Automakers rank high on annual ad-spending list

The Detroit 3’s top-10 rankings were unchanged on Advertising Age’s list of the 200 Leading National Advertisers for 2015. Most other automakers slipped in the list, as companies such as Amazon, Expedia and Merck jumped higher.

Advertising Age, an affiliate of Automotive News, published the list in its June 27 edition.

In general, Advertising Age noted, advertising dollars continued to shift toward unmeasured media -- which includes internet and mobile media such as search marketing, social media and online video -- and away from measured media, which includes such traditional media as network and cable TV, radio and print.

General Motors was unchanged at No. 3 on the list. Nos. 1 and 2 also were unchanged: Procter & Gamble Co. and AT&T.

GM’s total ad spending rose 8.6 percent to $3.5 billion in 2015. The company’s measured-media spending declined 9.1 percent to $1.42 billion, even as its spending on unmeasured media climbed 25 percent to $2.08 billion.

Ford Motor Co. was No. 6 on the list, unchanged from 2014, but its spending bucked the trend. Ford’s spending on measured media jumped 29 percent to $1.03 billion, but its unmeasured-media spending dipped 1.2 percent to $1.65 billion. Ford’s total U.S. advertising spending rose 8.5 percent to $2.68 billion.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles kept its eighth-place spot as its total advertising spending was unchanged at $2.25 billion in 2015. FCA’s measured-media spending dropped 6.9 percent to about $932.7 million, but spending on unmeasured media rose 5.5 percent to $1.32 billion.

Automakers that declined noticeably on the list included Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG.

Toyota dropped six rungs to No. 16, as its total advertising spending fell 14 percent to $1.8 billion in 2015. Volkswagen total spending slid 7.9 percent to $858.1 million, dropping it to No. 51 on the list from No. 44 in 2014.

Also falling in the ranking were Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Subaru and Mazda. Those gaining ground were Kia, Daimler, BMW and Tata Motors.

Kia Motors Corp. jumped 11 spots to No. 68 on the list. Its 2015 total advertising spending swelled 17 percent to $649 million.

AutoNation Inc., the largest new-vehicle retailer in the U.S., was the only auto retailer on the list, coming in at No. 164, up from No. 177 a year earlier. Its total advertising spending rose 16 percent to $244.9 million.