SAN FRANCISCO — The Jumpstart Automotive Group attempted to quantify which automaker gained the biggest return on its investment in Super Bowl advertising and found three of the four largest spenders enjoyed positive gains.

The manufacturer that seemed to get the most out of these efforts was Kia. Jumpstart determined that Kia spent the lowest amount for every percent of market share gained. The ratio was approximately $255,000 for its Sorento with an average three-week increase in share among vehicle shoppers of 19.6 percent.

The second-best performer in Jumpstart's analysis was Hyundai. That automaker's ratio of approximately $336,000 for every percent of market share gained for its Sonata, while experiencing the highest average three-week increase of share among vehicle shoppers at 22.3 percent.

Also gaining some positive momentum was Dodge through its efforts to promote the Charger. The brand's ratio of $480,000 for every percent of market share gained for the Charger with an average three-week increase in share among vehicle shoppers of 10.4 percent.

Conversely, group officials learned that Audi's spending on Super Bowl advertising didn't work out well for the brand. They indicated Audi's market share among vehicle shoppers dipped half a percent even after its approximated $5 million media buy.

Delving deeper into its data, Jumpstart contended that three vehicles that posted positive market gains earned most of that traction during the first week following the Super Bowl. Officials put the specific gains for the Hyundai Sonata at 28.7 percent, the Kia Sorento at 14.7 percent and the Dodge Charger at 9.8 percent.

However, group analysts also pointed out that the Kia Sorento was the only vehicle that saw continued growth in vehicle shopper market share into the second and third weeks of February.

Jumpstart explained how it gathered this analysis by first assuming a benchmark average of $2.5 million per 30 seconds of Super Bowl in-game advertising time. Then, group officials analyzed the model-specific growth in share among vehicle shoppers across 11 automotive shopping Web sites. They finished the process by estimating the price each manufacturer paid for every percent in share gained.

The group went on to mention that the analysis was performed using an average assumed total ad dollars spent by each of the automakers on the big game, conducted over three weeks running from Feb. 7 through Feb. 28.

Jumpstart executives said they wanted to help automakers develop a greater understanding of how offline media — especially broad-reaching events like the Super Bowl — impact true shopping behavior and brand consideration.

 "Quantifying Super Bowl ads is difficult for auto advertisers since consumers don't typically wake up Monday morning and purchase the car they saw in an ad," noted Joe Kyriakoza, vice president of strategic insights at Jumpstart.

"Most of the companies that spent the cash enjoyed an increase in share that, at least over the last three weeks, demonstrates positive return on investment against their investment," Kyriakoza added.

While other manufacturers advertised during the Super Bowl, too, Jumpstart emphasized that it had to limit its analysis for several reasons. Officials said they didn't include Volkswagen, Honda and Acura due to a lack of model-specific messaging or data.

For example, Jumpstart noted that Volkswagen's "Punch Dub" ad focused on the overall brand, not on specific VW products. Officials also mentioned that Acura's ZDX Coupe Concept ad and Honda's Crosstour ad featured new-to-market vehicles that lacked the historical shopping data required for proper analysis.

Nevertheless, Jumpstart highlighted that it still did evaluate overall brand performance for Volkswagen, Acura and Honda for the day following the Super Bowl.

Officials found that each of those three automakers enjoyed an increase in market share. They indicated VW jumped 10.8 percent, Acura rose 10.5 percent, and Honda edged higher by 4.8 percent.

All of the group's three-week analysis was performed across Jumpstart's 11 automotive Web sites that include Vehix, Consumer Guide Automotive, J.D. Power Autos, Shopping.com Autos, Car and Driver, Road & Track, CarSoup.com, U.S.News Automotive Rankings and Reviews, HybridCars, CarGurus and TrueCar.