Tuesdata: How Toyota is outspending auto rivals; K&J speculation adds $11m to SCA’s market cap

BY Tim Burrowes

July 3, 2023 10:30

Tuesdata: How Toyota is outspending auto rivals; K&J speculation adds $11m to SCA’s market cap

Welcome to Tuesdata, our weekly analysis of select media and marketing data, only available to Unmade’s paying members.

Below, we explore the top spending brands in the automotive sector, as calculated by Nielsen Ad Intel. We’ll also reveal the most frequently broadcast auto advertising creative, as measured by Canda Intelligence. The brands featured are Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Mitsubish and Toyota.

And further down, we ask whether the Kyle & Jackie O effect has already kicked in for Southern Cross Austereo, with a big jump in the share price coinciding with rumours of their return.

Below the paywall, you’ll also find the coupon code for discounted Unmade member tickets to next Wednesday’s humAIn conference, focusing on the impact of AI on the media and marketing industry.

The biggest automotive spenders

In today’s Tuesdata we share intelligence from Nielsen and Canda on the state of automotive advertising in Australia, including the top spending brands.

According to Nielsen Ad Intel, ad spend for the automotive sector totalled an estimated $610m for the year running from May 2022 and April 2023.

And the big car brands are still choosing television – with half of all auto ad dollars going to the small screen. The metropolitan TV market took a sizeable 38.2% share of that market, or roughly $230m. Regional TV stations took a further 12.1%.

General display commanded a 16% share ($100m), while metro radio took 10.5%. Metro newspapers got just a 2.3% share of the auto dollars.

Metro TV commanded the most media spend for automotive brands | Source: Nielsen Ad Intel

Meanwhile, marketing spend slid during the year. Nielsen Ad Intelligence estimates that there was a 4.59% decline in automotive sector ad spend compared to the previous 12 months from May 2021 and April 2022 when $639m was spent.

That’s a drop of $31.6 million for the year, reflecting the broader softening of the Australian ad market.

Top car ads of the year

1. Toyota Motors

Toyota was estimated to be the top spending advertiser. That included spending $1.9m between May 2022 and April 2023 on airing its 30-second spot for its vehicle range.

2. KIA

Kia came in second, including spending roughly $1.2m on its 30-second Kia Niro advertisement which aired between July and September 2022.

The creative for the hybrid vehicle was produced by Innocean.

3. Mitsubishi

Between May 2022 and July 2023, Mistubishi spent an estimated $1.8m on airing its 15-second 10 year warranty advertisement. The ad got the greenlight from the ACCC in December 2020 amid doubts about the concept.

4. Hyundai

Hyundai was the fourth biggest spending auto advertiser, with much of its focus on its 30-second Hyundai Tucson N Line “I’m on the Next Level” advertisement, which it put a budget of roughly $4.2m behind.

The ad aired between April 2022 and June 2023.

5. Isuzu

Isuzu Ute was the auto brand’s piece of creative with the most activity, with just under $1m spent. The 30 second advertisement aired between December 2022 and March 2023.

Auto ad spend volatile

Media spend has tipped noticeably in April | Source: Nielsen Ad Intel

According to Nielsen, auto ad spend during 2022 (the red line in the graph above) was for the most part lower than the same period in 2021 (the blue line). However, it did pick up in October 2022 and continued to track slightly better in the first four months of this year (the yellow line).

Numbers have dipped since, with April’s ad spend sitting at approximately $4m. Last year, the most was spent in November – $6.1m.

SCA rises on gossip of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson return to 2Day FM

Southern Cross Media had one of its best days on The Unmade Index in months after speculation that Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson might be persuaded to return from Kiis coincided with a 5.2% rose in the share price.

SCA’s market capitalisation rose by 5.2% to $217m, an increase of roughly $11m.

SCA was the only broadcasting company to see a positive move. ARN Media, owner of Kiis, Seven West Media and SEG were all flat, while Nine fell by 0.25%.

The wider Unmade Index, our measure of the performance of ASX-listed media and marketing stocks, kicked off the week on a positive note, lifting 0.56% on Monday to land at 640.2 points.

That’s all for today. Thank you, as ever, for supporting us through your membership.

We’ll be back with a midweek edition of Unmade tomorrow.