Are Super Bowl TV spots worth $7M+?
Nerding out on the most expensive advertising media real estate of the year | Vol. 33
January was a wonderful whirlwind.
And it was a record-setting whirlwind.
In January of last year, I ran the most amount of miles I ever ran in one month. 73.3 miles.
This year? I ran a total of 153.4 miles in January. 💪
It was also a record-setting month for Move Fast, Think Slow. We’ve had 1x post per week since the new year! 👏👏👏
We wrote about the growth business (a life philosophy and the 2024 outlook for this newsletter, which includes a focus on team & individual performance/health, ideas and strategies worth stealing, brand marketing wisdom, and cultural trends worth paying attention to.
Wrote about how innovation, ideas, and biological evolution share the same traits; which can give you the playbook to generate innovative ideas.
Wrote how Liquid Death, the beverage company, is mastering the brand growth playbook. and MURDERING THE COMPETITION. Not really, but in their language, THEY ARE!
Wrote how compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world but no one really talks about it.
Last week wrote about the art of winning, getting wisdom from Coach Tara VanDerveer who knows how to successfully lead and win and better yet, with empathy and humanity at the forefront.
In 2024. We’re coming strong out the gate. 🏇
As we’re at the dawn of Super Bowl LVIII and as a brand marketer it’s time to nerd out on TV commercials—the far often forgotten art & strategy to sell more shit we don’t need!
LET ME TELL YOU A STORY
A few years back I was visiting with a client in their offices.
We got to discussing how his higher-ups were obsessing over the lagging sales and digital metrics.
And then my client told me:
“So we bought TV in a few NFL Playoff games, and some big cable shows for two weeks. Then everything went up. Search, content engagement, .com traffic, and eComm conversions.”
They didn’t buy TV media for months if not years.
Then they purchased some key TV placements.
Then they saw all the behavioral and transactional metrics move up and to the right.
I love this story because it flies in the face of what every “growth marketer” loves to bloviate about digital/social media is the only way.
How TV ad buys are dead.
How TV ad buys are too expensive.
How TV doesn’t work.
Newsflash: IT STILL FACKING WORKS
But if it still works, why do we live in a marketing culture that doesn’t believe in what’s been tried and true for nearly a century?
“Our society has reorientated itself to the present moment. Everything is live, real time, and always-on. It’s not a mere speeding up… It’s more of a diminishment of anything that isn’t happening right now. So much so that we are beginning to dismiss anything that is not happening right now – and the onslaught of everything that supposedly is.” - Douglass Rushkoff
What Rushkoff describes has infected marketing (and entertainment/story making) culture. So much so, that many so called marketers don’t even believe in their trade anymore.
THREE MYTHS ON TV AD BUYS & THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PREMIUM PLACEMENTS
Alex Murrell’s THE ERRORS OF EFFICIENCY terrifically encapsulates the current media ad buying culture of today’s marketplace.
Most Chief Financial Officers and Chief Executive Officers don’t understand how marketing works and they don’t like dollars eating away at their margins. Therefore they sweat the Chief Marketing Officer to “prove” their marketing will “work.”
This typically creates a team culture of fear and people start chasing cheap media tactics because we can measure digital media in real-time and can see the digits move on our computer screens.
Yet many big brands like Adidas, Top Shop, Gap, Google, AirBnb and others have learned the hard way that over-indexing on “performance media” aka efficiency-driven media channels (Search, Social, Programmatic Banner buys) cheapens the brand and in fact, companies lose out on sales opportunities.
The point of marketing isn’t to “hack” people’s attention spans. It’s to shorten the timeline between awareness of the product to purchase of product. That. is. the. objective.
And you can’t shorten that period of time unless 1) people know you exist and 2) you get as many as humans possible into your consideration set. That’s the point of mass media advertising. All of marketing for that matter.
Yes, you can leverage digital media to drive “efficient” engagements and drive humans toward the purchase, but if that’s all you are doing then you not maximizing the marketplace opportunity. If your brand disregards TV/video and other traditional media tactics you will likely do it at your peril. As Jeff Bezos says, we have to be suspicious of proxies (aka outdated metrics as the source of truth). because over time metrics can become misleading.
