Carmudi Philippines Upbeat on Digital Automotive Advertising

As more consumers go online for their purchases, an increasing number of companies are beefing up their online spend to reach wider audiences, increase site visits, and maximize their revenue potential.

This trend is evident in large markets like the US, China, and India. However, emerging markets like the Philippines are not far behind, especially with an internet-savvy population.

Carmudi Philippines CEO Cholo Syquia shares his insights on how this trend affects the automotive advertising market in the country coming from the company’s recent acquisition by leading Indian auto tech group, CarDekho.

How big is the Philippine automotive advertising market? What is the role of digital in this space?

While brick-and-mortar showrooms, and shops for that matter, aren’t going away anytime soon, people are increasingly using online platforms not just to gather information but to make purchases as well. That is something not lost on automotive brands, and it shows in how OEM (original equipment manufacturer) ad spending has long started to shift from traditional media to online.

Less than a decade ago, automotive brands allocated less than 5% of their marketing budgets to the digital domain. Today, that figure is 30%, with some brands even going higher. All signs point to this development maintaining an upward trajectory for the foreseeable future.

Within the digital advertisement space, which verticals contribute, and will contribute the most revenue? What are the drivers of such growth?

Currently, we realize the most revenue from brand-new cars or OEMs considering that they have bigger marketing budget allocations, easily contributing 60% to 80% of our business. In addition, we are aware of the tremendous opportunity presented by motorcycle sales, a particularly promising revenue stream in light of its growing popularity as a mode of transportation in the Philippines.

Carbay Philippines Inc., which operates both Carmudi Philippines and Zigwheels Philippines, is in a good position to capture advertising monies from car and motorcycle manufacturers, as we have the biggest digital audience in this space with over 10.7 million users and 17.6 million sessions as of 2019.

Even as we foresee revenue growth from brand-new car advertising, we are also looking at a significant increase in advertising from used cars and related businesses. Carmudi.com.ph has had the largest network of used-car dealers for a several years now, and we have noticed increased interest and clamor for this group to be more present digitally.

Ancillary businesses such as financing companies, insurance, and other maintenance products like tires, lubricants, and batteries are also trying to ride the digital wave. We see this trend being sustained for a long time.

How will Carmudi Philippines leverage its digital platform to serve the growing market?

In all the innovation and technology we bring, we always keep in mind two groups—the buyers/end-users and the product/sellers. We will continue to innovate solutions to expose end-users to information on products available in the market and to make their purchase experience easy and accessible. We will also continue to scale up the reach of products and sellers.

Now that we have two strong and distinct websites, Carmudi.com.ph and Zigwheels.ph, we are able to more keenly address our customers’ needs.

While both offer new and used cars, we are skewing Zigwheels Philippines towards new cars and Carmudi Philippines towards used vehicles. We are aware of Carmudi’s established strength in this category.

There will be an intersect of offerings, of course, but we see these commonalities as more of shared conveniences and best practices. We are also establishing two distinct content teams to deliver useful, exciting, and dedicated multimedia material as we cover the transportation and mobility scenes here and abroad.

How will this distinction impact the market and the strengths you have previously built on Carmudi?

We are confident that the distinction will result in in delivering exactly what our customers need, adjusting to their changing habits and preferences.

Carmudi.com.ph and Zigwheels.ph are platforms that drive results from increasing product and brand awareness in a wide yet targeted audience. The distinction will increase consideration of actual buyers, who will be supported every step of the way, from inquiry to purchase.

We are confident that brands and sellers will realize that the use of our digital platforms will efficiently drive their own sales. We have noticed that both brands and sellers are becoming more discerning in how they spend their marketing budgets, so platforms like ours are more attractive for them due to traceability of results and easily measurable ROIs.

For consumers, we present curated, relevant products that match their needs and spending appetite while providing adequate content to help them make informed purchases. Furthermore, we provide a number of acquisition options, discount benefits, and friendly financing options.

We at Carmudi Philippines continue to strengthen our position as a top automotive platform in the country by adding enhancements to our technology, processes, and platform experience.

Trusted and known for our quality listings, powerful search, and one-stop convenience, we will continue improving the overall online experience of our buyers and sellers.