hosted. It is a great place for specifications, but does not actually “sell cars.” In order to become a true selling engine, automakers must use Social Influence Marketing to unearth trusted owner opinions on their vehicle sites.

Step one: Evolving the owners section
The opportunity for automaker sites to fully harness the power of social influence starts with evolving their owner sections, home to a powerful, but dormant, community of current customers. In its present form, the owner’s section is a place to do things like make monthly payments online and schedule maintenance. This might appear sufficient, but the prevalence of online driving clubs indicates that car owners are highly active in online communities and would appreciate a more immersive, social experience. It also shows that there is a strong culture around each car to tap into. The next-generation of owner’s sections is a social network first and a tool second. Mini does this with its Owner’s Lounge, where drivers can connect with one another, post car-related events and share pictures. The entire lounge evokes the playful and hip Mini culture. The Owner’s Lounge also dedicates a section to promoting driving clubs that have developed organically. Recognizing these organic communities is a small, but critical step in the evolution of an owner’s section. Mini could even improve their Owner’s Lounge by offering deeper integration of organic communities. Given the guaranteed traffic from the current set of tools, automakers should be able to quickly develop the critical mass needed for a powerful car community if the tone and feature-set is specific to the car brand’s culture.

Step two: Connecting owners and shoppers
Creating a vibrant owner community is a difficult, yet highly rewarding task. Once up and running, a community will offer customer insights that are often unattainable through traditional forms of market research. For this reason, it is easy to be satisfied with an insular community of owners. But at this point the job is only half-done; your owners might have produced very positive and persuasive content in the owner’s community, but as it stands new shoppers can’t see any of it. In order to maximize the ROI of community investments, automakers must integrate what are currently two silos: owners and shoppers. If done well, the integration will feel natural because car shoppers are desperately in need of objective sources of expertise, and that’s what the owner’s community possesses.

Integrating the owner and shopper silos means building connective features that exist both on the owner’s site and more importantly, in prominent areas of vehicle shopping pages. A baseline example is a feature that allows shoppers to ask questions about car models to registered owners of those models within the community. Owner opinions can also used in a way to support brand messaging.

For instance, if an automaker is looking to communicate that a truck can handle the winter elements, it should surface the opinions of car owners from the northern-most states. Maybe this exists as a photo album of owner’s trucks tackling the most extreme conditions or perhaps it’s a winter off-roading guide that owners have collaborated to create. Essentially, almost any message can be communicated through owners. And as the owner’s community grows, more innovative features can be created.

Step three: Sustaining the community
The next-generation of owner’s sections is ever-evolving and unpredictable. It requires continuous attention and dedicated resources, primarily in the form of community managers, who are responsible for the maintaining the health of the community. An experienced community management team knows how to energize users with new features and quell firestorms that erupt from member discontent. They also can be responsible for distilling user insights and advocating the interests of members to corporate stakeholders. The role of the community manager is especially pivotal during the initial stages of community development.

Lastly, to sustain an owner’s community, automakers must maintain an unyielding commitment to authenticity. This means that the automaker must be comfortable with having negative owner statements surfaced and transferred to new shoppers. Any manipulation or censorship of this content risks the entire value proposition of all community offerings. In fact, the presence of negative content is needed to establish immediate trust in both owners and new shoppers.

With community management and authenticity established as two cornerstones, the community efforts are poised to flourish. There will undoubtedly be speed bumps and hiccups, but they are fully worth it as tapping into the social influence of vehicle owners will transform the OEM site from a one-way advertisement to a highly-persuasive selling engine.

–Jesse Pickard

]]> http://www.headlightblog.com/2008/05/the-untapped-power-of-owner-communities/feed/ http://www.headlightblog.com/2008/05/an-automotive-social-influence-marketing-wish-list/ http://www.headlightblog.com/2008/05/an-automotive-social-influence-marketing-wish-list/#comments Thu, 22 May 2008 04:41:48 +0000 admin http://www.headlightblog.com/?p=21 Recent research from the Journal of Advertising Research highlights that offline brand advocacy is significantly impacted by online word of mouth for the automotive product category. We also know that a significant amount of the online word of mouth happens at social media destinations. So how can an auto manufacturer take advantage of social influence marketing, which is about leveraging social media at every stage of a marketing campaign and beyond, to harness the peer and anonymous influences?