Anyways, back to Alex’s brilliant piece; the three myths he dispels
MYTH 1: Mass media is wasteful because it is untargeted
MYTH 2: Mass media is wasteful because it is ignored
MYTH 3: Mass media is wasteful because it is expensive
Here are some amazing takeaways that dispel the myths.
MYTH 1: Mass media is wasteful because it is untargeted
For a potential audience to buy a brand, they have to know that a much wider audience aspires to do the same.
“A brand is made not just by the people who buy it, but also by the people know about it. “ - Sir John Hegarty
Cultural imprinting happens on television and that’s valuable because the perceived value of your product goes up when other humans suspect their peers also know about said product.
MYTH 2: Mass media is wasteful because it is ignored
“There is evidence that people are more likely to be influenced by empty persuasive messages, such as commercials when they are tired and depleted.” - Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman
“When we don’t notice we are being influenced, we cannot argue back.” - Paul Feldwick
“Ads that received passive attention, are sub-consciously processed, shallowly analyzed and stored in our long-term memories…lodge themselves in a consumer’s subconscious” which is key because memory structures of a brand are how businesses can grow.
MYTH 3: Mass media is wasteful because it is expensive
“Evidently, just as female peacocks are drawn to meet with the largest, most spectacular tail feathers because the display signals superior biological fitness, consumers are attracted to brands that invest in lavish displays like Super Bowl commercials because such extravagance signals a high-quality, successful brand.”
“Expensive media signals brand strength.”
To test this theory, Thinkbox asked over 3,500 people if they perceived brands to be “high quality”, “financially strong” and “confident” when seeing them advertised in various media channels. TV, the archetypal expensive media channel, scored 43%, 50% and 58% respectively. Social media, on the other hand, scored significantly lower at 19%, 21% and 40%.
Marketers don’t discuss media signal theory in advertising and channel planning/strategy as much as they should. When you purchase TV media as a brand, it’s not about a one-to-one behavioral transaction. It’s about the multitude of communications and implications the TV buy implies about your company and product.
And if you’re still wondering if television exposure is worth the squeeze, just ask Tracy Chapman.
IS THE SUPER BOWL $7M PER :30 SECONDS OF AD TIME WORTH IT?
F$%K. YES.
The reason is simple: There is no opportunity guaranteed to reach more people than the Super Bowl, and the slice of every other pie keeps shrinking. “It’s a throwback in terms of reaching everyone all at once,” said Charles Taylor, a professor of marketing at the Villanova School of Business. - $7 Million for 30 Seconds? To Advertisers, the Super Bowl Is Worth It
It’s the only time of year your product can reach as many as 115 million people at the same time. Plus, if you’re able to create something that’s eye-popping/interesting the company can create a longer shelf life of value for themselves.
“You’re not just paying for that 30-second spot; it is a four- to six-week buzz that you’re creating,” said Mary Scott, a professor of strategic communications at Montclair State University
IN SUMMARY
Even if your brand can’t afford the Super Bowl it’d behoove you to find your way into Live Sports, the big religion and fireside stories of modern American society. And you should find a way into streaming video platforms, which have now taken over what was once primetime viewing behavior. Sure we all don’t rush home to catch the latest episode of Friends at 7pm on Thursday night but, we still watch stories on the big flat screen and we do it often. And the commercials your brand makes send a strong signal to the customers you want to cultivate.
Digital spam does indeed work as well. But it only can go so far. Hence why the Super Bowl advertising is still big business.
WHO IS GOING TO WIN THE BIG GAME?
The Kansas City Chiefs will win. Patrick Mahomes is teflon. Travis Kelce is destined for greatness. Obvvvviiiiii.
IMAGES OF THE WEEK
Boss. Mentor. Friend. CEO Laura Correnti rang the closing bell at NYSE to support her new venture, the launch of Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment. It was a momentous occasion, signifying the moment and movement of women's sports. Deep Blue will revolutionize the future of marketing, sports, and entertainment and have a big positive impact on all of us. WATCH THIS SPACE!
I love Wall Street. The shadow play is always 🤌🤌🤌.
Go forth.
Stay safe.
Ride the wave.
-Mitch