automotive

Automotive TV Spending Down 12% Year-Over-Year

The automotive category spent 12.2% less on national TV spending this October compared to a year ago, and impressions were down 5.5%.

Estimated national TV spending by the automakers totaled $274.5 million, down from $312.5 million in October 2021. Impressions totaled 26 billion, compared to 27.5 billion year-ago, according to iSpot.tv.

The top five brands in spending for the month were Toyota ($29.4 million), Hyundai ($26.3 million), Jeep ($23.8 million), Chevrolet ($22.7 million) and Lexus ($20.2 million).

The most-seen automaker ads in October were Chevrolet: EVs for Everyone (4.02%), Subaru: Well Adventured (2.96%), Subaru: National Make A Dog’s Day - Underdogs (2.39%), Dodge: The Real Brotherhood of Muscle (2.38%) and Hyundai: Chewy (2.29%).

advertisement

advertisement

Toyota had a 54% increase in minutes of national TV ads in October 2022 compared to a year ago, putting a greater emphasis on programs like "Bachelor In Paradise" and "SportsCenter" than it had in the past, per iSpot.tv.

Hyundai, on the other hand, put even more focus on sports programming than it did in October 2021. After sports-related programs accounted for over 82% of Hyundai’s estimated national TV ad spend last October, it was about 88% in October 2022 (led by the NFL, at 73% on its own).

The top five brands by share of automaker TV Ad impressions for the month were Toyota (10.44%), Lexus (8.65%), Hyundai (7.60%), Chevrolet (7.60%) and Subaru (7.47%).

The biggest spending increases for the month vs. year-ago were Lexus (+66.4%), Jeep (+65.1%), Mercedes-Benz (+28.5%), Subaru (+20.9%) and Audi (+18.5%), per iSpot.tv.

A large part of Lexus’s increase is fueled by a greater investment in the NFL year-over-year. NFL games accounted for 32.7% of the brand’s spend in October 2022, versus just 7.5% in October 2021. 

The same is true for Jeep, as the brand nearly doubled its spend during NFL games year-over-year, while also putting additional budget toward buys during popular news-related programs like Morning Joe and CBS Mornings. 

“As always, the NFL season is an enormous opportunity for brands – and especially automakers – to present new ads to a large audience,” said Stuart Schwartzapfel, senior vice president, media partnerships at iSpot.tv. “What’s different this year is the World Cup taking place in November and December, which could mean large advertisers are waiting to unveil the newest and most exciting campaigns until that event begins.”

Mercedes-Benz had modest increases in NFL spend, but much more year-over-year on shows like "The Walking Dead."

The top programs for automakers by TV ad impressions share of voice for October  2022 according to iSpot.tv were NFL (13.59%), college football (10.69%), MLB (5.54%), "SportsCenter" (1.18%) and "Law & Order: SVU" (0.96%).

While impressions were relatively static year-over-year for automotive brands during NFL, college football and MLB games, shows like "SportsCenter" (up 23%) and "SVU (up 51%) made larger increases. 

Automakers also had a larger emphasis on TV ad impressions during NBA games year-over-year, as those climbed 37%, moving the NBA from No. 13 to No. 6 by share of automaker impressions.

The top networks by share of automaker TV ad impressions in October were NBC (11.03%), FOX (9.36%), CBS (8.03%), ABC (5.90%) and ESPN (5.21%).

Next story loading loading..