Can I get a little help from my friends?

Knowing how to tap into that social influence can be challenging for an auto manufacturer. Here are five tips for automakers as they attempt to harness the social influence.

1. Market to the peer influencers as well
Auto purchasing decisions are rarely made in isolation. Think hard about the spheres of influence both online and offline that affect a specific customer segment’s decision-making process and find ways to target those influencers as well. For example, if you’re selling a car to a college student, you can also promote the vehicle online (as a great college car) to the parents of the buyer.

2. Allow for the social influence to take place more naturally
A passionate customer’s relationship with an auto brand is never a private relationship. The customer invariably wants to showcase that relationship in some public form. Provide him or her with enough digital artifacts to do so. There’s memorabilia in the offline space, but what about memorabilia for a social network? Is it available on your website? And I don’t just mean screensavers.

3. Market to your current car owners more aggressively
Most auto manufacturers don’t do enough to harness the passions of current car owners. They’re your most valuable marketers as they strongly influence their peers. Find ways to keep them excited and engaged with the brand on an ongoing basis. Now with marketing through social media, this has finally gotten easier. Take advantage of it and give them more excuses to talk about your brand when they socialize online.

4. Redesign your website to allow for group purchasing decisions
Growing up, my father always made my mother, brother and me active stakeholders when he went shopping for a new car. We’d look at brochures together; visit car dealerships, debate over dinner and vote for our favorites. No auto manufacturer lets me take that experience online. Auto purchases invariably are group decisions, so provide customers with the tools to share information, debate (via social networks or otherwise) and make decisions as a group. You’ll win more customers.

5. Direct customers to third-party experts online
Web behavior has changed, whether you like it or not. Customers will hop between third-party review sites, social networks and competing auto manufacturer websites as they make the purchasing decisions. Instead of ignoring this behavior, embrace it. Point your site visitors to the most authoritative blogs and auto review sites and let those customers tag and catalog that information. They’ll become more informed buyers and you’ll build vital trust by pointing them to the right places. Don’t worry; they’ll come back to your site when they’re ready to buy.

Arguably, over the last few years auto manufacturers have taken some great strides in the social media domain. The challenge now is to lead the way in the next phase of social influence marketing. It’s when the auto manufacturers can truly go social and allow for those peer and anonymous influences to take place naturally. We’re all waiting to see who will do that first and how.

–Shiv Singh

If he and his company had followed the example of William Sanders, better known as Starwood Lurker, he wouldn’t have had anything to worry about. An activity such as an employee trolling industry boards would be viewed as another way to connect with current and potential customers. For eight years Sanders was a regular poster on FlyerTalk, one of the most active travel message boards. He regularly checked and replied to postings about his employer, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and was transparent about his employee status. (His FlyerTalk successor is Starwood Lurker II.)

Beyond monitoring, companies making an attempt at social media marketing expose two main tactics: engaging in conversations and distributing social press releases. The most successful efforts usually have one trait in common – they are mindful of the native culture. Conversely, there are countless examples of corporations using social media in un-social or inauthentic ways, such as a blog that does not allow comments or a ghost-written blog. Coordinating social media interactions to keep them both true to the brand and useful to the consumer represents the real challenge.

Saturn employees keep the social fire stoked

Should automakers be creating social networks?
With more than 20 percent of U.S. online consumers already visiting one or more social networking sites at least weekly, Saturn’s ImSaturn network had an uphill battle when it launched last month. Creating a social network assumes that there is a set of interactions between consumers – and in these cases, marketers – that cannot be had in their existing networks. One might assume that most online automotive enthusiasts are already connected to their “gearhead” buddies via existing social tools. What is it that ImSaturn provides that’s unique?

For starters, the site displays a significant commitment from the Saturn employees who are adding content and managing the site. These contributions are a big part of what made this a good site at the start.

The site is build on top of Ning, the white-label social network. The site has undergone a fair bit of customization and earns high marks for presentation.

The Saturn marketing team blog, which tracks employee appearances at fairs and other public events, showcases the team connecting with fans of the brand. The team responds to users in the comments and points out related forum posts on the site.

