Hyundai, Audi Deliver Oscar-Winning Performances
By Michelle Krebs February 23, 2009
By Michelle Krebs
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Hyundai and Audi delivered a one-two punch with their Super Bowl commercials and now their ads on Sunday night's Academy Awards program.
For both events, both automakers scored a significant boost in Edmunds.com's car-shopping Web site, according to analysis of the ads' impact by the Santa Monica, California, company.
"This is proof that when you have a powerful message, television advertising still works," noted Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver.com.
Oscar-Winning Performances
Since the Academy Award's broadcast, Hyundai pages have received 27 percent more visitors compared with the comparable period during the previous week, while Audi pages have received 26 percent more visitors.
Hyundai advertised its Assurance Plus program. Visitor behavior on Edmunds.com suggests that Hyundai's message was a success, since it earned Hyundai a greater share of traffic on the automotive Web site known for attracting a particularly affluent and well-educated audience.
Last Thursday, Hyundai announced the Hyundai Assurance Plus plan, an expanded version of Hyundai Assurance, which allows Hyundai buyers to return their vehicles if they lose their income due to a job loss or medical condition in the first year of ownership. The Plus program means Hyundai will pay 90 days for the lease or loan during the year. Hyundai adds the 90 days of payment relief to the existing protection plan during Hyundai's Spring Sales Event, which runs from February 23 to April 30.
"The company's Assurance Plus program provides its buyers peace of mind during an uncertain economy, and that is proving to be one of the auto industry's only truly motivating messages right now," said Edmunds.com Senior Traffic Analyst Ray Sibulkin.
Hyundai also promoted its new Genesis model during the Oscars presentation. Edmunds.com site traffic to Genesis pages has since rose a remarkable 86 percent.
"By tracking consumer behavior on our site, we can see that the company's advertising message is clearly resonating with consumers who hadn't previously been considering a Hyundai," said Sibulkin.
Audi featured the 2009 Audi Q5 crossover in its Oscar ads. The all-new vehicle arrived at dealerships earlier this month and is expected to play a significant role in the company's future.
Super Bowl Victory
Both automakers, which scored big in terms of driving increased interest with 2008 NFL Super Bowl ads, had a winning performance on last month's NFL Super Bowl ads as well.
Audi's traffic for its A6 on Edmunds.com jumped 82 percent on Super Bowl Sunday compared with the previous four Sundays. As happened in 2008 with the highly successful Audi R8 "Godfather" ad, the A6 ad had a hallow effect on other Audi vehicles. Shopping consideration for the A8, R8, TTS and A5 saw double-digit increases after the 2009 Super Bowl.
Hyundai's "Angry Bosses" ads, that showed Japanese and German auto executives furious that the Hyundai Genesis had won the 2009 North American Car of the Year award, hit the spot with consumers. Edmunds.com's traffic for the Hyundai Genesis rose 39 percent after the Super Bowl. However, Hyundai did not enjoy the halo effect that Audi did.
Honda advertised the Accord and got a 10 percent increase in traffic. That's no easy feat since the Accord regularly scores among the top three vehicles for shopping activity. A 10 percent increase represents a large number of incremental shoppers.
Toyota, meantime, saw no measurable increase in traffic for its Super Bowl spots for the Toyota Venza and Toyota Tundra. Likewise, Toyota saw no lift from its Toyota Corolla ads last year, according to Edmunds.com's analysis.
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