Super Bowl Auto Advertisers Score Big Time

The big-ticket investment for nine automakers with Super Bowl ads paid off, according to Internet traffic tracking by online automotive websites Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Dealer.com and Cars.com.

Dealer.com, which operates more than 60% of dealership websites across the U.S, reports an 83% spike in total visits across dealership websites after a specific OEM advertisement ran during the football championship Sunday night.

Quality visits (from visitors with a strong intent to purchase) saw a 127% jump. Vehicle detail page views rose by 63% on Sunday night, according to data correlations from Dealer.com’s nGauge by Pixal.

Autotrader says the following brands saw the highest search traffic increases on its website following ads:

1. Lexus LC500 (+4,700%)

2. Buick Cascada (+4,175%)

3. Alfa Romeo Giulia (+2,628%)

4. Kia Niro (+789%)

5. Mercedes-Benz AMG GT (+673%)

6. Audi S5 (+236%)

7. Buck Encore (+112%)

8. Honda CR-V (+50%)

9. Lexus LS Models (+35%)

Kelley Blue Book reports these makes and models saw lifts in new-car visits thanks to OEM advertisements during the big game:

1. Alfa Romeo Giulia (5,000%)

2. Buick Cascada (1,371%)

3. Mercedes-Benz AMG GT (900%)

4. Kia Niro (488%)

5. Lexus LS Models (413%)

6. Audi S5 (182%)

7. Honda CR-V (41%)

8. Buick encore (40%)

“The Super Bowl remains a highly visible and prominent platform for automakers to effectively reach consumers, ” says Rick Wainschel, vice president-customer analytics and insights for Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book.

Cars.com analyzed its site traffic to determine how TV advertising translated to online activity.

Auto brands with commercials during the game averaged a 7% lift to their brand pages on Cars.com and a 238% lift to pages of specific models on Cars.com advertised during the game.

“Advertisers spent upwards of $5 million for a 30-second commercial during this year’s game, and the resulting boost in traffic to Cars.com demonstrates the power of this significant investment,” says David Greene, Cars.com data strategy manager.

In the eight minutes following their commercial, visits to Alfa Romeo pages on Cars.com saw a staggering 1,179% increase compared with the same time period prior to the airing of their spot.

Compared with Cars.com traffic over the four prior Sundays, automotive brands that advertised during the Super Bowl saw the following lifts to their advertised model pages:

Alfa Romeo Giulia – 7,320%

Audi S5 – 1,391%

Buick Cascada – 424%

Buick Encore – 59%

Honda CR-V – 35%

Kia Niro – 497%

Lexus LC 500 – 861%

Lexus LS 460 – 888%

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT – 910%

During the game, nearly 60% of visits to Cars.com came from mobile devices, Greene says.