Most auto advertisers increased share post game.
Super Bowl advertising is claimed to be efficient because the average automotive advertiser achieving a projected 2.4% increase in retail market share. Auto brands that advertised during the game gained a combined 0.9 percentage point of retail share compared to those that did not.
The cost of airing a 30-second spot during this year’s game was as much as $4.5 million, according to AdAge. Even at that level, Super Bowl campaigns can be efficient.
The claim comes from TrueCar’s comparison of new vehicle order-generation activity in the week following the Super Bowl with a similar week of the prior month. It found that most auto advertisers got a retail share lift after the game. Nissan led with 0.4 percentage point of projected incremental retail share, for a total increase of 4.6%. Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Jeep also did well, with gains of 0.3, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage point and 5.9%, 5.6% and 2.9% increases in share.
“Isolating the incremental sales associated with Super Bowl advertising reveals that the game can be a really effective marketing channel,” said John Krafcik, president of TrueCar. “The marginal unit economics of the auto industry are such that automakers are willing to pay a surprisingly high price tag for incremental sales.”
