General Motors is returning to Facebook after a high profile decision to pull its $10m per year social media ad budget last year.
The car maker dropped its ads from the social media giant in May 2012, just days before Facebook’s initial public offering, claiming the format was not effective and did not justify the $10 million per year it was spending.
However, this week, Chris Perry US marketing chief at Chevrolet (a GM brand) said the firm is introducing mobile-only Facebook ads for the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact car.
Speaking to marketing magazine AdAge, Perry didn’t reveal any details about the ads or say how much GM is spending. But he said GM is using new methods to target the ads and measure their effectiveness.
“Today, Chevrolet is launching an industry-first, ‘mobile-only’ pilot campaign for the Chevrolet Sonic that utilizes newly available targeting and measurement capabilities on Facebook,” Perry told AdAge.
The return to the social network has taken a while. Former CMO Joel Ewanick – key to the decision to stop advertising on Facebook – was fired back in July 2012 after a row about a Manchester United sponsorship deal.
Before the split with Facebook, GM is said to have asked in a meeting if the car firm could run bigger, higher-impact ads than what was on offer. It didn’t happen.
Facebook recently boosted its ability to track the impact of ads with the purchase of Atlas, a set of online marketing tools. Microsoft sold Atlas to Facebook at the end of February.
Facebook said in a statement, “We’ve had an ongoing dialogue with GM over the last 12 months and are pleased to have them back as an advertiser on Facebook. “We look forward to working even more closely with GM in the coming weeks and months.”
