For nearly a decade, Toyota’s international Olympics sponsorship blocked other auto brand competitors from buying national ad spots tied to the Games.
But as of this year, Toyota no longer holds exclusivity rights within NBCU’s inventory – sources say not enough of its sponsorship dollars were being put toward supporting athletes – and Hyundai has raced in to take advantage.
Although Hyundai has consistently run local and regional ads during the Games, Paris marks the first time in nine years that the auto brand has been able to run national ads during the Olympics.
It’s now nabbing national spots to reach as many people in the country as possible, Hyundai Motor America CMO Angela Zepeda tells me.
Hyundai returns to the Olympics as the presenting sponsor of the USA women’s soccer halftime show with a new ad campaign. The campaign depicts parents coaching their children through the frustrations that come with playing sports, while chauffeuring them to and from practice in Hyundai SUV brands such as the Tucson, Sante Fe, IONIQ 5 and Palisade. The ads are running as 30- or 60-second spots throughout the Games.
I spoke with Zepeda about how Hyundai is approaching the Olympics as part of its TV advertising strategy and why the Games are more useful as a reach driver than as a vehicle for targeting in-market audiences.
AdExchanger: How is Hyundai planning its ad delivery throughout the duration of the Games?
ANGELA ZEPEDA: Our sponsorship of the USA women’s soccer halftime show comes with an inventory package that includes two 30-second halftime spots in each of that team’s games. Beyond that, NBCU rotates our commercials throughout the different sports in the Olympics. It’s a bit of a random rotation; we don’t get to choose which sports competitions all our ads run on.
Is Hyundai applying audience targeting?
The Olympics isn’t where we would focus on targeting in-market audiences because, for us, the Olympics is a general market ad buy meant to reach as many viewers as possible and build the brand.
Is this ad running beyond the Olympics?
We made this spot for the Olympics, but we’re also running it online and on social [including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube]. Brand awareness campaigns have legs beyond just the Olympics.
What do you expect to see as a result of this campaign?
We know we’re not going to sell our cars directly through the Olympics, but we would love to see a lift in search. Primarily, we’ll be looking at whether the campaign has a halo effect on overall brand lift such as awareness and brand opinion.
How does Hyundai’s Olympics campaign compare to its marketing strategy surrounding other live sporting events?
Most of our other sports buys, such as Sunday and Thursday Night Football, AFC and NFC Championship Games and FIFA, for example, are not just media buys; they’re partnerships. These sponsorships span championship seasons and therefore have a long planning period and involve close collaborations, which sometimes includes branded content.
The Olympics, on the other hand, is a more fleeting moment. We consider it a straightforward media buy. But we’re excited to at least have a media buy now that Toyota is changing its relationship with the Olympics.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
Update 8/6/24: After this piece published, Hyundai shared a corrected press release with AdExchanger that clarifies Hyundai is a sponsor for the USA women’s soccer halftime show on NBCUniversal, not the team.
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