SUPER BOWL MARKETING: 5 LESSONS FROM TOP CMOs

Morning!

Today 113 million people from around the world will be tuning in to watch the biggest sporting event of the year - the Super Bowl.

Overated. Overpriced. Unwatchable.

Just some of the words I’d use to describe the event - clearly it’s me vs the world on that one.

But while the game doesn’t interest me, the $7M price tag for a 30-second ad does.

Why are they so expensive? Why are they so valuable? How do brands get it right?

I spent the last few days listening a 5 different marketing greats discuss Super Bowl advertising.

Here are the 5 key lessons I learned:

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION

BREAKING DOWN THE STRATEGY

Here’s the honest truth: I never understood Super Bowl ads.

I got the fact millions of people tune in and you get your brand in front of them… but surely it isn’t the most cost-effective way to get eyes on your brand???

You’d get more eyes putting $7M into paid ads.

It’s safe to say I was a doubter.

Then this week, I listened to a podcast where Gary Vee was discussing Super Bowl ads with the GMO of Proctor & Gamble when Gary said:

I had to pause the podcast when I heard it.

I thought the Super Bowl ads were overpriced? Not the other way around???

It was at that moment that I came to the realisation that everyone else clearly knew something I didn’t.

So I spent the next few days finding the best marketers on the planet talking about Super Bowl ads.

That included:

• VP of Marketing at Pepsi Co.

• VP of Marketing at Busch.

• GMO at P&G

• Gary Vaynerchuk

• Marketing professor at Harvard

Any high-level conversation on Super Bowl ads I could find - I listened to.

Here are the 5 key lessons I learned (that every marketer should know):

Lesson 1: The Ad = 1 Piece of a Large Puzzle

For 22 years of my life, I’ve seen Super Bowl ads as… well just that - an ad.

Until I heard Todd Kaplan (CMO at Pepsi Co.), explain that nobody approaches a Super Bowl campaign as an ad - but instead as a 3-part plan.

Before — During — After.

Before: He explained that having an ad slot allows you to publish teasers in the lead up to the campaign and really build some hype around your brand.

He said that at Pepsi they strategically tease: who will feature in their ad, what it will be about, and what the message will be.

Uber Eats have already given us a prime example of that this year by posting their teaser video with David & Victoria Beckham in it.

That video was released 11 days ago and it’s already racked up 4M views on YouTube alone.

I bet it has upwards of 20M impressions across all socials + PR mentions.

During: Kaplan then explained that although the “During plan” revolves around their big ad placement, their reactions to it is also a huge aspect.

He said that during they game they have 100+ marketers in the “War room” posting live reactions to the ad as well keeping the brand name at the focal point of the game.

I’ve never thought about it before. But how many of the total brand views come from reactive posts during the game? I bet it’s nearly over 30%.

After: Kaplan also made a point to mention just how big the aftermath when the game has finished.

• News outlets talk about all of the best ads from the game.

• Families discuss which they enjoyed the most.

• People share their favourite ads on socials.

It’s not about how many sales you can make off 30-seconds of screen time.

It’s a 30-second ad that sets up their biggest marketing campaign of the year.

As Kaplan summarised perfectly, “With the Super Bowl, you get many bites at the apple.”

Lesson 2: It Helps Tie Them To The Event

Pepsi have sponsored 8 of the last 10 Super Bowl half time shows.

At ~$50M/year (the current rate), that means Pepsi spent ~$400 MILLION on half time show sponsorship over the last decade.

Bonkers.

Genuinely bonkers.

So why in the the world would they do it?

Because more Pepsi products are sold in stores on Super Bowl weekend than any other day of the year.

Yep, the Super Bowl is like a better version of Black Friday.

Millions of families across America come together and buy a sh*t tonne of snacks and drinks to enjoy the game.

By sponsoring the half-time show, Pepsi allowed themselves to be tied to the game.

When you realise how powerful tying a brand to the game is, you’ll quickly realise why these brands are all top 10 all-time Super Bowl advertisers (by spend):

1. Budweiser

2. Pepsi

3. Coca-Cola

Then you have:

8. McDonalds

9. Michelob

10. Doritos

All brands that benefit massively from tying themselves to the game and watch sales rocket while people buy their products for game day.

(Interesting note: brands 4,5,6, and 7 on that list are all car brands? Not sure why, even I can’t figure that one out!)

Lesson 3: Involved In Culture > Eyeballs

The classic maths on any brand awareness campaign is:

How much did it cost ÷ how many 1000s of eyes we got = CPM

Your CPM (cost-per-thousand) is the usual measure to see how cost-effective the campaign was.

But according to Ricardo Marques (VP of Marketing at Busch, Michelob Ultra, & Budweiser) that isn’t the metric they are basing it off.

Instead, he said that Super Bowl advertising is much more about inserting your brand into today’s culture.

1 in 3 Americans sit down to watch the Super Bowl.

It is the one event that the whole country comes together for.

For Ricardo and the Busch brands, it’s all about making themselves a part of that.

For example: This years Michelob Ultra ad involves 2 people who’ve been the talk of US sports this year:

• Leo Messi - huge impact with MLS.

• Jacob Sudeikis - played Ted Lasso in popular US show.

Through this ad - on the biggest stage - Michelob Ultra are able to insert themselves into two key current cultural references.

Again, look at thew views. 7.5M views on Youtube before even airing at the Super Bowl!

Lesson 4: Sets Up Their Year

One of the most interesting points that nearly everyone I listened to brought up was the way their Super Bowl campaign sets up their year.

Every year the Super Bowl is nicely timed right in the middle of Q1.

Ricardo from Busch described it as the first (and most vital) domino of the entire marketing calendar.

He said him & his team begin on the campaign in April the year before just to make sure they get it right.

Again, this is just another point that shows us Super Bowl ads are much more than just a 30-second commercial.

Lesson 5: Motivates Their Team

Lastly, but arguably the one I found most interesting… was that nearly every single person mentioned how important the Super Bowl was for motivating their team.

We all know a Super Bowl ad is essentially the mecca of advertising.

And all of these CMOs & VPs understood just how much it meant to their staff to work on a project like that.

It’s not really a marketing lesson, but definitely a lesson that stuck with me.

Because if all else fails and the ad doesn’t give you an ROI. At least you have a team full of motivated marketers that came together on a bucket list marketing campaign.

And I think that is a pretty neat worst case scenario!

 🌱 THE GREENHOUSE

Things I’ve saved this week that are worth seeing:

• Top 10 Super Bowl ads of all-time. (See here)

• Rachael Higgins gives her take on Super Bowl ad trends. (See here)

• Joe Pompliano on half-time show sponsorship. (See here)

TL;DR

1/ The Ad = A Piece Of The Puzzle
2/ It Ties Them To The Event
3/ Involved In Culture > Eyes
4/ Sets Up Their Year
5/ Motivates Their Team

A little bit of a different breakdown that recent weeks, but I thought it was right with just how relevant this is right now.

Anyone else shocked by just how much thought goes into these campaigns?

It now makes complete sense to me why brands pay so much.

Because it’s about MUCH more than just the 30-second ad.

Anyway, if you’re watching the game - enjoy.

I heard the Taylor Swift guy is playing, so I hope his team loses.

Until next Sunday.

— Niall

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This has been a breakdown of Super Bowl marketing . I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!

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