But do they get it right?
I’m not a huge football fan unless it’s college football. However, like every good red-blooded, American, consumer I watch the Super Bowl almost every year. As a person who, for better or worse, who makes his living as a Marketer, I pay very close attention to the Super Bowl ads. But I am not an “ad guy,” I don’t even really like advertising. Advertising is an important part of the marketing mix but it is only one very small part of the process and I think the reason I don’t like advertising is because *most* (not all) advertisers never think ahead beyond the ad.
With the exception of web based companies (and the infamous dot bomb years) it is rare to see an ad that even includes a web address let alone attempts to drive any action beyond awareness and entertainment. Before the ad guys jump down my throat those are still important but it bothers me that rarely tie in something as simple as a web address. To me that’s a no-brainer, but what do I know, I’m not an ad guy.
But this year, things are changing. At the very least almost every ad I’ve seen has at least a website, but that’s not it. In fact several companies are using the Web heavily (but they are the exception no the rule). The most impressive effort I’ve seen that uses their own web presence (with lots of social media tie ins) is Ford sponsoring the kickoff show promoting the Ford Focus with their own Web based reality show, the Focus Rally.
[UPDATE 1] What’s one of the biggest advantages to sending Super Bowl traffic to Facebook; you don’t have to worry about hosting. The @FordFocus campaign site was down for a crucial time at the end of their sponsored kickoff show and into the first several minutes of the game (a.k.a. when most of their visitors would have showed up).
Jocks Get Twitter
I’ve seen a few ads mention Twitter but more impressive is the NFL’s Twitter sponsorship: #SuperBowl
[UPDATE 2] This is smart. The @amazonmp3 account is tweeting links to the songs from the commercials. Probably the best use of Twitter I’ve seen so far.
The Winner of The Super Bowl: Facebook
Ritz and their pre-game show and several brands have all had heavy Facebook tie ins. And from what I’ve seen and heard so far brand after brand are planning on using their millions of dollars on ads that will drive viewers to Facebook.
It’s surprising how much advertisers have jumped on board. I almost wonder if they’ve gone too far, eschewing their own company websites with the hope of driving some [like].
It makes sense though. Of the millions of people watching the Super Bowl, a non-insignificant portion of them will be watching while on the PC’s or smartphones checking Facebook and Twitter. It’s easier to get a user who already uses Facebook to go to your page than it is to get them to jump over to your website. We’ll see how it pays off. I’ll update this post as the Super Bowl rolls along.
[UPDATE 3] Chevy even paid for a whole commercial showing their new cars capable of reading you instant Facebook updates from people. That says something when Facebook is a feature for your product that you advertise.
[UPDATE 4] The Sketchers ad was the worst ad that mentioned their Facebook page, hands down. So lame I refuse to link to it.
Final Thoughts:
Brands and advertisers are getting there. There was much more use of social media. You can see all the ads here http://www.youtube.com/adblitz to see for yourself, but I think we have a long way to go.
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