Dear Reader,
Sunday, February 7th was the BIG GAME.
In the US, “big game” is code for the Super Bowl.
So why not just say Super Bowl?
Because the legal wizards at the NFL (aka: National Football League) trademarked the name so that you can’t use it without paying.
For me, the Super Bowl is ALL about the ads.
At $5.5 million per 30 second spot in 2021, it’s the most expensive television ad each year.
Why?
Since the Super Bowl continually attracts record numbers of viewers regardless of which teams are playing. Further, even as digital media has matured, no single platform can amass similar reach.
From a marketing perspective, Super Bowl ads require more than the over-the-top cost of the media spend; a business must also shell out big bucks for their advertising agency, talent and other related fees (Note: Top celebrities come with eye-popping prices tags.)
So your marketing team must take advantage of the ad and related promotion before and after the event to build brand awareness to create measurable marketing results.
As a marketer, I’m always curious to see how companies use these overpriced branding and marketing opportunities. (BTW—when I was at The Economist, every employee lived and breathed the brand.)
RECOMMENDED READING:
2021 Super Bowl Ads
Due to COVID, many of the usual big brand advertisers stayed on the sidelines. As a result, a number of new entrants got a chance at advertising’s big stage.
For Super Bowl advertisers, the major challenge is:
How do you create a block buster piece of content that resonates with a diverse mass audience?
Why is this difficult?
Because the ad must appeal broadly across major audience segments. And this balance is difficult to achieve.
BUT, don’t follow Oatly’s approach then planted their CEO, Toni Petersson, in a random field. (BTW—This ad was pulled in Sweden due to outrage from milk producers!)
Yet to their credit:
Oatly’s team responded quickly to the negative social media feedback by offering a “I Totally Hated That Oatly Commercial” T-Shirt.
https://twitter.com/OatlyUS/status/1358576331856961537
According to Ad Age and iSpot.tv’s metrics, the 67 Super Bowl advertising spots from 56 advertisers yielded:
- 6, 312 million television ad impressions,
- 26.0 million earned online views, and
- 63,953 million social media impressions.
In terms of Digital Share of Voice (aka: DSOV), the top 3 ads were:
- Mountain Dew’s “Major Melon Bottle Count” with 21.78% of DSOV,
- Amazon Echo’s “Alexa’s Body” with 13.95% of DSOV, and
- Jeep’s “The Middle” with DSOV of 10.64%.
I thought Jeep’s message of being less divisive hit a homerun with Bruce Springsteen’s first-ever ad. (Okay—I’m a big fan of The Boss!)
Jeep filmed the ad in a church in Lebanon, Kansas, the middle of the contiguous US. This reinforced their message of the “Re-United States.” Further, Jeep showed US landscapes where their truly American vehicle excels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2XYH-IEvhI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2XYH-IEvhI
And Reddit eeked in a 5 second message. It may be the shortest Super Bowl ever! So far, it’s garnered 335+K views on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/reddit/status/1358572629729320960
Super-Sized Super Bowl Ad
In my opinion, Apple’s 1984 ad for the Macintosh remains the best Super Bowl ad to-date.
Why?
Because it tells a story, is memorable, and positions Macintosh as the challenger to IBM (aka: The PC.)
And Chiat/Day, the ad agency, spent their money wisely. They:
- Based the plot on George Orwell’s 1984,
- Targeted the PC brand leader, IBM,
- Had Ridley Scott, the well known filmmaker of Blade Runner, direct, and
- Tapped into the hero[ine]’s journey.
Further, the ad only aired twice! Once to qualify for 1984 advertising awards in a small market during the wee morning hours so no one would see it and once during the Super Bowl.
BUT:
Apple gained a ton of earned media due to press commentary and the related advertising awards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zfqw8nhUwA
Actionable Lessons To Super-Size Your Marketing:
- Use stories to make your brand memorable.
- Have a plan to maximize the reach and results of your major marketing investments.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Other Ways To Super-Size Your Marketing
You don’t need to invest big on Super Bowl Sunday to win big.
For example, yarn stores use the Big Game to encourage shoppers to buy. Often, they run a sale. So, whether yarnies watch the game or not, they stock up and start new projects.