The site helps introduce members of the product team to visitors through the comments they post about vehicle releases, features and marketing strategies. While responding to rumor, speculation and conjecture is undoubtedly a risky behavior for a full-time employee, the ImSaturn site aims to create a special community where this behavior is appreciated and in context. The “featured blog posts” on the homepage spotlight contributions from non-employee members and are a good indication of the vibrant nature of the community. This post by a Saturn owner illustrates how a user sharing a story can become an authentic sales message and be more powerful than a brochure or 30-second spot. An Internet Sales Manager at an Illinois Saturn dealership has already noticed this owner testimony and commented on the user’s blog.

How powerful is this community? A month and a half after launch there are nearly 1,600 tuners, dealer internet reps and Saturn team members and fans on the site. Useful and meaningful opportunities exist to further the image of the Saturn brand and cultivate a real community. What remains to be seen is how quickly the site will grow.

An editorial approach to disseminating product information
The Ford Motor Company Global Auto Shows site performs a unique function in publishing photos, videos and short reports on introduction and concept vehicles showcased by the company’s brands at auto shows around the world. (Full disclosure: this site was developed by AA|RF).

Reveals and reactions pour into Ford’s Global Auto Shows site

Built on the open-source blog platform WordPress, the site is social to the core. Users can comment – both positively and negatively, comments are censored only when inappropriate language is used – on each featured vehicle. The consolidation of auto show-related posts into one site, along with an effort to develop compelling original content at each show, has helped the site grow significantly, and organically, since its January 2007 launch.

The site does an excellent job of showcasing the raw energy and emotion of car buyers, particularly those who look to the concept car announcements at each show for a hint at what the manufacturer is thinking. The site offers nearly the same insight consumer perceptions of early designs. On the page for the Ford Interceptor concept, which is essentially a muscle car in sedan form, comments like “I want one” outnumber nearly any other sentiment. It also reflects dissatisfaction with some existing products. On the 2008 Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet page, there are numerous references to how the European version is considerably more attractive than the domestic offering.

The site enables consumers to create their own conversations around the Ford brand with a broad smattering of social bookmarking and syndication tools. In a significant step, Ford has recently moved forward to occasionally answer consumer questions that surface in the site’s comments. This represents the middle ground between monitoring and conversing.

Press releases or monitoring?
Both the GM FastLane blog, with posts by GM executives, including Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, and the Toyota Open Road blog are in the same category – corporate blogs that use the medium as a brand communications channel. Each blog has interesting posts with comments enabled, another heartening gesture, but both sites fall short of facilitating a real dialogue with the company. Many of the FastLane posts are little more than press releases with comments – 50-plus on some posts. The Open Road blog ranges from sparse comments (one or none on some articles) to a veritable firestorm (150-plus comments) surrounding a post covering a $20 million grant to the Audubon Society. Toyota clarified its position with a follow-up post – the company is listening, but it’s not a live conversation.

GM continues to provoke the blogosphere

The blogs differ significantly, however, in their implementation of Twitter as a way to publicize blog posts. The GM implementation features an energetic real person – who twittered his identity as PR guy Adam Denison – responding to five to 10 people each day via the GMblogs Twitter account and occasionally announcing new social media efforts. The stream of tweets is friendly and knowledgeable, and in true acceptance of the medium of Twitter, honestly uses @messages to give recognition as well as direct attention.

Toyota’s Open Road Twitter account sent me a private message after I began following, but the account seems to send 90 percent links to blog posts, media announcements or car-buying advice. While the conversational and link-sharing nature of the posts fits in very well with twitter, it fails to truly participate in a conversation.

Virtually all interactions between the customer and OEMs are part of the customer experience. Efforts that cut through the clutter are increasingly conversational in nature and actively seek to engage customers in an authentic and flexible way. Whereas the traditional model for this interaction insulates managers and product developers from such interactions, the most successful social media initiatives will be ones that turn this around, the ones that create true conversations with customers.

Talk back
What kinds of strategies have been deployed in automotive and are they working? This post examined several efforts at conversational marketing; I’d love to hear about other examples in the comments.

–Ben Bloom

Homepage search box on the new eBay Motors homepage

These sites are responding to consumer-initiated activity – not influencing it. Even as U.S. automotive sales declined in the first quarter of the year, sales of hybrid vehicles increased during the same time period. That behavior will no doubt continue for the near future, based on consumer search activity on third-party sites, such as Cars.com. Not coincidentally, consumer interest in hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles appears to index closely to prices at the pump.

