In the Toyota spot “We Roll Deep Anthem,” fans and NFL stars embark on “an adrenaline-filled NFL adventure.”
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After a decline in recent years, automakers are returning to advertising during the National Football League season.
Toyota Motor Corporation, Hyundai Motor Company and Detroit automakers are among those expected to use the NFL and its games as their primary advertising platforms in the coming months. Toyota, in particular, is entering the football season as the “Official Automotive Partner of the NFL,” a first for the world's largest automaker.
“There [are] so many variables that can affect budgets, but automakers are starting to get back on their feet,” said Ryan Briganti, head of advertising sales at Paramount CBS Sports broadcasts NFL games every week on CBS and Paramount+. “We do car advertising across the portfolio.”
The auto industry has significantly cut its advertising and marketing budgets in recent years because it didn't have enough vehicles to sell. The Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain issues led to historically low vehicle inventories. But amid high interest rates and economic fears, vehicle inventories have risen, and automakers are using live sports broadcasts, particularly the NFL, to promote new products.
General Motors, For example, GM expects to increase advertising spending by more than $400 million in the second half of the year compared to the first six months to promote new or updated vehicles. GM declined to provide details on the spending, including how much of it is specifically for NFL advertising, but stressed that spending remained well below historical levels.
The NFL is a crucial part of automakers' advertising strategy. According to media planning and data firm Guideline, during last year's NFL season from September to February, the NFL accounted for about 44 percent of advertising budgets on national automotive television. That compares to 31 percent of budgets across all sectors, the firm reports.
“The NFL’s impact on the automotive advertising industry is really, really big,” said Alberto Leyes, head of product strategy at Guideline.
Increase in ratings
NFL games dominate viewership on traditional television. According to Nielsen, NFL regular-season games last year averaged 17.9 million viewers. The Super Bowl, meanwhile, drew an average of 123.7 million viewers.
The NFL's consistently high viewership numbers – despite consumers moving away from pay-TV packages – have led to a surge in the value of media rights contracts, which in turn have significantly influenced the valuation of NFL teams. According to CNBC's official 2024 NFL team valuation, an NFL team is now worth an average of $6.49 billion.
The advertising market as a whole has shown signs of recovery this year, especially for streaming and digital providers. Live sports are still the most widely spent media, whether there is a downturn or not.
“We've seen much stronger growth in 2024 than any other year post-Covid,” Leyes said of overall media spending. “We know that with the NFL returning, we'll have a strong second half of the year as well.”
According to advertising data firm iSpot, automakers were the most-watched brand industry during the last NFL season, accounting for more than 10% of TV ad impressions.
Disneys, The company, which broadcasts “Monday Night Football” on its TV networks and streaming service ESPN, has seen “positive, consistent double-digit growth” in advertising spending by automakers over the past five years, said Andrew Messina, senior vice president of sales at Disney Advertising. Messina recorded growth mainly at Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan Engine and Chrysler parent company Stellantis.
Brands have also begun to expand their engagement, offering sponsorship opportunities in addition to commercials, Messina said.
Automakers own “important marketing real estate” on “Sunday Night Football,” which airs on Comcast's The broadcaster NBC and the streaming service Peacock, said Mark Marshall, chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. While traditional TV still accounts for the largest share of car advertising, there has been an increase in presence on Peacock, which streamed exclusive NFL games last year.
Guideline reports that NFL broadcast viewership increased by about 7% last season, while advertising spending on NFL programming doubled to 14%. Advertising spending on cars has increased by 17% over the past two seasons and is expected to continue to increase this year, according to Leyes.
“We’ve seen 139 percent year-over-year growth among auto brands in particular as they seek to more precisely manage their media spend in a complex U.S. market,” said Jenny Wall, chief marketing officer at TV measurement company VideoAmp.
New advertising campaigns
Toyota, as the “Official Automotive Partner of the NFL,” launched a new advertising campaign for the NFL season this week called “Roll Deep.”
An “anthem spot” was filmed for the campaign. Toyota also played a major role in the first NFL game of the season on Thursday night.
The Toyota halftime show during a game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night as the two teams open the NFL season on NBC and Peacock.
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For Toyota, this is the start of a “season-long content plan across linear broadcasts, digital formats, paid social networks and in-game formats,” according to the automaker.
According to Dedra DeLilli, vice president of marketing communications for Toyota North America, Toyota decided on the new partnership with the NFL after a comprehensive review of its marketing and advertising spending.
The automaker had previously provided advertising and sponsorship around NFL games, but believed its media spending would be best repaid by expanding its partnership with the company as the league's official automotive sponsor.
“The most attractive aspect of this partnership is that we have access to 218 million highly diverse, highly engaged NFL fans. That's nearly 72% of the population. You won't find this level of scalability and diversity in any other U.S. sport,” DeLilli said.
“It’s a match made in heaven,” she said.
DeLilli declined to disclose Toyota's advertising spending for the NFL, which follows a successful partnership with the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris this year.
Stellantis is expected to soon launch new ads for the NFL season, including for the Jeep brand, but a spokeswoman declined to provide further details.
Hyundai will continue to play a major role in NFL broadcasts, including as the primary sponsor of NBC's Sunday Night Football kickoff show for the seventh consecutive year.
The company declined to disclose details of its spending plans, but Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said the company's spending is expected to be on par with last year.
“We want to reach consumers when they're watching live TV,” he told CNBC. “We think that's really, really important from a strategic perspective. … Particularly for sporting events, you can see the number of viewers increasing year over year.”
Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC. NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder for all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
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