The automobile as another online channel through which to reach — and target — consumers is moving closer to reality, technically speaking, this is. Now the main barriers to this scenario are the growing privacy fears and possible litigation issues. This has been illustrated with news of OnStar’s new privacy policy, which has raised hackles among privacy advocates and many of its consumers as well.
The New York Times does a good job of explaining the details of the change: suffice here to say that OnStar has made it easier to track and target its users even when the quit the system. For the moment it merely aggregates this data, but it has also left open the possibility of selling the information, including to companies offering location-based services and to marketers interested in specific groups of drivers.
Given the backlash that has emerged from OnStar’s change, it is unlikely these developments will happen in the near future. There are also legal issues as well — people have been prosecuted and sued in civil court based on data recovered from so-called black boxes in automobiles that maintain them. Basically these boxes collect driving information such as speed and breaking and in the cases of these suits, were able to show the driver was speeding at the time of an accident.
Priming the Pump
Those huge challenges aside, the concept of the automobile as another data source for marketers is a tantalizing one. For starters this is a user group already primed for outreach, at least based on findings from a September 2011 report from Millennial Media and comScore. Most notably, it reported that 63% of mobile auto campaigns lead to site search, about four times the 16% average rate. In addition, 58% of mobile auto campaigns lead to both dealer/store locator and viewing a map, compared to respective overall averages of 15% and 18%.
Salesforce.com, Toyota See Its Promise
Salesforce.com and Toyota also see value in the sector and their investments are likely to prime the car as a communication channel as well. Earlier this year they announced plans to build Toyota Friend, a private social network for Toyota customers and their cars. Toyota Friend will be powered by Salesforce Chatter, Salesforce.com's enterprise social messaging platform. The offering will first roll out in Japan in Toyota's electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles due in 2012.
Toyota Friend will connect Toyota customers with their cars, their dealership, and with Toyota. Information that is expected to filter through the application include product and service data as well as maintenance tips. It is not a closed loop system, however, which could be key to marketers: customers can communicate to family, friends, and others through Twitter and Facebook.
The service will also be accessible through smart phones, tablet PCs, and other advanced mobile devices.
