Cadillac’s traffic data surged on major third-party shopping sites Autotrader, Cars.com and Kelley Blue Book after the spots aired.
The brand saw a 30 percent lift in searches on Autotrader after GM’s “No Way Norway” ran. Cadillac saw an even bigger lift of 67 percent on the site after the Scissorhands spot ran in the fourth quarter. On Kelley Blue Book, traffic to Cadillac’s new-vehicle pages rose 103 percent. Cadillac traffic on Cars.com leaped 194 percent.
Cars.com said it analyzed site traffic patterns to advertised vehicle model pages during the eight minutes before each spot aired and again eight minutes after. The lift percentages for Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader are calculated by looking at the shopping activity an hour before the game vs. an hour after the ads ran.
On Cars.com, GM’s focus on electric vehicles had another side effect: It lifted total EV searches on the site. The Will Ferrell spot ignited a 77 percent increase in EV searches on Cars.com.
Hummer searches also saw a bounce after the electric version appeared in GM’s ad with “Saturday Night Live” actor Kenan Thompson and actress Awkwafina. But the Hummer EV isn’t out yet, so the gasoline-powered Hummer models of yesteryear got a bump. Searches for used Hummers jumped 41 percent on Cars.com.
GMC experienced a 39 percent bounce in new-vehicle page views on the Kelley Blue Book site.
The traffic gains weren’t limited to GM. Jeep’s spot, which starred iconic musician Bruce Springsteen, and Toyota’s ad that centered on Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long also garnered attention.
Jeep’s call for unity, “The Middle,” led to a 93 percent traffic spike for Jeep brand pages on Cars.com. Autotrader searches for Jeep increased 36 percent, while the brand saw an 11 percent rise on new-vehicle pages on Kelley Blue Book.
Toyota searches on Autotrader were up 18 percent Sunday night after its ad aired.
Krim thought Toyota, a sponsor of the Olympics and Paralympics, made a smart move to focus on its partnerships while it’s between vehicle launches.
“For a company like Toyota, they don’t need it to be an immediate payoff,” Krim said. “The reach, the attention and engagement are all super strong in this environment.”
