A little tight…

The year has just begun, and carmakers have already snapped up more than 80 percent of available ad space for 2006 on independent, third-party auto research sites, whereas a year ago only half of online ad inventory had been purchased, reports AdAge, citing various media buyers and auto-research publishers. Because of the high demand and tight inventory, CPM is up around 20 percent (and up to 30 percent) for prime locations on some third-party car sites; in some cases, the cost of larger, rich media or video units has apparently increased more than 50 percent.

"There are only so many ads you can put on a site," Julie Ask, senior analyst, Jupiter Research, is quoted as saying. Premier placements on publishers' homepages have been snatched up first. Also among the hottest sections are new cars, vehicle categories and vehicle make.

Despite the lack of inventory, automakers have not shifted dollars back to traditional media but are instead fighting harder (and paying more) for online ads.

Publishers, in turn, are selling more behaviorally targeted ads. The sites are also significantly upping their video content and planning to spend more on paid search to drive more users to their sites.

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