In the first Australian study of its kind, carsales has found that consumers are 50 per cent more likely to engage with an advertisement if it is placed in a context that is relevant to the brand, which goes against the current trend of marketers shifting towards programmatic advertising.

In an era when it is increasingly difficult to get consumers attention, the study found that automotive advertisements are more powerful when placed in a relevant environment, for example, a consumer is likely to be more receptive to a car ad if it is placed next to reviews of similar cars.

While the research focused on the power of context in the automotive industry, the same ideology can be applied to a range of industries, from real estate to fashion.

“Nielsen’s research provides strong empirical evidence to confirm what many people in the marketing industry have always assumed – that people are more likely to engage with an advertisement for a car if they’re already thinking about cars, ” said Sam Granleese, director of product and insights at carsales.com.au.

“However, over the past few years, marketers have been shifting away from advertising in relevant environments in favour of programmatic advertising due to ease and cost-effectiveness. Our new research confirms that relevant context still has a major impact on the effectiveness of advertising.”

With the aim of better understanding the impact contextual relevance has on automotive advertisers on the carsales network, the company commissioned Nielsen to dissect 16 advertising campaigns by 8 of the top automotive brands in Australia.

The study found that automotive campaigns on the carsales network saw a 50% uplift for ‘Active Recommendation’, which is a consumer’s willingness to spontaneously recommend a brand and demonstrates that they are loyal and enthusiastic.

The data was released during a keynote speech on the future of automotive marketing delivered by Granleese at the company’s Auto Futures 2017 Upfronts event in Sydney today.

Led by the carsales marketing solutions team, Auto Futures 2017 Upfronts presents ROI-focussed and effective solutions to ensure marketing, advertising and automotive industry players understand, engage and convert customers.