Super Bowl Advertisers Mercedes-Benz and BMW See Biggest Increases in Car Shopper Interest on Edmunds.com

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — February 2, 2015 — Mercedes-Benz and BMW saw the most significant spikes in traffic on Edmunds.com after their ads ran during Super Bowl XLIX, according to a real-time analysis by the car shopping website.

By the end of the game, the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT had the biggest cumulative spike in traffic, with a 2189% jump over previous Sunday averages on Edmunds.com. The BMW i3 captured the second most buzz on Edmunds.com; its cumulative traffic climbed 583%.

"Even though these two advertised vehicles are likely to be sold in small volume to niche audiences, the BMW and Mercedes brands will enjoy the overall buzz they have generated, especially as both continue their efforts to grow their overall reach into new car shopper segments," said Edmunds.com Sr. Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "Both brands will be quite happy that the millions of dollars they invested had the desired effect."

Edmunds.com also tracked the immediate traffic lifts enjoyed by Super Bowl advertisers as and after their commercials ran:

• Chevrolet sponsored the pre-game show and showed four Colorado ads; site traffic to Colorado pages increased 25% during the pregame and 1104% during the first quarter of the game
• During the third quarter of the game, Dodge Challenger ads lifted its traffic on Edmunds 232%
• Fiat 500x increased 3981% in the moments following its second quarter ads; interest remained high in the third quarter, delivering a 986% lift for the vehicle
• Jeep Renegade was advertised in the third quarter of the game and traffic to its pages immediately increased 1031%; during fourth quarter the increase was 5720%
• Kia Sorento traffic increased 213% immediately following its third quarter ad
• Lexus NX's second quarter ad generated an increase of 341%. The brand did even better immediately after its RC 350 ad ran in the third quarter, increasing vehicle's page traffic on Edmunds 5702%. The RC continued to enjoy success in the fourth quarter with a 690% lift in traffic to its pages on Edmunds.com
• MINI sponsored an early part of the pre-game show and showed five ads; site traffic to MINI Cooper increased 48% during that period
• Nissan brand consideration increased 90% immediately following its second quarter ad
• In the moments following its halftime ad, Toyota Camry site traffic increased 364%

Edmunds.com analysts noted especially strong activity at halftime for vehicles that advertised earlierduring the Super Bowl:

• Fiat 500x increased 14627%
• BMW i3 increased 1807%
• BMW i8 increased 501%
• Chevrolet Colorado increased 421%
• MINI Cooper increased 258%

"All the automakers who advertised during the Super Bowl succeeded in getting the attention of car shoppers during this big game, and that's something to celebrate," added Caldwell. "But it's a lot easier to create a big bang than it is to sustain the momentum, and that will be the big challenge for all Super Bowl advertisers moving forward."

Edmunds.com's Super Bowl traffic analysis is based on unique mobile and desktop traffic to make and model pages on Edmunds.com. Lifts are determined by comparing against average Sunday traffic levels on the site. For more metrics on car shopper consideration and purchase intent on Edmunds.com, please visit the Industry Center at http://www.edmunds.com/industry/.

About Edmunds.com
Car-shopping website Edmunds.com serves nearly 18 million visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise^®, shoppers can get an instant, upfront price for cars and trucks currently for sale at 10,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Car shoppers can browse not only inventory listings at Edmunds.com and on its acclaimed apps, but also comprehensive car reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories. Named by Maritz Research as one of the most trusted online consumer review sites — and the only automotive site listed in the top ten — Edmunds.com welcomes all car-shopping questions at our Help Center and on Twitter and Facebook. Based in Santa Monica with a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Edmunds.com can also be found on Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google+ and Flipboard.