This means that traditional vehicle categories, price, make and model are no longer the primary ways that consumers are researching new vehicles online. Fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles now reside in a primary vehicle segment, not just an enthusiast subcategory.

Some automakers have already addressed this reality by adding Hybrid or Most Fuel Efficient as a vehicle type or category that resides at the same level as Cars, Trucks and SUVs. The Saturn, Lexus and Toyota new vehicle sites have Hybrid filters on their showroom pages while Honda gives consumers the option of isolating vehicles that are either Hybrids or Most Fuel Efficient within its new-vehicle lineup. Even automakers that are months away from having a hybrid on lots, such as Cadillac and Dodge, are promoting upcoming 2009 models on their respective brand sites.

At least one marque, GMC, has added Hybrid search filters to its vehicle showroom ahead of its ability to deliver results. The only hybrid in GMC’s 2008 lineup is the Yukon, which has limited availability. While the GM division’s enthusiasm is understandable, offering consumers a zero-results option is not the most effective way to showcase their green wares.

Still other automakers are offering hybrids, such as Ford, Mazda, Mercury and Nissan, but are not making this immediately apparent in the vehicle showroom sections of their sites. One reason may be that high demand/tight supply has caused some brands to limit the amount of promotion these vehicles get – when vehicles are backordered they may not want to frustrate consumers by promoting waitlisted models. However, an opportunity still exists to promote future hybrids – in Ford’s case, the 2009 Fusion Hybrid, and for Nissan the 2009 Altima – and start to gauge interest and, possibly, adjust planned production output accordingly.

What does this mean for automakers and automotive marketers?

1. If you got it, flaunt it

Even automakers with only a single hybrid in their lineups need to allow consumers to search for vehicles this way on their sites. They should be promoting both existing and future vehicles that use hybrid technology as well as those that deliver above-average fuel efficiency.

Those manufacturers with only a limited supply of current model year hybrid can still let consumers sign up online for a waitlist for next year’s model. They can also use their brand sites to educate consumers about other fuel-efficient vehicles in their lineup that are currently available.

2. How will consumers find it?
Think also of how consumers are searching for hybrid vehicles. Overall, English-speaking consumers are more likely to enter “hybrid car” as a search term than “green car,” “hybrid auto” or “fuel efficient car,” according to Google Trends data spanning January 2004 through March 2008. Automakers should keep in mind the reach of their sites and the relevant audience. In the U.S. and Canada, consumers are far more likely to search for “hybrid car” than “green car” while in Australia and the UK the reverse is true.

3. Greening your online brand presence
Offline, marketers aren’t just selling a car, they are selling a lifestyle. Online, OEM sites need to deliver more than pricing and photos, they need to deliver an experience.

Automakers who want to reach online consumers interested in buying green and/or fuel-efficient vehicles need to better align their brand with these consumer’s values and their expectations.

Automotive brand, or related sites, can be used to educate consumers about fuel-saving tips and related advice. Just as the Apple site has a set of free resources for educators and the Whole Foods site has weekly blogs about sustainability and natural body care and supplements, automakers can similarly educate their site visitors on green driving topics.

–Mary S. Butler

Related links:

Auto Alliance: Hybrids and Alternative-Fuel Autos on Sale Now
Cars.com Pressroom: Record Gas Prices Drive More Searches for Fuel-Efficient Cars on Cars.com; April 4, 2008
eBay University Online: What’s New at eBay Motors

Automaker Online Showrooms with Hybrid and/or Fuel Efficient Sections
Dodge Vehicle Lineup (Coming Soon)
GMC Model Selector
Honda Vehicle Showroom
Lexus All Models
Saturn New Vehicle Lineup
Toyota Model Selector

Independent Automotive Research and Shopping Sites with Green/Hybrid Sections
AOL Autos: Hybrid Cars and Green Driving
Autotrader.com: Hybrid
Cars.com: New Hybrid Vehicles and 2008 Hybrid Buying Guide
The Consumer Guide to 2008 Hybrid Vehicles
eBay Motors: Alternative Fuel Vehicle
Edmunds.com: Green Car Advisor and 2008 Hybrid Buying Guide
KBB: Hybrids
MSN Autos: Green Central
Yahoo! Autos: Green Center