US Automotive Digital Ad Spending 2019

Increased Spending on Video, Mobile Despite Slower Growth in Overall Spending

Executive Summary

The US automotive industry will increase its digital ad spending by 15.8% to $15.91 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, total US digital ad spend will grow by 19.1% this year. Automotive advertising is growing at a slower rate than most other ad spending verticals due to weakness in the auto market.

What is automotive’s share of total US digital ad spend?

Auto will account for 12.3% of total US digital ad spend in 2019. Its share will drop to 12.0% in 2020. Automotive will drop from the second highest digital ad spending vertical to the third in 2020.

Why is its share dropping?

The auto industry's ad budgets continue to be constrained by global macroeconomic conditions like tariffs and stricter emission standards.

Which digital ad formats are growing the fastest?

Video is a strong growth area for auto. US automotive digital video ad spend will grow 21.7% to $5.19 billion in 2019. In 2020, auto advertisers will spend $6.22 billion on video.

How much will auto advertisers spend on mobile?

Mobile spend by US automotive advertisers will increase 19.3% to $10.36 billion in 2019, accounting for 65.1% of auto ad spend this year and 68.1% in 2020.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? Our annual breakdown of US automotive industry digital ad spending includes a comprehensive overview of total digital ad spending, as well as estimates by channel, device and format.

KEY STAT: The US automotive industry will increase its digital ad spending by 15.8% to $15.91 billion in 2019.

Here’s what’s in the full report

3files

Exportable files for easy reading, analysis and sharing.

9charts

Reliable data in simple displays for presentations and quick decision making.

22expert perspectives

Insights from industry and company leaders.

Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Automotive Digital Ad Spending Outlook
  3. Digital Ad Spending by Device
  1. Digital Ad Spending by Format
  2. Key Takeaways
  3. eMarketer Interviews
  1. Read Next
  2. Sources
  3. Media Gallery

Interviewed for This Report

Joe Barbagallo
Jaguar Land Rover North America
Department Manager, Digital, Social and CRM
Interviewed April 10, 2019
Jonathan Barnard
Zenith
Head of Forecasting
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Jim D’Antoni
Dish Media
Director, Ad Sales
Interviewed April 24, 2019
Mike Fisher
MediaMath
Vice President, Advanced TV, Video
Interviewed April 9, 2019
Richard Gagnon
Havas
Head of Havas Healthmedia
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Doug Grumet
AMP Agency
Senior Vice President, Media
Interviewed April 11, 2019
Cheryl Huckabay
The Richards Group
Media Group Head
Interviewed April 9, 2019
Sarah Kramer
Spark Foundry
Chief Client and Operating Officer
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Jon Morgenstern
VaynerMedia
Senior Vice President, Head of Investment
Interviewed April 2, 2019
Ali Plonchak
Crossmedia
Managing Director, Digital Strategy and Integration
Interviewed April 2, 2019
Krish Sailam
DWA
Senior Vice President, Global Programmatic Solutions
Interviewed April 5, 2019
Sarah Scherer
Goodway Group
Product Marketing Manager
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Jon Schulz
Viant
CMO
Interviewed April 11, 2019
Mike Seiler
AKQA
Director, Search and Shopper Marketing
Interviewed April 1, 2019
Jeremy Tate
DWA
Senior Vice President, General Manager
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Vanessa Vignon
Ubisoft
Vice President, Media and Audience Management
Interviewed April 18, 2019
Matthew Waghorn
Huge
Vice President, Strategy
Interviewed April 12, 2019
April Weeks
Centro
Executive Vice President, Media Services and Operations
Interviewed April 8, 2019
Chris Wexler
Cramer-Krasselt
Senior Vice President, Director, Media and Analytics
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Brian Wieser
GroupM
Global President, Business Intelligence
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Sarah Wilson
DWA
Media Director
Interviewed April 3, 2019
Michael Zacharski
EMX Digital
CEO
Interviewed April 11, 2019

authors

Ross Benes

Contributors

Lauren Fisher
Principal Analyst
Jennifer Jhun
Research Director, International and Special Projects
Oscar Orozco
Director, Forecasting
Victoria Petrock
Principal Analyst

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