In 2013, companies spent millions on Super Bowl ads, but what is the Super Bowl ad return on investment?
Thirty-second spots during Super Bowl XLVII are being sold for as much as $3.8 million. (up $0.3 million from 2012). Add to the cost another million for production and the celebrities’ fees, and it’s a fair question what is the ROI of Super Bowl advertising?
Why Super Bowl advertising?
In addition to capturing brand awareness in one big bang (100M + annual Super Bowl viewers is the most watched television program annually), companies today fall into one of the following categories.
- Launch a product, brand, company
- Drive traffic or followers
Some notable Super Bowl ads have created companies (GoDaddy for example which generated 5 million web hits in their first year and increased the company's market share from 16 percent to 33 percent over the next few months and stands at 50 percent today), and other campaigns have saved companies (eTrade baby super bowl ads).
Whether to launch a new product, drive website traffic, or gain new Friends/Followers; based on Nielsen sales data from brands that advertise on the Super Bowl see an average sales uplift of more than 11 percent in the following month. This generates an ROI from Super Bowl ads 250 times greater than ROI from the average TV ad according to Millward Brown via ADWEEK, FEB 8, 2010.
Prediction for most effective 2013 Super Bowl Ad and what constitutes an effective Super Bowl Ad:
- Longer ads create more value.
- Demonstrable ROI based on a trigger event (join our online community for example). Beyond reaching the Super Bowl 100m+audience, it’s about creating a community – most commonly an online community that truly generates the greatest ROI.
- Involve social and encourage conversations. Whether edgy, sexy, or funny, make not only an emotional connection, but spark discussion. VW has been the most shared brand of the last two Super Bowls. The Super Bowl’s greatest commercials based on # of social shares. Expect to see more ad integration. Super Bowl advertisers have a significant opportunity to encourage consumers to engage with brands online via online communities, social networks and mobile apps. Use of URL’s and hashtags will be prevalent. Pepsi is running a promo asking people to take pictures of themselves and submit them for possible display during the game’s halftime show. Lincoln and Doritos have asked the crowd to create the commercials they’ll run. Budweiser will air expertly-produced spots about its history and Clydesdale horses.
- Reward engagement. Make the ad endure beyond the game. The most effective super bowl ads will not only leave the audience wanting more, but will show (don’t tell) them where to find it. "The way companies are using URLs and online efforts has really changed during the past three to four years," says Calkins. "Companies used to run a Super Bowl ad and put the ULR at the bottom, or near the end. I suspect it did very little for them. Few people in the middle of watching the Super Bowl are going to leap up and put in a web site address," he adds, although the advent of mobile devices and tablets may change that dynamic in years to come.
- Differentiate based on strategy not celebrity. 92% of the total # of social shares came from the top 20 ads. In 2013 look for celebrities to include Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Psy hyping pistachios, Kate Upton & Usher in a car commercial, Danica Patrick and Kaley Cuoco from "The Big Bang Theory."
Links to Super Bowl Commercials and ad resources:
