And the Oscar goes to . . . Hyundai?
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
“Slumdog Millionaire” wasn’t the only underdog to score big at the Academy Awards last night.
South Korean automaker Hyundai, which took over this year from General Motors as the award show’s auto sponsor, is seeing a significant jump in interest among visitors to Edmunds.com, the Santa Monica-based online vehicle information site.
Visits to Hyundai pages on Edmunds.com are up 27% compared with the same period last week, and traffic to pages featuring the Genesis — the upscale sedan featured in one of the ads — are up 86%. Hyundai said traffic on its own website doubled Sunday compared with the previous weekend. (German automaker Audi also got a boost from its Oscar ads, Edmunds.com reported, with traffic up 26%.)
Hyundai, known for its emphasis on value, hasn’t exactly had a high profile in the U.S. market. Indeed, one of its ads even makes a point of making sure car buyers know how to pronounce its name (rhymes with “Sunday”).
But that’s beginning to change as the economy tanks and low-priced cars gain in popularity. In January, Hyundai was one of only three car companies — along with Kia and Subaru — that notched a year-over-year sales gain.
Granted, by the time Oscar day rolled around, “Slumdog” was an odds-on favorite to win. But it wasn’t so long ago that the film was without a distributor and in danger of going straight to video.
Hyundai upped its Q score dramatically with its Innovative Assurance Plus program, which allows buyers to return a new Hyundai within a year of purchase if they lose their jobs. Hyundai recently sweetened the program by pledging to make payments for 90 days while the owner looks for work.
The automaker, which has been trying to move out of the shadow of the big Japanese automakers and also go after higher-end consumers, also is making a splash with the Genesis, which took “car of the year” honors at the Detroit auto show next month.
“This is proof that when you have a powerful message, television advertising still works,” Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl said....
... The Academy Awards telecast ranks second only to the Super Bowl in terms of advertising exposure, said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University. Hyundai saw similar jumps in online traffic when it ran Super Bowl ads this year touting the Genesis, noted Kelley Blue Book, which runs an automotive site at www.kbb.com.
“On the calendar of advertising events, the two things that stand out are the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards,’ Calkins said. “Any advertiser that wants to make a big impact is going to advertise on the Academy Awards.”
Calkins said the annual Hollywood extravaganza maintains its draw despite falling viewership numbers in recent years. With 36.3 million viewers, last night’s broadcast was up 13% from last year’s show.
Ad rates for the Academy Awards were about half the $3 million advertisers pay for a 30-second Super Bowl spot.
It hasn’t been all good news around Hyundai’s American sales headquarters in Fountain Valley. Automotive News reported today that the company laid off about 8% of its 550 U.S. workers, or close to 50 people. Hyundai declined to comment on the report.
-- Martin Zimmerman
Hyundai