Touchdown for Auto Makers on Super Bowl Sunday

The Pittsburg Steelers weren’t the only winners last Sunday. Automotive companies scored big with sponsorship activations combining for a whopping $48.9 million of in-broadcast exposure value for Ford, General Motors and Toyota.

GM and its Cadillac Escalade brand owned the night with three minutes, 10 seconds of “clear in-focus exposure time” to go along with 21 announcer mentions, according to research conducted by Ann Arbor, MI-based Joyce Julius and Associates, which specializes in measuring the impact of sponsorships across all forms of media.

When comparing the exposure to the cost of a typical commercial on ABC’s broadcast, a value of more than $33.3 million was realized [for GM], the research firm said.

One minute and 19 seconds were dedicated to graphics related to Cadillac’s sponsorship of the post-game show and the game’s MVP award garnering nearly $6.6 million in value. Images of the Escalade presented to the Steelers’ Hines Ward following his MVP performance and identity on the ABC set were also major factors in Cadillac’s brand dominance.

As entitlement sponsor of Ford Field in Detroit where the game was played, Ford’s identity appeared for one minute 44 seconds throughout the broadcast, while Ford was also mentioned by the ABC announcing crew a half-dozen times. All together, the exposure topped $13.6 million when compared to a typical Super Bowl commercial spot, which cost an average $2.4 million per 30-seconds, the report said.

Ford signage within Ford Field accounted for the bulk of the auto company’s exposure, gathering one minute, 23 seconds of on-screen time during the 4.5-hour telecast. Ford’s total, while significantly less than its rival GM, well surpassed last year’s Super Bowl stadium entitlement sponsor Alltel, which collected just 26 seconds and $2.1 million in value during the Fox broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIX from Jacksonville.

Toyota also made a brief but significant appearance during ABC’s Detroit broadcast, securing $2 million via a “Brought To You By” promotional segment that ran in the first half of the game.

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