RESTON, Va., March 25, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study of online automotive advertising, based on data from the comScore Ad Metrix service, including the debut release of data from comScore's new product-level dictionary.

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The study revealed that Ford Motor Company was the top auto advertiser in January with 481 million display ad impressions, followed by Toyota with 384 million and General Motors with 316 million. The top ten auto manufacturers accounted for 58 percent of the 1.9 billion ad impressions in the segment, with the "Big Three" U.S. automakers (Ford, GM and Chrysler) accounting for 26 percent.

    Top Advertisers among Auto Manufacturers by Total Display Ad Impressions
    January 2009
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore Ad Metrix

                  Total Display    Share of Auto    Advertising    Advertising
                       Ad               Ad            Exposed        Exposed
                   Impressions      Impressions        Unique      Reach (% of
                      (000)                           Persons       Internet
                                                       (000)         Users)

    Auto
     Manufacturers   1,949,570        100.0%        120,135           65.1%
    Ford Motor
     Company           480,734         14.7%         59,829           32.4%
    Toyota             384,166         11.7%         45,874           24.9%
    General Motors     316,493          9.7%         44,438           24.1%
    Mercedes-Benz      265,063          8.1%         37,284           20.2%
    Honda              163,387          5.0%         28,020           15.2%
    Nissan             126,773          3.9%         21,064           11.4%
    Hyundai Motors
     Inc.               55,773          1.7%          6,317            3.4%
    Volkswagen          46,407          1.4%         13,125            7.1%
    BMW                 28,273          0.9%          4,776            2.6%
    Chrysler LLC        23,793          0.7%          6,608            3.6%

Automotive advertisers delivered nearly 2 billion ad impressions and reached 120 million people, or 65 percent of the total Internet audience, in January 2009. This represents a decline of 43 percent in online ad impressions for the auto industry versus January 2008.

GMC Yukon the Most Advertised SUV Online, Chevy Malibu Tops among "Green" Models

As part of the study, comScore identified the most advertised SUV and Fuel Efficient/Hybrid vehicles using the new comScore Ad Metrix product dictionary, which allows an identification of online advertisements at the product level. Interestingly, the auto companies delivered nearly six times more display ads for SUVs (65.0 million) than Fuel-Efficient/Hybrid models (9.9 million) in January 2009. The most advertised SUV model online was the GMC Yukon, with 22 million ad impressions, followed by the KIA Borrego (10.3 million) and Toyota Sequoia (8.5 million).

    Top SUV Models Advertised Online by Total Display Ads
    January 2009
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore Ad Metrix

                     Total Display    Advertising    Advertising     Average
                          Ad            Exposed      Reach (% of    Frequency
                      Impressions       Unique        Internet     (No. of Ad
                         (000)          Persons        Users)      Impressions
                                         (000)                     per Person)

    Total SUVs          64,951          16,997          9.2%          3.8
    GMC Yukon           21,986           8,124          4.4%          2.7
    KIA Borrego         10,315           2,133          1.2%          4.8
    Toyota Sequoia       8,498           1,705          0.9%          5.0
    Toyota Highlander    4,104           1,321          0.7%          3.1
    Ford Flex            4,050           1,318          0.4%          3.1

Meanwhile, the top "green" model advertised online was the Chevy Malibu, which received 1.4 million ad impressions promoting its fuel-efficiency or hybrid model, followed by the Lexus LS Hybrid (1.2 million) and Lexus RX Hybrid (1.0 million).

    Top Fuel-Efficient/Hybrid Models Advertised Online by Total Display Ads
    January 2009
    Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
    Source: comScore Ad Metrix

                       Total Display    Advertising   Advertising    Average
                             Ad           Exposed       Exposed     Frequency
                        Impressions       Unique      Reach (% of  (No. of Ad
                           (000)          Persons      Internet    Impressions
                                           (000)        Users)     per Person)

    Total
     Fuel-Efficient/Hybrids  9,852        4,357           2.4%        2.7
    Chevrolet Malibu         1,409          640           0.3%        2.2
    Lexus LS                 1,239          607           0.3%        2.0
    Honda Civic              1,180          423           0.2%        2.8
    Toyota Prius             1,077          314           0.2%        3.4
    Lexus RX                 1,046          579           0.3%        1.8

"The collective online advertising strategy of automakers shows a low level of online advertising for their green models and higher levels for their heavier gas consumption vehicles," said Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president. "While SUVs may still drive a larger share of sales for the automakers, comScore research has shown that online is an effective brand-building medium and now might be a good time to begin shifting allocation of dollars and mindshare towards the models of the future."

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

SOURCE comScore, Inc.

http://www.comscore.com

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