2016 saw the sale of electric vehicles hit the 2 million units milestone as new and existing automotive manufacturers unveil their electric offerings. Testing of autonomous vehicles are well underway as the car share phenomenon starts to take hold with the introduction of new players.

While Australia is lagging behind in the uptake of the new mobility paradigm, there are lesson to be learnt from overseas markets that are showing a shift.

Here from a leading industry expert on the lesson learnt from launching the electric vehicle overseas, the challenges and opportunities associated with an alternative propulsion system, data and connectivity, the impact of car-sharing, autonomous driving and what this means to marketers tasked with changing the thinking of consumers to establish the electric car as the vehicle of choice.

Commercial vehicles represent a large segment of the Australian automotive market and like the passenger vehicle market, it too faces challenges from disruptive technologies and changes to the ‘last-mile’ online freight from the arrival of Amazon to our shores.

Hear from industry expert marketer Bill Gillespie on what this means to marketers of commercial vehicles, how Hino are meeting the challenges and how data will play a vital role in ensuring they remain competitive.

Growth is getting harder, so marketers need to get smarter. Data is key – there are vast quantities of it at our fingertips and yet utilising it to the fullest extend proves difficult for most. In this session, we will talk about how data can drive value and new services for the automotive industry, how connectivity and digitisation will affect marketers, and what must be done to harness the power of data going forward.

● Economist: Data is to this century what oil was to the last one: a driver of growth and
change. It’s becoming one of the most valuable commodities in the world

● Set the scene around how data is used and the changes its driving. Smartphones and
the internet have made data abundant, ubiquitous and far more valuable. More things
are leaving a digital trace, more devices are connected. AI/Machine Learning now
extract more value from data

● This trend is recognised in automotive: Connectivity and digitization is the #1 trend in the
whole industry

● Share what data can do for the automotive business: Value creation, smarter brands and
new services

● Auto has lots of data (OEM, dealer, car) but you’re not using it. Today it’s sitting in silos,
systems, departments. Data on it’s own is useless.

● Discuss what should be done: Customer first focus, breakdown of silos, focusing on
customer lifetime value with data, intelligence

Car sharing and peer-to-peer rentals are disrupting the car rental industry and challenging traditional notions of car ownership. On the surface, they may pose a major threat to automotive manufacturers, but they also present a great opportunity for automotive marketers to embrace change and connect with customers in new ways.

Hear from Chris Noone, CEO of DriveMyCar, which has recently collaborated with Uber, RACV, Subaru and Trivett, about how automotive brands have leveraged peer-to-peer rentals to deliver an innovative approach to experiential marketing.

The current advertising climate, and the demand for more effectiveness and ROI, is putting brand experience in the spotlight like never before. Hear why two very different automotive companies view brand experience as a business solution, not just a marketing channel. Drawing from examples including the Formula One Australian F1 Grand Prix, find out how these measurable experiences are developed and delivered in Australia and why they’re being recognised and rolled out internationally.

Generic, bland and fainthearted. When did looking and sounding like your competitor become a thing? With a few notable exceptions, most brands are content to just cruise along in the slow lane. Are brands really too frightened to stomp on the accelerator or is automotive advertising simply unsure of which direction to go next? Creative Director and car buff Frank Morabito presents his case on the state of auto advertising.

Is the romance of owning a motor vehicle dead? Millennials and future generations have not bought into the ‘fun’ associated with driving and are just as likely to opt for the convenience of a rideshare option than own their car.

Yet, the automotive industry remains focused on driving loyalty and a customer relationship based on buying, owning and re-buying. Is it time to re-imagine the sales process?

In this information-rich session, find out from SMI how automotive marketers are spending their budgets, and learn from Potentiate what factors are currently driving car buyers.

Only one intelligence source knows how marketers and media agencies are spending their advertising dollars in the automotive segment – Standard Media Index. Hear from SMI Founder Jane Schulze about current adspend trends in the automotive sector, both locally and globally.

There are a myriad of channels where automotive marketers can spend their budget. From traditional platforms, to social, search, where is the spend really going? Are we seeing a return to TV and radio? Are outdoor and digital still motoring ahead? Is print continuing to decline in the segment?

Data Intelligence company, Potentiate will share some of the key insights it has garnered from its long term relationship working with the auto industry into the buying habits of the Australian car owner.

The research will highlight how Australians have evolved their automotive buying preferences and include valuable insights into what that means to the automotive marketer.

Automotive media is as popular as ever, but connecting brands with passionate consumers has become more challenging as media becomes fragmented through digital disruption, and consumer needs and selection criteria evolve.

Women are now the major influencers of all cars purchased in the US and are the fast growing segment of buyers for new and used cars. That trend is taking hold in Australia with research already showing that major events in women’s lives such as having a baby, changing jobs or buying a house, increases the intent to purchase a new car significantly.

Women are a change agent. So how do you drive consideration for brands across a proliferation of new media platforms and influence this powerful group of consumers? Australia’s leading content creators for women will reveal key research findings into what influences them when it comes to making automotive purchases and how you can create customers for your brand.

The prospect of the widespread adoption of self-driving cars presents an unprecedented disruptive challenge for industry, government and society.

Central to this challenge is the diverse range of technological approaches being proposed as solutions, all of which have drastically different effects on how government, industry and society is impacted. In this presentation leading robotics researcher Michael Milford will provide an overview of leading approaches and the likely impact they will have on the industry, and on automotive marketing.