Due to COVID, Webs, a major US yarn seller, hosted a 2 hour ZOOM visit with the Ireland-based, yarn dyer Beata Jezek of Hedgehog Fibres on Sunday morning. It was a marketing win for both businesses!
As background, Hedgehog Fibres is a small craft-based business. Despite their premium prices, Beata’s yarns have attracted a base of raving fans worldwide who swoon over the colors of her yarns.
Content Marketing In The Making: How To Super-Size Your Marketing
During the 2 hour show, Beata and WEBS moderator, Beth, discussed a wide range of topics of interest to their audience including:
- Describing how to design patterns including showing off her designs,
- Showing how she mixes the colors for her yarns, and
- Offering tips for how to select yarns for specific projects.
This is reusable FAQ Content.
How many large companies would love to have Beata’s 125k Instagram followers?
How You Can Super-Size Your Marketing For Your Small Business
Translation:
Small businesses must use every tool they can afford to compete against the big boys!
BTW: Are you taking advantage of Instagram’s smart bios like Beata???
RECOMMENDED READING:
Align Your Brand With Your Customers’ Values To Super-Size Your Marketing
Started with a 500 euro loan, Hedgehog Fibres consciously uses natural processes and fibers. Further, Beata discussed how she hires women, often other crafters. Also, she explained how she worked around strict lockdown procedures in Ireland and the challenges due to Brexit.
Hedgehog Fibres’s core values aligned with those of her customer, namely, her business was ethical and environmentally friendly. (Source: Accenture April, 2020)
Actionable Lessons To Super-Size Your Marketing:
- Support your customers. Beata provides free patterns both on the Hedgehog Fibres website and on Ravelry, the knitting social media platform that’s killed publishing. (BTW—Here’s the shawl I made, “Baseline“.)
- Show your customers how to use your products. This Zoom meeting created content marketing to support sales. Broadcast from her studio, Beata showed her designs and the materials used to create each one. It can be reused in smaller pieces.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- Give back to your community. Beyond the free event, Hedgehog Fibres supports her knitting community and the environment.
Social Media: How To Improve Your Marketing
Do you want to up your Instagram game?
Then sign up for AgoraPulse’s Social Media Pulse Summit: Instagram Edition.
The Summit is chock full of Instagram smarties sharing their favorite tips and tricks.
The live event occurs on February, 24th and sessions will be available on demand until March 24th.
BTW, did I mention that it’s free? All you have to do is sign up!
RECOMMENDED READING:
Hoping that you, your family and friends, and your community stay healthy and safe.
As always feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or other input that can help our broader community.
Welcome new subscribers: Audrey, Aurore, Sergey, Nick, Debbie, John, Jenny, Sam, Errol, Steph, Juliana, Shane and Mats.
If you enjoy reading the AMG Newsletter, I would appreciate it if you forwarded it to your friends and colleagues.
Happy Marketing,
Heidi
P.S.: Want Heidi Cohen to contribute a quote or other commentary to your next article, presentation, video, research and/or book? Then hit reply to this email and ask.
P.P.S: Did you miss last week’s AMG Newsletter?
Previous newsletters can be found in the AMG Newsletter Archive.
FEATURED ARTICLE: 14 Ways To Romance Your Audience With Content Marketing
It’s February and love is in the air.
Want to create content your audience will love?
Then follow these 14 tips that remain as relevant today as they were in 2015.
Want to know why?
Because they focus on putting yourself in your audience’s shoes!
Something. You. Should. Always. Do.
RELATED READING:
FEATURED ARTICLE: Content Marketing Pivot: 3 Tactics You Can Use To Improve Your Results
Has your content marketing changed since COVID started?
If not, consider making your content marketing pivot to:
- Lead with thought leadership.
- Offer useful and “How To” content to help customers and others.
- Respond quickly with limited financial and human resources.
RELATED READING:
FEATURED ARTICLE: 2021 Marketing Trends
COVID Changed 2020. Learn the 5 Marketing Trends that will make you competitive in 2021.
RELATED READING:
Welcome Mat Photo via Mabel Amber https://www.pexels.com/photo/jetty-feet-sign-wooden-128299/ cc zero
Football Player Photo https://unsplash.com/photos/mSZVVUdxBls cc zero
The fine print:
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Unless noted otherwise, all photos are ©2021 by Heidi Cohen
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