Following a heavy-hitting lineup of commercials touting Hyundai ’s strong new product line during the Super Bowl, Hyundai says it will now launch a similarly priced media campaign during the highly viewed Academy Awards.
Hyundai dropped a cool $20 million and change for its Superbowl commercials, and according to Hyundai’s marketing vice president, Joel Ewanick, the investment produced results.
“Our web traffic since Super Bowl is higher than it was during Cash for Clunkers which went for 40 to 50 days,” said Ewanick.
Following the success of the Super Bowl ad campaign, Hyundai says during the Academy Awards it will now run one commercial in the midst of the red carpet walk, followed by another seven during the rest of the evening – each reportedly costing between $2.5 and $2.8 million.
“For the whole evening, it will be about the same cost as for the Super Bowl,” said Ewanick. “We’re very excited.”
Spending over $40 million just to advertise during two shows is a big bet, and a huge expenditure. Hyundai says that it can afford to make these bold moves thanks to the success it enjoyed during the same year that saw massive declines industry-wide. Hyundai is considered to be the only major automaker to report an annualized increase in sales for 2009, with a jump from 3.1 percent total market share to 4.3 percent.
“In 2009, we learned to never let a crisis go to waste,” said John Krafcik, Hyundai U.S. president, paraphrasing White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Ewanick also explained that the increase in web traffic after the 2008 and 2009 Super Bowl ads only lasted for a few days, but for 2010, the traffic has continued to gain momentum well beyond the Super Bowl. Additionally, Ewanick said that purchase indicators, such as visitors configuring vehicles or requesting a quote and/or test drive are up 250 percent, compared to the same time last year.
“Between the Super Bowl and Academy Awards, we are seeing our strategy unfold,” he said. “This is a significant change in the way Americans are looking at Hyundai.”
Those familiar with Hyundai’s television ads likely recognize actor Jeff Bridges’ voice as a common theme, but due to Bridges’ nomination for ‘Crazy Heart,’ Hyundai will be using four new men and three women for their seven unique commercials – including Kim Bassinger, Richard Dreyfuss and Martin Sheen.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences mandate that if an actor is part of the show, he or she cannot appear in commercials run during the show.
References
1. ‘Oscar telecast cleans up…’ view
2. ‘With Bridges’ voice silenc…’ view
3. ‘Oscar telecast cleans up…’ view
