Super Bowl is the culmination of ALL. THE. THINGS.
My friends and I put an end to Dry January with celebratory cocktails and loads of salty, fatty snacks. I think there was a football game happening as we awaited the much-anticipated, half-time entertainment and watched the year’s best TV commercials that have been teased for an entire week leading up to the big game.
Which was your favorite commercial?
Watch all the Super Bowl Commercials here
Did you shed a tear for Loretta’s husband?
Did your jaw drop when Jason Mamoa dropped his six-pack on the couch?
Did you hear MC Hammer tell us not to touch this, again?
Were you ready to join the world for a much-needed snack?
Were you ready to join Chrissy Teigen and John Legend in their car?
Were you wondering what was in Post Malone’s head?
So, how do you know if a commercial was a success? How many of these brands do you remember the day after you saw the commercials? Will you make a purchase this week because of the commercial you saw?
TV ads are about building brand awareness.
TV ads are designed to make you think about their brand first when you’re in a position to buy a snack, a car, a beer, a mortgage or any other household item. Notice that all of these things are items that EVERYONE buys on a pretty regular basis. These ads are really for EVERYONE because the Super Bowl was watched by 102 million viewers.
Why don’t we just do a Super Bowl commercial?
At each company I’ve worked at, inevitably one of the salespeople or staff members asks, “Why don’t we just place an ad during the Super Bowl?” Well, why didn’t I think of that??
Well, here’s why. First, the average cost of a 30-second spot during the big game was $5.6 million!
Most businesses don’t have that kind of ad budget for an entire year, let alone one day. Second, The Super Bowl is not the time or place to highlight an ad where only a small percentage of the audience could use the ad. You wouldn’t advertise for a B2B service or an obscure pharma drug that only helps a small percentage of the population.
Small and medium-sized businesses that want to build brand awareness for their financial services or healthcare service, can utilize TV to promote their brand. Cable TV programming allows you to select the timing and program where the ad will be shown so you can narrow in on your target audience.
Super Bowl ads are a great form of entertainment every year and they help give great examples of how to build brand awareness. They’re expensive, outrageous and unfortunately not accessible for most small to medium-sized businesses.
If you want a cost-effective way to promote your brand, contact us to put together a strategy that will get your brand remembered in the minds of your target audience.
About the Author
Stacey Harrison is the lead brand strategist and designer at Heart & Hustle Brands and has provided creative direction for healthcare, industrial, and financial services brands for 20 years. She started Harrison Creative Group in 2017 to serve businesses that need a professional brand image on a budget. In 2021, the company rebranded to Heart & Hustle Brands to walk in the shoes of clients that experience a change of name or brand refresh.
