People buy automobiles after doing research for a considerable amount of time. Time being at a premium these days, they often use the net on their Mobile phones to search for information. Advertising by auto companies must factor this trend in their media planning to reach their potential customers who are likely to be most receptive to their message.

Nielsen data from October 2010 reveals that the US mobile web audience has increased to over 88 million from 67 million in December 2009. Smartphone users have been especially active in accessing the net from their phones. 13 of the top 20 mobile phones in November 2010 were Smartphones, according to Millennial Media’s Mobile Mix report for November 2010.

The rise of Smartphones is due in part to the advertisers’ ability to develop targeted and specific Rich Media for these handsets. A doubling of the proportion of Expanded Rich Media in the Campaign Destination Mix from 3% to 6% shows that auto advertisers, like entertainment brands, are not tweaking Internet creatives for the mobile. They are designing customized rich media elements for their campaigns for the mobile (Millennial Media’s S.M.A.R.T Report, June 2010).

Millennial Media’s S.M.A.R.T. report for October 2010 reveals that auto in-market intenders access mobile content between one to three times each month as they research new car purchases. This led to auto apps entering the top ten mobile application categories for the first time in October.

Advertisers in the auto vertical leveraged the Store Locator/View Map in possible post-click campaign actions to increase footfall in their brick-and-mortar outlets, according to Millennial Media’s S.M.A.R.T Report for July 2010.

Lenco Mobile is a mobile solutions and technology group with an international presence. It can help auto manufacturers develop customized campaigns for mobiles. Besides using MMS and SMS to communicate targeted messages, Lenco Mobile’s specific tactics for lead generation using mobi sites and apps can increase auto sales or assist auto manufacturers in research, pricing, customer service, and retention.