Dataium: Game Day Ads Drive Dealer Website Traffic
Maserati, Jeep and Jaguar dealer websites experienced increases in online shopping activity following the Super Bowl.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Dataium released its Game Day Auto Ad Review, an analysis of online shopping activity on dealership websites before, during and after the Super Bowl. It showed that import luxury brands scored big during America’s biggest sporting event.
Popular brands from around the globe spent millions of dollars on commercial advertisements during the game, in hopes of driving consumers into their showrooms to buy their vehicles. Dataium's online shopping analysis took a look at how consumers responded.
"Everyone loves entertaining ads on game day, but the relationship between commercial views and online shopping activities is tenuous at best," said Joe Burns, director of business intelligence at Dataium. "Advertising spend doesn't necessarily equate to customer engagement at the dealer level, and engagement is one of the most important measurements of successful marketing to internet-savvy shoppers. While these ads attracted plenty of views during the single most-watched sporting event of the year, only a few brands were able to turn views into major increases in online shopping activity."
Import luxury brands had their sights set on winning over more shoppers, and ad buys from unexpected brands drove online shoppers to dealer sites. The Maserati Ghibli stole the show with an impressive ad in the beginning of the game, with visitor traffic to Maserati dealer websites up 122% on the Monday after game day compared to the previous week. Additionally, the number of visitors viewing the Ghibli online increased 193%.
Jaguar also experienced a major uptick in online traffic after their "British Villains" advertisement for the new F-Type coupe. Traffic to Jaguar dealer websites increased 16% from the previous week. Additionally, 44% more visitors viewed the F-Type online the Monday following game day vs. the week before.
Detroit invested heavily in game day advertisements: Chrysler, Ford and General Motors all ran multiple ads throughout the big game, with Jeep and Chrysler also acting as halftime and post-game sponsors for the event. Compared to the week before, traffic was up on Chrysler dealership websites by 9.7% on the Monday after their controversial ad spot featuring Bob Dylan.
Jeep closed out 2013 with impressive gains and new model releases, and although it reinforced this with their "Restless" ad campaign, online shopping to Jeep dealership websites was down 3.5% from the previous week.
Ford doubled-down with it "Nearly Double" ads touting their fuel-efficient product line, but online traffic to Ford dealership sites declined from the previous week by 4.5%.
Originally posted on F&I and Showroom
More Dealer Ops

Ladies and Gentlemen, This Is a Dealership: Why the Fundamentals Still Decide Who Wins
A teaching moment by a legendary football coach happens to apply perfectly in the auto retail space. Learn what it is and how to use it to your store’s advantage.
Read More →
Timing the Market Can Hurt Long-Term Program Performance
For dealer-owned reinsurance entities, avoiding volatility entirely can mean falling behind inflation and missing market rebounds that drive long term surplus growth. Missing just a handful of strong market days can materially impact cumulative returns—an important reminder for long horizon trust and investment strategies.
Read More →
Dealer Ads and the FTC
The agency has made it clear in recent enforcement actions and warnings, in auto retail and other industries, that advertised prices must include all nonoptional costs to the consumer.
Read More →
Used Autos Supply Dwindles
The March shopping surge, despite high prices, cut into inventory by the most since the thick of the pandemic, Cox Automotive analysts calculated.
Read More →
Managing Risk Effectively Through Changing Times
The variables influencing risk pricing have changed significantly over the past five years. Being proactive and responsive to emerging trends is not optional but essential.
Read More →
Survey Reveals What Won't Fix What's Breaking Car Sales
AutoPayPlus says extra-long auto loans are trapping consumers and threatening the dealer trade-in cycle, and that the industry is leveraging the wrong tools to combat high MSRPs.
Read More →
IA American Appoints Two Execs
Senior vice presidents of the company's agent and dealer channels chosen to support general agents and help auto dealers with sales and performance.
Read More →
Cox Automotive Acquires Inspection Firm
Full ownership of Alliance Inspection Management, or AiM, meant to unlock growth for Manheim inspection capabilities
Read More →
Assurant Expands Partnership With Holman
Extended collaboration delivers training, products and performance development to 30 newly acquired Holman dealerships
Read More →
Franchises, Throughput Down in First Half
A handful of states see franchise growth through June, while EV sales per store boost overall business in U.S.
Read More →