Audi Accelerates U.S. Media Spend for 2009

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/automotive-travel/e3iecbc44179b8d6b319ddd12627adadc73

In a bid to boost its brand profile, Audi has supercharged its marketing budget for 2009, planning a 15 to 20 percent increase in its U.S. promotional spend.

The automaker’s souped-up TV plan kicks off Feb. 1 with a 60-second Super Bowl spot designed to showcase the Audi A6 sedan.

While many car companies are planning to hit the brakes on their TV spend, Audi is looking to build on the gains it made in market share a year ago. “We’re still a brand that doesn’t have enough awareness. Historically, Audi has been a great unknown,” said chief marketing officer Scott Keogh. “We’re hoping to get the year off to a fast start with the Super Bowl ad, and then dial down on the A6’s TV presence, while keeping the momentum alive virally.”

Keogh said the incremental coverage a marketer receives when buying time in the Super Bowl is worth the price of admission. (NBC is selling 30-second spots for $3 million a pop.) “We did 600 million media impressions last year after the Super Bowl, which is what we usually get in the course of a whole year,” Keogh said. “Being in the game gets you into places that automobiles don’t normally get into, like the Today show ... and Charlie Rose.”

That increased exposure leads to a major boost in Web traffic as well. According to Keogh, AudiUSA.com enjoyed a 200 percent lift in impressions during the two-month period before and after the Super Bowl. The clip also scared up more than 1 million views on YouTube, thanks in part to its farcical nod to The Godfather’s celebrated horse-head reveal.