Brand analysis at the Paris Motor Show

Analysis released by Kantar Media's automotive evaluation team following the Paris Motor Show 2012 shows that Peugeot was the most discussed manufacturer around the event. It overtook Volkswagen, which held the top position at the Geneva Motor Show in March this year. Peugeot was referenced in 6 percent of social media and 6.3 percent of online news, compared to Volkswagen, which scored 4.9 percent in social media and 6.1 percent in online news. 

Peugeot discussions centred round its Le Mans-inspired Onyx Concept, its new 208 GTI/XY Concept and its fluorescent yellow 2008 Concept. However, the unveiling of the VW Golf MkVII and GTI Concept made the Golf the single most talked about vehicle at the show across all online sources.

Exhibiting at the major motor shows is only one part of the equation; how brands communicate their offerings is also critical. They need to know how well their message has been received by consumers, which requires almost real-time monitoring of social media, consumer discussion groups, online news sites and other media that influence consumer opinion. It's interesting to see Peugeot taking the lead from Volkswagen, potentially benefiting from a 'home' event. At the same time, the VW Golf proved its enduring appeal.

Kantar Media analysed 80,000 online news articles about the show between 5th September and 10th October. Its social media analysis monitored 190,000 discussions and blog posts on blogs, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Research was across English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian websites and looked for references to the Paris Motor Show in the text to ensure the results were show-specific.

You can read more on the Automotive News Europe website.