automotive

Lexus, Kia, Alfa Romeo Big Auto Winners In Super Bowl

Automakers that used the Super Bowl to drive curiosity for new models achieved the greatest success. The final numbers are in — and Lexus, Kia and Alfa Romeo were the big winners of the Super Bowl auto ad game, according to Edmunds, a car shopping and information platform.

Edmunds analysts tracked traffic to brand and model pages on both its desktop and mobile sites during the game to see which automotive ads were most successful in driving immediate shopper interest. Percentage lifts are compared to average Sunday traffic levels on Edmunds.

The company looked at lifts during the entire duration of the Super Bowl — including pre- and post- game activities — from 11 a.m. PST - 8 p.m. PST.

Lexus, which advertised its LC500, saw a cumulative lift of 1,710%. Kia, whose spot featured actress Melissa McCarthy and focused on the new Niro, experienced an 860% lift and traffic for the Alfa Romeo Giulia was up 802%. 

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On the brand side, Alfa Romeo piqued the most curiosity, with traffic up 785% during the course of the game. Kia was second at 63%, and Mercedes-Benz was third with a 9% traffic lift.

Other auto spots measured were Buick Cascada with a 459% lift, Audi S5 with a 431% lift, Mercedes-Benz AMG GT with 391%, Toyota Mirai with 42%,, Land Rover Range Rover with 11%, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with 5% and Aucra RDX with 4%. 

“Using the Super Bowl to generate awareness for a new brand or product is a tried-and-true advertising tactic, and this year proved it still works,” said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds. “If you think about what it takes for someone to look away from an exciting game or halftime show to go online and research something, odds are it’s because it’s something they’ve never heard of and they’re compelled to find out more. These ads could have been the first time many consumers saw models like the LC or the Niro, and Alfa Romeo is still a very new brand to many in the U.S.”

While not all brands and models that advertised saw a lift in traffic when looking at the data cumulatively for the entire game, many did see immediate spikes during the quarter their ad aired. Traffic to the Honda CR-V rose 6% when their ad aired in the second quarter of the game, and traffic to Honda overall rose 14%.

“It’s harder for the volume brands to show large lifts in traffic because they’re working off of such a high baseline,” Caldwell says. “Even minor gains are a victory, as those small percentage points represent a high number of shoppers expressing interest. Despite the fact that many marketers are shifting their media spend away from traditional TV, the big game still proves to be an effective way for automakers to grab the attention of car shoppers.”

1 comment about "Lexus, Kia, Alfa Romeo Big Auto Winners In Super Bowl".
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  1. Kiara Caldwell from American barcode, February 6, 2017 at 11:40 a.m.

    During the Super Bowl on Sunday February 5th, 2017, automobile companies received a lot of attention! I believe a big part of the customer interest was because the game was not providing a lot of interest until the end of it, when the Patriots stole the game. Companies that participated in advertisements during commercials of the Super Bowl definitely proved to have made a strategic move that will benefit their companies greatly! Lexus, Kia and Alfa Romeo received over 800% of a traffic lift online during the course of the game, according to Edmunds analysts. If companies were worried about the Return on Investment with advertising during the Super Bowl, they should not be concerned! I am interested to see if car dealerships are extremely busy today with interested prospects! The Kia commercial featured famous actress, Melissa McCarthy and did not push the benefits of the Kia, instead it focused on the heroic actions of Melissa McCarthy and left viewers to wonder what made the Kia so extraordinary! The Alfa Romeo commercial had great images, sound and produced an inspirational feel to encourage people to fulfill their dreams by earning them. The Lexus focused on their new selection of vehicles that were inspired by unique individuals. The Lexus received a 1,710% lift on their website most likely because there commercial was the shortest and displayed the cars more than a story. Lexus focused on the luxurious object they were trying to sell rather than connecting emotionally to their audience and I suspect that is why they received the most interest from consumers because the audience of the superbowl is not trying to be touched emotionally. The audience of the super bowl is surrounded by friends and delicious food that was made to impress one another. That should have been taken into consideration with Kia and Alfa Romeo, but they still received a great amount of attention. 

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