1. Demand already existed. Marketing determined where it went.

~63% baseline demand and macroeconomic influence
~37% marketing-driven lift

Australia’s growing interest in electric vehicles created strong underlying category demand. But that demand was not automatically captured by BYD.

Marketing activity influenced more than 37% of total test drives, shaping which brand consumers chose and accelerating when they acted.

Without media investment, demand for EVs would still exist. But conversion would happen more slowly, less efficiently, and more often in favour of competitors.

The analysis showed that marketing was not simply generating awareness. It was directing demand inside an already active market.

2. High-reach media created disproportionate impact

Television, premium video and outdoor delivered the largest contribution to demand creation across the portfolio.

These channels built familiarity and legitimacy at scale, reinforcing BYD’s presence long before a consumer reached the point of active consideration.

Radio delivered approximately 3× more demand contribution than its share of spend, generating meaningful incremental demand despite receiving a comparatively smaller portion of the budget.

The findings reinforced a core principle often missed in platform reporting: channels that create demand are not always the same channels that capture it.

3. Search performance depended on brand activity

Paid search captured significant volumes of active intent, particularly during periods of elevated EV interest.

But search efficiency was not independent.

Performance weakened materially during periods where broader brand activity was reduced, increasing acquisition costs and lowering conversion efficiency.

Search was functioning downstream of brand investment, not separately from it.

Consumers were not simply “searching for EVs.” They were searching for brands they already knew, trusted and had mentally shortlisted through broader media exposure.