To scrap or not to scrap – scrappage scheme creates online buzz
Whitevector’s latest research piece looks at how car brand manufacturers and their agencies can benefit from analysing online discussions…
Since mid-May, UK car owners have been given the opportunity to trade in their more than ten year old cars with the help of the Government; consumers have been offered £2000 in the trade towards a brand new car. Due to the considerable popularity of the benefit, a further £100 million in addition to the initial £300 million were allocated to extend the so called ‘scrappage scheme’ to cover 400,000 cars and vans. The scheme has received positive feedback from both the motor industry and consumers.
An analysis of online discussions around the broad topic of the scrappage scheme indicates that online too the interest has been considerable. The discussions peaked right away at week 17, which was the week the scheme was formally approved. During that week, most of the discussions concerned general political issues; people discussed whether or not the scheme would benefit the British economy and employment, whether UK tax payers would only be supporting foreign car manufacturers, and if it is environmentally justifiable to scrap ten year old cars. Overall, the tone of the discussion was quite negative and those taking part were rather pessimistic about the success of the scheme.
The second peak in the discussions took place at week 21, which was the actual launch week of the scheme. The political debate continued and discussions around the car manufacturers’ involvement in the scheme occurred. According to Whitevector’s Chat Reports service, there were almost 180 discussions about the scheme in UK based online discussion forums during that week.
After the launch week, the scrappage scheme continued to raise a quite surprisingly high level of interest amongst online consumers. There were 80-150 weekly discussions about the topic in the studied online sources. During this time, the discussion topics naturally varied but when compared with the situation in the beginning, there were more pragmatic discussions about those situations in which the offered benefit should be used and which cars and models were best suited for it.
Discussion Trend report shows the development of the discussions about the scrappage scheme. Overall, there have about 3500 discussions about it in UK based discussion forums since last April. (Source: Whitevector)
When it comes to the cars mentioned in the discussions, Ford was a clear winner. From the beginning of April to the present, there have been approximately 900 discussions about Ford and the scrappage scheme. After Ford, the most discussed brands related to the programme were Vauxhall, BMW, and Toyota. The fact that Ford was clearly the most discussed brand might be due to Ford’s sales campaign – Ford offered consumers £3000 discount when trading to a new Ford. Thus, it seems that Ford’s “Scrappage Plus” campaign made people consider trading their old cars for a new Ford.
Discussion Coverage report indicates that Ford was the most discussed car brand in relation to the scrappage scheme. (Source: Whitevector)
Overall, it seems that there have been two kinds of discussions within the scrappage scheme topic: on the one hand people have debated the political impact of the scheme, and on the other hand consumers have sought answers to whether they should trade in their old car in order to exploit the £2000 discount. The discussions have clearly had an important supporting role in consumers’ decision making process; a governmental initiative might not be a very easy thing to digest and, thus, online discussions enable consumers to ask their peers how they should act in the situation. By analysing the discussions, car brand manufacturers and their agencies can start to understand which questions are at the forefront of consumers’ minds when it comes to the concept and practicalities of the scheme, and what are the deciding buying criteria when choosing to trade up to a new car.