Marketing's Superbowl

People throw the term super bowl around to describe the greatest, most significant moment in a career, series of events, or a lifetime. The term can appropriately gauge people's expectations and can pump up the excitement. In this case the actual Super Bowl is the super bowl of marketing for that year. The buzz for this year's commercials has already begun but to properly prep ourselves for the big day it helps to understand what has happened in the past with a few stats from last year's game:

• More than 111 million viewers were expected to watch the Super Bowl.
• Advertisers paid an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second commercial.
• According to Nielsen, 51% of people surveyed said they watch the Super Bowl for the commercials
• Nielsen also revealed that 2/3 of TV viewers use their smartphones or tablets to text, tweet, or post to Facebook while watching TV.

Stats courtesy of wearehathway

From these stats its clear to see why marketers place such an importance on their ads for this one particular Sunday. It is estimated that advertisements this year will sell 30 second spots for $4.0 million which is more than double what advertisers paid in the last 12 years. With the increase in social media's presence and its impact on consumers it will be crucial for marketers to incorporate social media to their advertisements.

Some companies have leaked teasers to their advertisements including Bud Light and Godaddy. Bud Light's ad will feature a terribly wigged Arnold Schwarzenegger warming up to play ping-pong and at the end flashes the line "whatever is coming 2.2.14". This builds up the expectations for the ad and creates excitement around the commercials during the game. Godaddy ran a preview on the morning news shows in their typical fashion with a cliffhanger that drives you to their website. This year rather than creating a racy build up the teaser features someone who will notify their company that they are quitting their job. To see who it is you will have to go to their site. This drives traffic to their site which is critical to their business.

These examples show the way to build buzz around a traditional commercial. The best example leading up to this weekend of incorporating social media that I have seen is H&M. Their commercial will feature David Beckham and the teaser they have pushed in traditional media asks consumers to vote for which version of the ad they want to see. Fans can vote to see the commercial end in one of two ways—with Beckham #Covered or #Uncovered.

Not only will consumers be able to choose the ad experience they receive but H&M will get to directly interact with them. Their core customers will self identify and H&M can learn who they are and follow them to better understand what their customer wants. It will be interesting to see the total numbers that come back and to understand if the approach worked to not only rev up excitement but to also help with their advertising moving forward.

Will the Super Bowl ads be the super bowl for these companies? Only Sunday will tell. 

Social Media is incerdibly local

Social Media is incredibly local because it provides a platform for local companies to connect with their consumers in a way they have never been able to before. Simple searches allow for companies to seek out their target market and show those customers the opportunities they can provide. It also allows for consumers to be more informed about local establishments and share their experiences. It is believed that most people trust the opinions of other consumers more than the information given to them by the company itself.

To demonstrate the permeation of companies to their target market I will share my own personal recent experience. I signed up for twitter last week. As a result, within hours of joining I was already being followed by a local company despite the fact that I have yet to actually send out one tweet. Based on the preferences and people I chose to follow, this local company, Fred Astaire Dance Company, was able to find me and can now see what it is I am interested in by following me. They will be able to track what I chat about and will be able to better target their marketing to someone like me based on that knowledge.

As cited above, not only can companies find out information about their consumers but consumers can now compare notes with each other about companies easier than ever before. Yelp is a nationally known cite that helps consumers find out about local restaurants, hotels, and attractions. This delves down in to each individual market and is a great resource when looking for something new or venturing in to a new part of town.

On a more local level companies like OnMilwaukee have taken the yelp format to give consumers a local reviewers perspective about the local fare. Additionally, it provides a forum for people to voice their opinions not only about the information shared in the articles but more so about their opinions. It empowers the consumer and builds trust in the establishments being highlighted. In a post from September OnMilwaukee highlighted the best brunch spots around Milwaukee. The author of the post shares their take on some of the best brunch spots in town and then toward the bottom of the article consumers and local companies together can share their insight as well. From doing a simple google search of best brunch in Milwaukee the OnMilwaukee article is the first to appear and shows the impact a local opinion can have over a more nationalized product as yelp is only the 5th option to appear.

Image courtesy of google

Local companies have a lot to learn and their best resource is the consumer itself. The easiest way to do this is to have a Social Media presence and to stay connected. Social Media is incredibly local.