Big Game Auto Commercials Drive Spike in Traffic to Cars.com

Following the Big Game on Sunday, February 5, featuring commercials from nine automakers, Cars.com analyzed site traffic to determine how TV advertising translated to online activity. Auto brands with commercials during the game averaged 7 percent lift to their brand pages on Cars.com and a 238 percent lift to pages of specific models on Cars.com advertised during the game.

“Advertisers spent upwards of five million dollars 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,” said David Greene, Cars.com data strategy manager. “Cars.com is a trusted platform that consumers already use during every stage of their car shopping process, so it came as no surprise that consumers engaged with brands on Cars.com right after seeing the commercials.”

In the eight minutes following their commercial, visits to Alfa Romeo pages on Cars.com saw a staggering 1,179 percent increase in comparison to the same time period prior to the airing of their spot, a sign that their Big Game ad was highly impactful.

When compared to Cars.com traffic over the four prior Sundays, automotive brands who advertised during the Big Game saw the following lifts to their advertised model pages:

·       Alfa Romeo Giulia – 7,320 percent

·       Audi S5 – 1,391 percent

·       Buick Cascada – 424 percent

·       Buick Encore – 59 percent

·       Honda CR-V – 35 percent

·       Kia Niro – 497 percent

·       Lexus LC 500 – 861 percent

·       Lexus LS 460 – 888 percent

·       Mercedes-Benz AMG GT – 910 percent 

“During the game, nearly 60 percent of visits to Cars.com came from mobile devices,” said Greene. “Because of the sheer audience size, the Big Game continues to be an effective advertising method, however, when paired with online digital support, the impact is even greater. On mobile alone, there was a 1,074 percent increase to brand model pages advertised during the game.”

Data was collected in real-time by comparing Cars.com site visits on Game Day to averages of the four prior Sundays.

Data Source: Cars.com internal data