Close-Up: Live issue - Why the ultimate driving experience now comes online

But away from this, it is the digital arena that is pointing a more
sober finger to the future. It emerged last week that General Motors,
the third-largest advertiser in the US, was set to shift half of its
$3 billion budget into an online strategy. Meanwhile, in the UK,
BMW has just appointed Dare, while Renault and Nissan are locked in
global and pan-European digital pitches.

Add this to rumours of Lexus, Toyota and Ford being poised to review
their digital accounts this year and there's enough to suggest car
advertising could be about to make a massive U-turn.

So how did digital enter car advertisers' consciousness with such
synchronicity? It seems the tide has turned at a time when consumers'
buying behaviour, advances in technology and market forces are changing.
The economic slowdown, and predictions that UK car sales are set to fall
modestly this year, makes marketing a matter of urgency.

The traditional car showroom was once the unavoidable horror of any car
buying process. Not any more. While digital might not be a direct
replacement, it boasts a number of compelling properties; not least that
of privacy and the ability to scope and consult a range of independent
voices rather than fall victim to the smooth sales pitch. Most sites
nowadays even allow you to book a test drive online.

This, in turn, poses new challenges to advertisers that are scrambling
to unpick an audience getting its information in a private space.
"Blogs, forums and feeds mean a car's digital presence is no longer just
about having a strong corporate website," Toby Horry, the planning
director at Dare, says. "Car brands are having to think harder about how
to influence the areas that they can control and how to relinquish power
where they can't."

Little wonder digital agencies with strong strategic capabilities are
sought after. GM is planning a strategy that includes gaming, search,
mobile and interactive applications. "You're seeing demand for digital
agencies that have global scale, and efficiency in production, the
ability to punch above their weight on creativity and strategy insight
and can execute on a global level," Chris Clarke, the Digitas president
and executive creative director, says.

But it's not just about strategy. For years, digital evangelists have
banged the drum about its more efficient return on investment, accurate
tracking potential and sustained dialogue with consumers. And now this
message appears to be penetrating boardrooms. "Big car manufacturers are
constantly having to prove that their campaigns work and digital allows
us to do that, particularly within the last 12 months," Darren Cox, the
incoming head of digital for Nissan Europe, says. "As a challenger brand
we need to outthink rather than outspend. Part of that is deciding how
to have a digital presence in a through-the-line strategy so that buyers
search us out, rather than the other way round."

The voyeuristic element of digital makes it ideal for marketers to
deconstruct a consumer's motivations. "Digital shows us how the customer
is moving through the purchase cycle, what elements of a car interests
them and where they're prepared to spend their money," Sharon Heaton,
the relationship marketing manager at Volkswagen UK, says.

Of course, the economies of scale also sit in the favour of car clients,
particularly those who only need to shift a few thousand cars each year
to see a conspicuous sales uplift. "Three to five years is the standard
car buying cycle. Even the richest car marques can't be in traditional
media like that all year around," Horry says. "Digital allows
advertisers to have a consistent dialogue with a smaller pool of people
that can sometimes be of more value than arbitrary blanket
awareness."

Yet, while the theory of digital is convincing, execution is still open
to question. There are still few cases of cars with a convincing digital
presence. This year, Agency Republic has unveiled two microsites for
Mercedes-Benz, each stylistically pushing the brand values of its
C-Class and GL-Class.

Although digital boasts clearer tracking and an evolving dialogue with
consumers, it plays just a small part in wider communications.

Ian Austin, the manager for customer communications at Honda, says:
"Broadcast communication is still the best way of generating coverage
and sparking an emotional attachment with consumers. But the internet
allows us to provide deeper information and spend more time with
consumers without having to buy more media space."

Esoteric TV ads may still bring in the masses, but expect the digital
element to make these potential customers stick around.

NISSAN QASHQAI - 'Qashqai car games'

Agencies: TBWA\London, TBWA\G1, Manning Gottlieb OMD, Go Viral, DUKE

Brief: Generate awareness of Nissan's Qashqai model before its
launch.

Strategy: The campaign was created as a pre-launch to the above-the-line
campaign and to harness interest among a predominantly online 25- to-
35-year-old audience.

Execution: Invent an entertaining new sport and create a digital
universe around it including the history, rules, teams, logos and
merchandise. Five virals were created showing stunts captured at
different events. These were seeded on around 2,000 sites. Consumer
feedback was responded to, and built on, to fuel debate on whether the
sport was real. All content was supported by an official website, where
details on the sport could be found.

Results: Within the first month, the campaign attracted 3.5 million
views, and by launch, that figure was more than 14 million. The campaign
reached 212 countries and was picked up by 4,370 sites. From a tiny
pre-launch budget, targets were exceeded by 300 per cent across 14
European countries.

VOLKSWAGEN - 'night driving'

Agencies: DDB London, Tribal DDB

Brief: Articulate the experience of driving a Volkswagen Golf at night
when the roads are empty.

Strategy: The TV, press and outdoor work featured creative that pushed
the campaign website night-driving.com to extend the campaign further
than its above-the-line advertising and create web buzz about the
experience of driving at night.

Execution: Upon logging on, users are taken on a virtual night drive
that also allows them to explore all aspects of the Golf. The site also
featured a number of pre-mapped night journeys and allowed fans to view
extra footage of the TV ad and edit their own version to pass on virally
to friends. Users could plot their own favourite night drives on maps
and exchange them with other visitors. Night-time test-drives could be
booked online or through supporting direct mail.

Results: The campaign attracted more than 60,000 visits on the website
during the campaign, copycat videos on YouTube, and Dylan Thomas' Under
Milk Wood, which was the soundtrack to the ad, went to number one in the
audio book charts.