Chrysler Uses Online Ads to Launch Journey

Chrysler is backing the launch of the 2009 Dodge Journey with Dodge's largest digital ad push yet. About a quarter of Dodge's entire online budget will be spent on the new crossover.

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Ads for the Journey will appear on sites like AOL, Yahoo, MSN, HGTV.com, Univision.com and other sports and entertainment sites. Television will still play a major role in the ad campaign, though. About 54-percent of Dodge's ad spending for the Journey's launch will focus on commercials to build brand awareness.

More on the Dodge Journey Campaign:

Mark Spencer, Dodge's senior manager of communications, tells AdAge.com that the Journey's total ad budget is similar to the 2007 campaign for the launch of the Nitro. TNS Media Intelligence reports Dodge spent $35 million on measured media for the Nitro in the first quarter of 2007.

The target audience for the Journey's campaign is young singles, baby boomers, older people looking to downsize from large SUVs and parents of small children making the transition from cars to a vehicle with more space. Spencer says Dodge is expecting about 70-percent of the Journey's buyers to have no prior experience with Chrysler.