Buying a car is one of the most complex decisions most people will ever make. It’s expensive, emotionally loaded, and full of trade-offs. New versus used. Monthly cost versus total cost. Spec versus availability. Confidence versus compromise. And yet, much of automotive marketing still behaves as if a few price-led ads and a retargeting loop will do the job.
It won’t.
If automotive marketing is going to work harder over the next few years, it needs to shift focus. Away from volume and velocity. Towards confidence, clarity, and connection. That’s where insight and AI really has the potential to come into play, not as clever technology, but as tools to better reflect the journey people are actually on.
Automotive isn’t FMCG with wheels
The biggest mistake we make as marketers is assuming all purchase journeys behave the same way. They don’t.
Car buying looks far more like a B2B decision than an impulse consumer one. Long consideration periods. Heavy research. High perceived risk. People spend months, sometimes years, circling a decision before they act.
Most of that journey happens quietly. Browsing. Comparing. Shortlisting. Doubting. Waiting.
Good automotive marketing recognises this. It doesn’t rush people to convert. It focuses on earning a place on the shortlist first, then staying credible as the decision matures. That means being sensitive to where someone is in their thinking, not just where they’ve been served an ad.
This is where Consult really matters. Before we talk channels or creative, we need to understand how people actually buy cars today, what they worry about, and what progress looks like at each stage of the journey.
Insight isn’t about knowing more. It’s about knowing better.
There’s a tendency in marketing to assume that better decisions come from collecting more information. In automotive, that mindset can quickly backfire.
The real value of insight isn’t in how much you know about someone. It’s in how well you understand why they hesitate, where they stall, and what they need to move forward with confidence.
Car buying journeys are long, and most people never reach the point of action. For every person who converts, many more research, compare, and quietly drop out. Historically, those people were invisible. Now, they’re not.
Understanding where people disengage, what they compare, and when uncertainty creeps in is often more valuable than analysing the final sale. It helps brands focus on removing friction earlier in the journey, not just optimising the end of it.
By only optimising the areas where you’re already winning, you ignore all the areas you’re not. It’s confirmation bias in action and it can lead to fundamental misunderstandings.
Used well, insight makes marketing more helpful. It allows brands to respond to intent rather than assumption, to support decision-making rather than push for speed. And in a category where trust is everything, that difference matters.
AI’s real role is pattern, not prediction
AI is everywhere right now, and much of it is over-sold. In automotive marketing, its real value isn’t in replacing strategy or automating persuasion.
It’s in spotting patterns we’d otherwise miss.
Car buying journeys are long and complex, but they’re not random. People behave in clusters. They research in familiar ways. They reach similar sticking points. AI can help surface those behaviours at scale, particularly in the early research phase where most people are lost.
If we understand how many interactions typically come before active consideration, or which moments tend to cause drop-off, we can plan for that reality rather than fighting it.
Used properly, AI helps us Craft better experiences. Not louder ones. It smooths progression. It reduces repetition. It makes each step feel like a natural next move, not another hurdle.
Where brands really lose people
Despite improvements in digital journeys, most people still drop out before taking a meaningful action. Before booking a test drive. Before starting a finance application. Before speaking to a dealer.
Up to that point, browsing is easy. Commitment isn’t.
That’s why consistency matters so much. When messages change between ads, websites, marketplaces, and dealerships, trust erodes quickly. Fragmentation is the real enemy, not lack of reach.
Insight and AI only work if they help Connect every dot. One story. One sense of progress. One feeling that the brand understands where you are and isn’t trying to rush you somewhere you’re not ready to go.
Marketing doesn’t lose people at the point of sale. It loses them months earlier by failing to remove uncertainty.
More is rarely the answer
When performance stalls, the default response is often “more”. More channels. More technology. More assets. More spend.
In automotive, that instinct is particularly risky.
More activity without clear objectives just adds noise to an already overwhelming decision. What actually moves the needle is clarity. Knowing what you’re trying to influence at each stage of the journey and focusing your effort there.
Sometimes that does mean adding a channel. More often, it means doing fewer things better. Showing up in the right places, with the right message, at the right moment.
Trust is not built at the final click. It’s built months earlier, through consistency, credibility, and a clear sense that the brand is helping rather than selling.
The role of marketing now
At its best, automotive marketing removes barriers instead of creating them. It replaces suspicion with reassurance. It turns complexity into confidence.
That requires:
- Consulting to truly understand buyer behaviour and hesitation
- Crafting messages and experiences that reflect real decision-making
- Connecting every touchpoint into one joined-up journey
Insight and AI are not the strategy. They’re enablers. Used thoughtfully, they help brands reflect the reality of how people choose cars today.
And when marketing does that well, conversion doesn’t feel like a push. It feels like a natural next step.
