• by Tanya Gazdik , August 6, 2023

Automakers spent an estimated $90.2 million on national TV in July, down 3.8% compared to $93.7 million in July 2022.

Impressions, at 27.0 billion, were up 14.5% for the month compared to 24.4 billion a year ago, per iSpot.tv.

The top five brands by estimated national TV spending were Subaru ($11.6 million), Chevrolet ($9.8 million), Kia ($7.7 million), Ram Trucks ($6.7 million) and Lexus ($6.5 million).

Subaru upped its estimated July national TV ad spend by 20.3% year-over-year, with an increase during morning shows including Good Morning America (+236.1%) and Today (+93.6%) compared to July 2022. 

Chevrolet also spent more this year (+32.3%) compared to July 2022, with a 47 times year-over-year increase in estimated spend during House Hunters. The brand also aired ads during the Open Championship golf tournament this year (after not doing so last year).

Automakers continue to align ad creatives with the summer season, highlighting how the latest vehicles are made for warm weather plans, says Stuart Schwartzapfel, EVP, media partnerships at iSpot. 

“While live sports provided opportunities for broad consumer ad reach in July, the bigger story was how many automakers invested more in news, informational and reality programming – offering a possible sign of what we’ll see this fall should entertainment work stoppages continue,” Schwartzapfel tells Marketing Daily. 

The top five brands by share of automaker household TV ad impressions in July were Chevrolet (11.20%), Subaru (7.93%), Toyota, (7.81%), Lexus (6.65%) and  Nissan (6.53%).

The biggest estimated spending increases among top 15 brands by spend for the month vs. a year ago were Alfa Romeo (new vs. July 2022) with estimated spending for July 2023 of $4.0 million. Other increases were Acura (+983.9%), Ram Trucks (+57.1%), Volkswagen (+51.3%) and Chevrolet (+32.3%), per iSpot.tv.

Alfa Romeo continued its summer 2023 spending spree into July (the automaker did not air ads in June or July 2022), with the entirety of its $4 million outlay directed toward a spot promoting the Tonale vehicle. The brand focused significant portions of spend across cable networks AMC (12.5% of its total outlay) and HGTV (10.7%). 

Much of Acrua’s increase in outlay was fueled by SportsCenter, which comprised 13% of the automaker’s estimated spend in July 2023 (the brand did not air ads during that program in July 2022). Acura also increased its investment in reality programming in July by 34x year-over-year. 

Volkswagen, meanwhile, leaned on soccer: 25% of the automaker’s total July 2023 national TV ad spend went toward soccer tournaments – including the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, representing a 427% year-over-year increase in spend on the sport, per iSpot.tv.

The top programs for automakers by share of household TV ad impressions in July 2023 were  PGA Tour Golf (1.57%), SportsCenter (1.01%), MLB (0.86%), House Hunters (0.71%) and Today (0.57%),

In July, automakers more than doubled national TV ad impressions across SportsCenter year-over-year and had a 48.8% increase in impressions during the Open Championship (part of the PGA Tour Golf total above) compared to last July. 

Even more notable is the industry’s 314.3% year-over-year increase in impressions during House Hunters on HGTV. Automaker ad impressions during the Wimbledon Championships also climbed 92.2% vs. July 2022. 

The top networks for automakers by share of household TV ad impressions in July 2023 were NBC (3.23%), HGTV (2.34%), ABC (2.08%), Univision (1.85%) and CBS (1.81%), per iSpot.tv.

The most-seen automaker ads by share of household TV ad impressions for the month was Ram Trucks: Opportunity (3.11%), Alfa Romeo: Our Heritage (2.45%), Kia: Bird’s Eye View (2.17%), Chevrolet: Blazer EV and Barbie (2.07%)  and Chevrolet: Stay Connected, Safe and Charged (2.04%), per iSpot.tv.