Multicultural Opps: Hyundai launches new campaign for African American audiences (Score 56)

Sales Lead: Hyundai recently launched its newest multicultural campaign featuring its all-electric vehicles, the IONIQ 5 and 6.

• Made by African American marketing AOR Culture Brands, "Choose Yours" rolled out across video, digital, and influencer executions via various broadcast and digital channels.
• It will also amplify its messaging and vehicle features via various media platforms.
• The company will likely:
  • Continue trying to reach African American, Hispanic, and other multicultural audiences with a shifted strategy
  • Keep ramping up digital spend
  • Conduct additional agency reviews following a recent one (more below)
• Target demographic: 
  • ​​​​​​​Multicultural men, especially Gen-Z and millennials

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, Hyundai has spent approximately $65.6m on national TV commercials, 22% less than the approximately $84.2m spent within the same 2022 timeframe.
  • Last year: In 2022, the automaker spent around $211.2m on this channel after having spent slightly (less than 1%) more, around $211.7m, in 2021.
  • 2023 ad programming: Hyundai's 2023 commercials have targeted the male-skewed audience of shows such as NFL Football, NBA Basketball, The Oscars, Football Night in America, and MLB Baseball.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: Since the beginning of 2023, the company has allocated roughly $27m toward digital ads, up 21% from the roughly $22.3m allocated by this point last year.
  • YTD data: Hyundai has earned ~2.4b digital impressions YTD via YouTube (49%), desktop video (14%), Instagram (13%), Facebook (13%), desktop display (9%), Twitter (2%), and mobile display (2%) ads.
  • Last year: The company's estimated full-year spend decreased by 6% to $80.7m from that of $86.2m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The company utilizes digital, experiential, local broadcast, print, OOH, radio, Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and online video (primarily via Youtube.com) ads.
  • Hyundai sponsors podcasts such as Stuff You Should Know, Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, Fresh Air, and 99% Invisible.
  • The automaker also invests in both short-form and long-form DRTV.
    • ​​​​​​​It has very highly concentrated network TV coverage and will not likely launch a new camaign soon.
  • ​​​​​​​Finally, Hundai pursues sponsorships with organizations such as the Professional Pickleball
    Association.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: Get in touch soon if you haven't yet done so to see if any additional agency reviews follow Hyundai's August 2022 hire of Hispanic multicultural AOR and December 2022 promotion of president Luc Donckerwolke.
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​PR, media, creative, experiential, digital analytics, and/or social media management hires are the most likely.
• Current agency roster:
  • Culture Brands: African American multicultural AOR
  • Lopez Negrete: Hispanic/multicultural AOR (August 2022)
  • Innocean USA: Creative AOR
  • Canvas Worldwide: Media AOR
  • Ketchum: PR agency partner

Insight Sources: Broadcast insights estimated by iSpot; digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix; podcast insights by Podchaser; DRTV insights by Media Analytics.