Is Super Bowl Advertising Worth It?

Every year we are asked our opinion in regard to the value of Super Bowl advertising.  This year, though the mainstay CPG companies are maintaining advertising on the big event, at least seven advertisers from 2010’s game aren’t returning – including Papa John’s, Intel, Monster, Dr. Pepper, Denny’s, Universal Orlando and KGB.  The published cost of a 30-second spot on Fox’s telecast is $3 million.

Companies have always justified the expense for many different reasons – some logical and some merely to feed the ego of a CEO or CMO by participating in one of television’s biggest televised sporting events.

For this year, the non-advertisers have publicly mentioned several reasons for not advertising.  Papa John’s strategy is to increase the number of consumers registered on their website by enticing them with free pizza if the game goes into overtime.  (Note:  Super Bowl Sunday represents the highest sales day for delivered pizza in the United States.)  KGB stated that they are shifting to a “social media strategy”, Intel is going in “new directions”, Denny’s has new leadership and a new agency, and Monster.com is “moving beyond building awareness” (looks like they aren’t concerned about maintaining awareness).

The biggest reason why we aren’t seeing any new advertisers is that many marketers have nothing new to say.  Nearly all companies have had to downsize their investments in product development and innovation and simply aren’t prepared to launch new ideas into the consumer market.

For the remaining advertisers, Super Bowl advertising can simply be justified on the basis of traditional media analysis that is looking for delivery in both reach and frequency against a general consumer audience.  The Super Bowl delivers outstanding viewership only second to the World Cup – global marketers grab these opportunities whenever they can.  (Note:  Fox sold out the Super Bowl in October – advertisers negotiated a much lower per spot cost or negotiated tremendous value-added making the investment extremely worthwhile.)

With all that said, can the tremendous investment be justified by any marketer beyond a mainstay consumer brand?

Here are our criteria for any marketer thinking about advertising on the Super Bowl:

1.  Have something to say.  Unfortunately, many marketers make the investment hoping that the advertising creative gains the attention of the audience versus the actual message.  The main objective is not to entertain the audience, but to distinctly get your brand, product or service message across supported by good creative.  Many advertisers forget this critical point of all successful marketing campaigns.

2.   Make sure it’s the right audience.  If increased brand awareness with the general audience does not give you an advantage, don’t advertise.  Keep in mind that the Super Bowl telecast is a global audience – if you are not investing in your international markets, it may not be a wise choice to advertise.  Noting this advice, there are certain considerations that can make a significant impact with niche or trade targets using expensive sports media as a communications tool.

Here’s an example:

Several years ago, we had a client that had produced an impressive television spot and was interested in gaining as much exposure to the spot as possible.  Unfortunately, their core target audience was residential builders – not consumers.  We developed a unique strategy where we placed one commercial spot on the NCAA Final Four.  Before the telecast weekend, we sent a direct mail promotion to the client’s list of 70,000 builders.   The call-to-action asked builders to watch the Final Four telecast and when they saw the client’s single commercial, right down the names of the competing teams and the actual score of the game at the time of the commercial on a return reply card.  The builder’s card that was randomly selected with the correct teams and score won a free trip to the following year’s Final Four Championship.  We received nearly 17,000 entries or a 24 percent participation return.  More importantly, a large number of builders were informed that the client had a new advertising campaign to support their marketing efforts.  Finally, the increased consumer brand awareness helped launch a successful annual advertising campaign.

3.  Make sure it’s the right budget.  If a Super Bowl investment accelerates your reach and frequency goals while you still have a budget to maintain frequency after the big game – go for it.  Depleting your entire advertising budget on one telecast will not give you the return in terms of brand awareness increases or maintenance.

4.  Make sure you can creatively compete.  Super Bowl Commercials are now viewed more for the entertainment value than the marketing message.  It is a very competitive arena where the majority of viewing consumers automatically become advertising critics.  If you are not capable of delivering your brand or product message in a way that stands out from the competition – don’t advertise.

5.  Ensure your investment has legs.  Since it is a major advertising investment, make sure you also budget for integrated support in terms of channel events, sales promotion, public relations and employee communications.  In short, make the most out of your investment and ensure that critical audiences have the opportunity to engage and participate in not just the Super Bowl, but in Your Super Bowl Event.