To start off, let’s congratulate the RAVENS! We are, after all, a Baltimore-area company (and I for one love the Ravens!).
Although, it didn’t seem possible when they entered the postseason – losers of four of their last five games or when they trailed the Denver Broncos last week by a touchdown with under a minute to go, or during Sunday night’s first half, when they were having trouble stopping quarterback Tom Brady. We did it! We are going to the Super Bowl.
With less than two weeks to SuperBowl 2013 where the Baltimore Ravens will face the San Francisco 49ers I thought it was only appropriate to focus on the marketing bonanza which is the Super Bowl commercials. Sure, to the average business owner, Super Bowl commercials might just appear to be frivolous, expensive advertising. But in reality, Super Bowl campaigns that are done right are among the most effective marketing out there and there is something we can learn from them.
The concepts needed for a winning Super Bowl campaign are the same for any marketing program, regardless of the size of your company or your budget. Here are seven rules that make winning campaigns work.
1. Put strategy first. It’s true that creativity is the name of the game in Super Bowl advertising; it’s what gets people talking about you the next day. But creativity without strategy is ineffective. What is the goal of the campaign and how does it fit in to the rest of your marketing efforts? One great ad isn’t going to get you anywhere, you need a plan to back up your efforts. Sure you will get some initial buzz but after that wears off you are likely to fall behind unless you follow up. You need to keep people intrigued.
2. Be relevant. Know who your target is. You can’t appeal to everyone and trying to won’t make you successful. Aim to please your target audience. They are the ones who will ultimately buy your product or services.
3. Keep it simple. Every aspect, including your brand’s image, voice and appearance, should not be overcomplicated. Too much information confuses people and this can turn consumers away.
4. Show, don’t tell. It’s always better to get your prospects to draw their own conclusions. Don’t try and talk them into something. When you do that, they may feel like they missed out on something. The idea is to give them the facts and persuade them to think about your product in a way that entices them to come to the conclusion that your product is the best choice.
5. Provoke thought. Even if you are educating or entertaining them, intelligent customers are drawn to brands that recognize them for being so.
6. Strike an emotional chord. People make spontaneous purchases based on emotion, not logic. In the moment you are talking about your product, that person is subconsciously identifying with it (or not). That’s why telling stories is so effective, and why so many super bowl ads use humor.
7. Take risks. Taking risks means, by definition, doing something unexpected. Taking risks won’t work every time—that’s why they’re risks—but you can be sure that doing the expected probably won’t work either.
There you have it. Seven guidelines for creating great promotions of any kind, for any company. There is a method behind the Super Bowl madness and it works or companies wouldn’t continue to spend millions for those coveted spots. With all the crazy new ads that roll out on Super Bowl Sunday, companies are strategically playing into our insatiable appetite for hysterically funny and cutting-edge ads. Weird and memorable ads are good…but they’re awesome when they’ve got a solid strategy behind them. Great ads don’t always need to sell to people on first viewing, as long as they get people talking and you have a strategic plan on how to keep the consumer engaged after the initial introduction.
We’ll be keeping a running list and would love to hear from you. What will your favorite ad be? Check back for some of the buzz.
~ Bethany Howell, art director
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