Campaign Imminent: Mazda taps first search AOR amid significant spend increases (Score 58)

Sales Lead: Mazda has made quite an optimal move, having recently selected Optimal as its first-ever search AOR.

• Optimal will focus on audience inspiration with a strategic, dynamic, and data-driven strategy.
  • The agency drives results with propriety data, media solutions, and technology.
  • Optimal will also focus on maximizing Mazda's digital presence.
• The shift reinforces Mazda's commitment to lead digital excellence, which will be aided by Optimal's direct response, search, and performance marketing services.
• Optimal will reportedly be key in maximizing Mazda's digital presence while continuing to drive its business forward.
• Optimal started working with Mazda in February 2023, when it picked up paid search, organic search, and digital PR work.
  • Effective more recently, though, the agency assumed all digital media for the CX-50 vehicle business.
  • Optimal also recently became the performance marketing AOR for this same business.
• The company will likely:
  • Shift strategy
  • Continue increasing spend
  • Seek additional new agency partners
• Target demographic: 
  • A wide but male-skewed audience ranging from Gen-Z through Gen-X

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: Mazda has spent approximately $15.8m on national TV commercials YTD, more than triple the approximately $4.9m spent by this point last year.
  • Last year: The company spent around $5m on this channel last year after having spent 4x this, around $20m, in 2021.
  • 2023 ad programming: Mazda's 2023 commercials have targeted male sports enthusiasts watching shows such as College Basketball, NFL Football, NHL Hockey, NBA Basketball, and College Football.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, the automaker has allocated roughly $37.6m on digital ads, already 63% more than the roughly $23.1m allocated in all of 2022.
  • YTD data: Mazda has earned about 4.5b digital impressions YTD via YouTube (34%), Facebook (33%), Instagram (23%), desktop display (7%), and desktop video (1%) ads.
  • Last year: The company's estimated full-year spend of $23.1m reached 50% more than that of $15.4m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The company utilizes Google Ads and experiential installments along with OOH, digital, local broadcast, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and online video (via Youtube.com, Youtube Android, and Youtube IOS) ads.
  • Lime sponsors podcasts such as the The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Daily, Stuff You Should Know, Stuff You Missed in History Class, and The Bobby Bones Show.
  • Mazda invests in short-form DRTV ads.
    • It has incredibly highly concentrated network TV coverage and will not likely launch a new campaign soon.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: Agency reviews often follow one another closely, so reach out soon to offer potential PR, programmatic, influencer, multicultural, and/or experiential services.
• Current agency roster:
  • Optimal: Search AOR (September 2023)
  • Garage Team Mazda: Creative, media, and digital AOR
  • Mindshare: Media 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.