This Sunday the country’s largest sporting event and one of the most-watched nights of television will have fans glued to their flat screens. But it’s not just the “Big Game” that fans are anticipating – it’s also the commercials.
“For most brands, major advertising campaigns don’t start with the new year, but with the Super Bowl,” says David Allan, Ph.D. '99 (M.B.A.), chair of marketing at Saint Joseph's University who recently completed a study on the last 10 years of Super Bowl advertising.
“Super Bowl ads often serve as the ‘kickoff,’ setting the tone for companies’ annual marketing strategies,” he adds.
“Brands like Budweiser, Pepsi, and GoDaddy have become advertisers that we look forward to seeing each year,” says Allan. These companies, and many others, start releasing teasers and employing digital strategies weeks or months in advance of the game to build anticipation and test audience engagement.
In Allan’s newly published book, This Note's For You: Popular Music + Advertising = Marketing Excellence (Business Expert Press, 2015), he devotes an entire chapter to Budweiser’s Super Bowl advertising strategy in the last two years, noting their use of popular music and their consistently high viewer ratings.
The beer company’s teaser this year reveals a return of the Clydesdales and their puppy “buddy” who debuted in the touching 2014 commercial. “Budweiser knows how to create an emotional reaction in its audience – and you remember their commercials,” says Allan.
Besides the brands viewers expect to see during the game, Allan suggests two companies to look for during Super Bowl XLIX.
“Victoria’s Secret,” he says. “This is the first time that this company has paid for a spot during the Super Bowl in seven years.”
The lingerie retailer also made a digital push, taking advantage of its millions of Facebook fans and Twitter followers by posting previous years’ ads and a 2015 teaser online weeks in advance.
Similarly, Mercedes Benz started promoting a “modern race” between the fabled tortoise and the hare during the NFL Conference Championships, with the “big event” promised for Superbowl Sunday – but not before fans vote on social media for who will win (#TeamTortoise or #TeamHare).
“The ability to interact with the audience via another platform – company website, YouTube, social networking – is the benefit of having a digital strategy for Superbowl advertisers,” says Allan.
Allan has over 20 years of experience in media and ethics. In 2004, he was appointed to a National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Subcommittee on Indecency following the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident.
Contact InformationAllan can be reached for comment at [email protected], at 610-660-1637 or by calling University Communications at 610-660-3256.
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