Super Bowl advertising has evolved into an entirely different ball game. The ads have changed from expensive 30-second spots to expensive integrated marketing and advertising campaigns, and PR has become a key player in the run up to the Super Bowl game between New England and Atlanta.
In an effort to generate earned media coverage, PR teams now offer the news media previews or exclusive peeks at commercials on the condition they don’t publish the ads until a specific time. Super Bowl advertisements have become bigger news than ever – and not just in trade journals, but in national and multi-national publications. Companies are even touting ads placed in slots adjacent to the Super Bowl broadcast.
The New York Times describes how Anheuser-Busch InBev hosted about a dozen journalists at its New York office to discuss its advertising plans for the Super Bowl. Its PR representatives distributed a news release, media briefings, and background on beers scheduled to be featured in Super Bowl commercials. They instructed reporters not to release the information until the morning after the game. Its marketing head gave an hour long presentation. The company did not unveil the commercials at the press conference, but planned to release them online before the game.
More bands take that “drum beat” marketing strategy and release Super Bowl advertisements, either teasers or the full version, before the big game on YouTube and other channels. January is like the marketing and advertising playoffs as the game approaches.
Building Suspense
Intel released its Everyday Brady ad starring Super Bowl veteran and MVP Tom Brady. Kia released two teaser ads starring actress Melissa McCarthy. Wix launched its campaign with a teaser ad starring actors Jason Statham and Gal Gadot. Hyundai, Turbo Tax, Lexus, Avocados from Mexico and Mr. Clean have also released either teaser ads or their official game-day spots, according to Marketing Land.
“Super Bowl is the biggest day in advertising and following our incredibly successful 2016, we wanted to push the creativity and storytelling even further,” stated Hyundai CMO Dean Evans in a release announcing the campaign.
Many brands promote or reveal the ads on social media before the game. Since social media marketing is more pervasive than in recent years, some brands advertise on the networks to gain an edge.
A Media Cottage Industry
“Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, they all have different types of buys you can make,” Lawrence Teherani-Ami, a media director at the ad agency Wieden & Kennedy told the Times. “The Super Bowl has created a cottage industry for other media companies to take advantage of it as well.”
The average cost of a 30-second ad for the Super Bowl increased to from $4.5 million last year to $5 million, the Times reports. Brands might spend as much to market the ads as they spend on the ads for air time.
Bottom Line: PR has acquired a leading role in Super Bowl advertising. The ad campaigns often kick off with media relations events, followed by release teasers of ads on social media. Comprehensive, integrated earned-media campaigns build suspense and help brands get the most out of the costly productions.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
