Even as the economy starts to look up, individuals and companies alike are retaining their newfound frugality. This doesn’t just apply to small businesses or state-funded institutions, but large global companies as well. One expenditure that a select few companies are forgoing this year is Super Bowl ads. Even though this year’s audience is supposed to top 100 million, the $2.5 million dollar expense is a huge gamble that the 30-second spot it buys will be memorable enough for the company to recoup the loss.
Over the past two years, three major players have dropped Super Bowl spots: FedEx, General Motors and PepsiCo. Pepsi, is this year’s latest dropout ending a 23 year streak. According to a marketing strategist at Pepsi, the decision came about because “In an environment where people are on 24-7, it’s virtually impossible to actually build a relationship with them on the basis of one 30-second spot.” However, many companies who are advertising at the Super Bowl this year are expected to use some of their time to tout their social media presence.
If a company can successfully pull off a memorable Super Bowl commercial, the payoff is huge- an ad agency found that almost twice as many people could name their favorite Super Bowl commercial than could remember which team had won. The question that all of these ad execs will ask the next morning is- how do I know if I was successful? This question is relevant for both global corporations with $2.5 million to spend on one ad and for small institutions.
Sites like Twitter and Facebook are now allowing researchers to track buzz- something that was almost impossible to quantify in the past. For example, in one analysis, a research company found that while brand awareness for a certain company was low, buzz from individuals using the product was positive, showing the gap where they needed to focus their efforts. The ability to have direct contact with your target audience and see the buzz surrounding a marketing initiative completely unfiltered will give marketers more insight than ever into their investments.
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