Forrester Research: Forrester Retail Insights Automotive First Look: Research & Event Highlights From Forrester

 11 Jan. 2005
Forrester Auto Summit
Accelerating Automotive Innovation.
March 1, 2005.
This year's expansive, exciting Event will open your vistas on the future of auto marketing, the dealership, and the vehicle itself. Read more.


Where's Mark? Not In The Snow!
I swear that personal business (buying a home) is keeping me away from the midmonth Detroit auto conferences. Please look me up if you'll be in sunnier climes like:
Jan 7, Las Vegas, CES
Jan 31, New Orleans, NADA
March 1, Orange County, Calif., Forrester Auto Summit


Happy Birthday Mars Cars!
So the first Earthling to spend a year living on Mars was a car -- two of them, actually. As Forrester explained with our MRO report and the spaceflight of SpaceShipOne this fall, auto and aerospace have a lot in common.


Welcome New Forrester Auto Folks!
One more thing auto and aerospace have in common: two new Forrester researchers. Research Associate Sean Meyer and Associate Chloe Stromberg will be working with me on auto and Henry Harteveldt on airline (and other travel industry players).


Sixteen New TV Ad Formats
In the US, auto spends more on TV ads than any other category -- 16% of the total! Forrester analyst Eric Schmitt has a must-read plan to make ads work for carmakers and save the TV business to boot.


News Programs Have A High Incidence Of Multitasking
News Programs Have A High Incidence Of Multitasking

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Happy New Year! A lot of people wake up on January 1 with a head full of pain and regrets, a lot more weight under their belt, and resolutions to not enjoy the holidays to excess again. That's how many carmakers and dealers felt a few years ago about IT -- a lot of pain and excess weight and a blanket resolution to get off the digital hooch and stay data-slim forevermore. But like food and wine, we now know that technology is a healthy part of a growing, innovative company when enjoyed in moderation -- think of it as the Szygenda Diet that's helped GM take $1 billion out of IT costs each year. Hot auto technologies for 2005 include tools that:

  • Solve the world's problems. You know the world's human and PC populations are booming -- but did you know that cars are too? We'll have an extra 500 million cars on the road in 2020 -- great news for sales, but it means we need to accelerate the rollout of technologies like hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, safety telematics, and a smarter infrastructure to make the world livable.


    • Auto Problems Accelerate As The Vehicle Population Booms

  • Let your creativity run wild AND double-check your math. Like an impartial judge, analytics applications have stepped in with irrefutable data to resolve disputes between auto's creative and logical sides (advertising versus engineering, legal versus finance). Why now? Because the tools are maturing and vendors are consolidating, making the ROI a more reliable bet; analytics are descending from the ivory tower into everyday business processes and organizations; and real-time and even predictive analytics are becoming possible. We've been fans of Trilogy's demand sensing for years; in '05, we predict great results from Attensity's initial quality findings on Edmunds.com and ClearForest's warranty work for a US automaker.

  • Just make customers happy. Most carbuyers tell us that they're satisfied with their new vehicles (70%-93%), but far fewer are "thrilled." In fact, just nine of 30 auto brands pass the thrill test -- all luxury brands except Subaru and Hyundai. What makes the difference? The buying experience. To make buyers happy (and win their business) this year, plan on even more cross-channel experience-building, integrating traditional media and the Web and OEM promotions with dealers.

    Tackling big global issues, stretching the mental noodle, and making some money along the way -- not a bad set of resolutions for a nascent year. So, the holiday festivities may be over, but the fun's just beginning.

    Looking forward to innovating with you in 2005!

    Mark Bünger


    Research Referenced In This Issue

    Auto's Bright Green Future (35562)
    Automakers: Why Satisfy When You Can Thrill? (35704)
    CPG Promotions For The Multichannel Consumer (35782)
    DoubleClick Exits Web Site Analytics (36057)
    GM Chooses Omniture For Better Web Site Analytics (32345)
    It's About Time: Operational BI (36081)
    My View: The Ralph Revolution (35890)
    Overhauling Airline Maintenance (35415)
    Sizing The Emerging-Nation PC Market (34889)   
    Target BI Applications At The Right Organizational Layer For Maximum Adoption (36069)
    Technology Drives Sustainable Mobility (35586)
    The Emergence Of Process-Centric BI (35505)
    The Internet Battles The TV For Attention (35591)
    Trends 2005: Predictive Analytics (35434)
    Virgin Galactic Is Ready For 2007 Takeoff (35631)
    What Next For TV Advertising? (35120)
    Who's In Charge Of Customer Experience? (36176)
    Why Microsoft Will Win The Telematics Race (35736)

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