Super Bowl Increases Porsche, Audi, Kia, Hyundai, Jeep & Toyota Interest as much as 16468%

The Super Bowl does get a lot of attention and their ads spike interest on automotive search sites.

Cars.com saw and increase of up to 16468%. Edmunds reports that the Kia Seltos was the big winner.

Cars.com Data

The Big Game last night drove an influx of car shoppers to Cars.com as online traffic spiked following TV advertising spots from featured automakers. Auto brands have traditionally taken advantage of the ultimate marketing platform that the Big Game provides, and viewers responded in kind. Commercials from eight automakers that aired during the game led to immediate boosts in Cars.com traffic, signaling shoppers’ desire for a trusted and independent source of automotive tools and information.

The results indicate an average 1646% lift to pages of the specific car makes and models, as well as an average 554% lift in automakers’ pages on the digital marketplace. Audi, GMC, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and Porsche all aired spots during the football championship game.

Advertisers invest millions of dollars in the Big Game every year, and the Cars.com traffic lift showcases the power of their investment.

“The Big Game produces big responses on Cars.com,” said Brooke Skinner Ricketts, chief experience officer for Cars.com. “Watching the game isn’t a static experience as millions of viewers now use multiple screens to experience the spectacle, which makes it possible for them to react to a marketing message immediately. Shoppers flock to Cars.com after automaker commercials to explore vehicles, read reviews and find a local dealer in their area. We’re a trusted source of information in the car-shopping experience.”

Cars.com analyzed site traffic to advertised car model pages during a 16-minute window for each televised ad — eight minutes before each spot aired and again eight minutes after. Genesis had an astonishing 5530% increase to its pages. Additionally, each of the other brands’ pages increased, as well:

• Porsche – 1072%
• Hyundai  – 961%
• Audi – 639%
• Kia – 553%
• Jeep – 336%
• Toyota – 238%

GMC teased the much anticipated new Hummer EV, which is not yet available for purchase, but the company’s Big Game commercial did generate interest in previously released Hummer models.  Cars.com saw a lift of 479% to used Hummer pages, and a 26% lift to new GMC pages on Cars.com, in the 8 minutes after the Hummer EV commercial aired.

Data Source: Cars.com internal data

Edmunds Data

Although the big game might have had one of the most nail-biting fourth quarters in recent memory, automakers who used the event to drive curiosity for new models and features almost guaranteed an immediate victory in terms of generating the most attention of car shoppers on Edmunds. 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.

Kia’s “Tough Never Quits” ad promoting the Seltos proved to be the most successful ad of the night, driving traffic up by 147,969%  to its pages on Edmunds during the game. Porsche’s “The Chase” promoting the Taycan drove traffic up by 40,830% during the game, and traffic to the Audi e-tron was up by 24,122% thanks to the automaker’s “Let it Go” advertisement. On the brand side, Genesis garnered the most interest, with traffic up by 182,343% during the game as a result of its “Going Away Party” advertisement. GMC came in second, generating a 9,408% lift in traffic during the game thanks to the automaker’s “First Ever GMC Hummer EV” advertisement.

“Ads featuring new, attractive vehicles or lesser-known brands generally tend to pique the most curiosity from car shoppers during the big game, and this year is no different,” said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds. “It’s encouraging to see more automaker commercials during the big game this year than we have in years past: the fact that there are so many exciting and innovative new products hitting the market is a great sign of what’s to come for the industry in 2020 and beyond.”

Edmunds data shows that the Jeep Gladiator and Hyundai Sonata also saw significant lifts in traffic on Edmunds as a result of Jeep’s “Groundhog Day” and Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk” advertisements during the game, generating a 9,467% and a 6,982% lift, respectively.

“The Gladiator and Sonata have both been on the market, so while they didn’t generate quite the same interest as newer models, the fact that they still drove pretty decent spikes in traffic on Edmunds are a testament to the humor and creativity of the advertisements,” said Caldwell. “In the case of the Sonata, Hyundai made a particularly smart move in highlighting a lesser-known, flashy autonomous feature like Smart Park to grab shoppers’ attention.”

Brands With the Highest Lifts in Traffic on Edmunds During the Game

Models With The Highest Lifts in Traffic on Edmunds During the Game