Every tenth advertising franc drives a car

Automotive advertising New records at the Motor Show reveal an optimistic industry From March 6 to 16, everything in Geneva revolves around sheet metal and bolides. The Motor Show will be taking place for the 73rd time. While other trade fairs have lost exhibitors and visitors in recent years, this year's show is once again breaking records: 265 exhibitors from 30 countries are presenting 900 new products - despite the poor consumer mood. According to Georges F. Kindhauser, Vice-Marketing Director, Geneva Palexpo has been inundated with registrations. Despite expanding the hall by 21,000 square meters, it was not possible to accommodate all interested parties. Kindhauser sees the reason for this in the fact that "the Salon serves as a media-oriented showcase for the performance of the automotive industry". The image of the industry is sold here. And the car manufacturers are willing to pay a lot for their reputation: in contrast to other sectors, they are not at all stingy when it comes to advertising expenditure (see pages 8 to 10) and only reduced their spending by an insignificant 1.1 percent last year. One in ten advertising francs now flows from the car industry's coffers. So it's no wonder that the car companies, which have long since merged into global players, will be coming up with plenty of ideas at the show to present their vehicles in the best possible light.
They have good reason to do so, as the show is one of the top five automobile shows in the world alongside Detroit, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Paris. According to Kindhauser, the fact that Switzerland does not have an automotive industry and therefore does not favor any brands is a strategic advantage of the show. In addition, it is the only European trade fair to present the industry's new models every spring. This gives it an additional competitive advantage over Paris and Frankfurt, which take place every two years in the fall, in terms of brand and image cultivation.
DaimlerChrysler advertises its models - atypically for the industry - without sheet metal and bolides.
(sk)