by: Tom Colven, senior strategic insights analyst at Alliance Data
After joining much of America to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, I thought about how much marketing effort goes into the commercials that many people enjoy viewing, sometimes even more than the game itself, and what the benefit to the advertised brand is realistically. While all of the companies who placed ads paid a hefty sum of money (estimates for Super Bowl XLIX are approximately $4.5 million a spot), they are able to reach a potential viewing audience of well over 100 million.
A couple of my favorite commercials from the lineup this year included Anheuser-Busch’s Budweiser “Lost Dog“ and BMW i3′ “Newfangled Idea.”
These clips were just a couple that definitely made me more aware of the advertised brands because I enjoyed their commercials. But do these brands stop at just a 30-second TV ad either during or around the Super Bowl to reach potential customers?
I found out that out of the 40 companies listed on Ad Age’s Super Bowl XLIX’s Ad Chart, Epsilon provides email, database, digital, or loyalty marketing services for 40% of them.
Super Bowl ads fall into a marketing lifecycle that is a win-win for companies, their creative agencies responsible for the television ads, and the data-driven targeted digital marketers. Everyone benefits from the expanded shopper reach of the TV ad, but then the client’s digital agency is able to gather more data and target more of the company’s ideal consumers by using their marketing platform, which in many cases today uses cloud computing software. By collecting and providing this detailed shopper behavior to the client, the valuable data can then be shared back with the creative agency to produce more ad campaigns that provide more audience personalization and sometimes consumer involvement.
Additionally, if you took the millions spent on a 30-second commercial spot during the big game, and applied it towards other digital multiplatform advertising that can reach consumers, it is quite amazing what you can do. A Digiday article shows the impact $4.5 million can have using digital marketing tools, which includes 3.5 billion display ads, a team of more than 15 digital agency workers, and three times the 6.4 million clicks on search ads.
While both types of marketing can be effective for increased purchases, digital marketing services allow product information to reach consumers in a more personalized “1 to 1” approach, instead of an audience of millions at the same time for thirty seconds. Clicking on a display ad, receiving an email, or advertising through social media allows the viewer to be more involved with the advertisement, engaging with it on their terms.
Some companies who have purchased Super Bowl commercial spots in the past have skipped out this year to focus solely on cheaper digital efforts. Volvo for example, encouraged viewers to tweet #VolvoContest to nominate a friend or relative for a chance to win a new luxury crossover vehicle every time a competitor’s commercial airs, promoting the campaign as “The Greatest Interception Ever.”
Monster.com is another example of a company that went a different digital route this year instead of paying for a media spot. The job-searching site placed a display ad on Twitter congratulating the Seattle Seahawks on their win in large letters, but once a viewer clicks on the image, they show a search for a new Social Media Manager, with the tag line: “No matter why you’re looking for a new job, we can help you find better. (Congrats New England)!” According to Monster’s ad agency, the image increased Monster.com discussions on Twitter by more than 1,500% compared to the average day.
Of course marketers that combine a digital campaign before or during the Super Bowl with a commercial aired on Sunday enhance the odds of advertisement exposure, leading to higher chances of intent to purchase. Similar to the social media campaigns described above, advertising ahead of time (in the weeks leading up to the game) can make the audiences more aware of the participation needed to interact with those brands. Providing entertaining content to TV viewers during the Super Bowl along with having consumers interact with a digital ad campaign is the ultimate way to score a marketing touchdown!
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Tom Colven is a Senior Strategic Insights Analyst at Alliance Data. In his role, he ensures leadership and associates are provided with timely industry, competitor, and market-related intelligence and analysis that supports and aligns with the company’s business decisions and growth.
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