Automakers See Spike on Edmunds.com in Wake of Super Bowl Ads

Feb. 3, 2015

Feb. 3, 2015—Mercedes-Benz and BMW saw the most significant spikes in traffic on Edmunds.com after their respective ads ran during Super Bowl XLIX, according to analysis by the car-shopping website.

By the end of the game, the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT had the biggest cumulative spike in traffic, with a 2,189 percent jump over previous Sunday averages on Edmunds.com. The BMW i3 captured the second-most buzz on the website; its cumulative traffic climbed 583 percent.

"Even though these two advertised vehicles are likely to be sold in small volume to niche audiences, the BMW and Mercedes brands will enjoy the overall buzz they have generated, especially as both continue their efforts to grow their overall reach into new car shopper segments," Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwel said in a release. "Both brands will be quite happy that the millions of dollars they invested had the desired effect."

Edmunds.com also tracked the immediate traffic lifts enjoyed by Super Bowl advertisers as and after their commercials ran:

  • Chevrolet sponsored the pre-game show and showed four Colorado ads; site traffic to Colorado pages increased 25 percent during the pregame and 1,104 percent during the first quarter of the game

  • During the third quarter of the game, Dodge Challenger ads lifted its traffic on Edmunds 232 percent

  • Fiat 500x increased 3,981 percent in the moments following its second quarter ads; interest remained high in the third quarter, delivering a 986 percent lift for the vehicle

  • Jeep Renegade was advertised in the third quarter of the game and traffic to its pages immediately increased 1,031 percent; during fourth quarter the increase was 5,720 percent

  • Kia Sorento traffic increased 213 percent immediately following its third quarter ad

  • Lexus NX's second quarter ad generated an increase of 341 percent. The brand did even better immediately after its RC 350 ad ran in the third quarter, increasing vehicle's page traffic on Edmunds 5,702 percent. The RC continued to enjoy success in the fourth quarter with a 690 percent lift in traffic to its pages on Edmunds.com

  • MINI sponsored an early part of the pre-game show and showed five ads; site traffic to MINI Cooper increased 48 percent during that period

  • Nissan brand consideration increased 90 percent immediately following its second quarter ad

  • In the moments following its halftime ad, Toyota Camry site traffic increased 364 percent

Edmunds.com analysts noted especially strong activity at halftime for vehicles that advertised earlier during the Super Bowl:

  • Fiat 500x increased 14,627 percent

  • BMW i3 increased 1,807 percent

  • BMW i8 increased 501 percent

  • Chevrolet Colorado increased 421 percent

  • MINI Cooper increased 258 percent

Edmunds.com's Super Bowl traffic analysis is based on mobile and desktop traffic to make and model pages on Edmunds.com. Lifts are determined by comparing against average Sunday traffic levels on the site.

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