General Motors will resume its advertising relationship with Facebook, reverting its decision one year ago to cease ties with the social networking giant.
Industry Journal Automotive News reports that GM and Facebook are back on positive terms, with Chevrolet testing a number of mobile advertising solutions that include Facebook, as part of a new US advertising campaign.
The US carmaker pulled all advertising on Facebook in May 2012 – three days before Facebook was to be listed on the NASDAQ stock market – after being unconvinced by the effectiveness of its Facebook advertising campaign on consumer vehicle purchases.
Head of US marketing for Chevrolet, Chris Perry, told Automotive News, “Today, Chevrolet is launching an industry-first, ‘mobile-only’ pilot campaign for the Chevrolet Sonic that utilises newly available targeting and measurement capabilities on Facebook.”
According to the social networking site, “Facebook enables advertisers to reach more than one billion people with ads that are relevant, engaging and have social context.”
In 2011, GM is thought to have spent about US$10 million ($9.5 million) of its US$1.8 billion ($1.72 billion) advertising budget on advertising on Facebook.
GM’s marketing chief at the time, Joel Ewanick, last year told the Wall Street Journal that the company was definitely reassessing its advertising on Facebook, but that the brand’s free Facebook page was still effective and important content.
Ewanick was sacked as GM’s head of global marketing in July 2012, reportedly over a controversial deal that will see Chevrolet sponsor English soccer team Manchester United into the next decade.
