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Super Bowl Ads A Waste Of Money (Again)… Except (Maybe) For Dreamworks
The Marketing Doctor says:
Super Bowl Ads A Waste Of Money (Again)…
Except (Maybe) For Dreamworks
I’ve talked and written about Super Bowl advertising being a waste of money for a very long time. Pasted below are my standard fast facts on why Super Bowl advertising is a lemon.
Well, economic realities (and maybe a little bit of my counsel) have finally begun to shake up conventional wisdom, and we’re seeing some long-time Super Bowl advertisers like Fed Ex and GM take a pass this year.
In a fractured media market and a troubled retail environment, taking a pass on the Super Bowl makes more sense than ever because single, one-trick-pony advertisements simply don’t do marketing well.
That said, there’s still more hype than there should be, and advertisers are still lining up to pay big bucks for a very questionable return.
One Super Bowl advertiser that seems to be doing it right, though, is Jeffrey Katzenberg and Dreamworks. In fact, this cutting-edge guy and his cutting-edge company are suggesting one way that Super Bowl advertising can work for an advertiser.
I recently wrote about how Hollywood is a great marketer because it is constantly adapting to the needs of its Target Market. One such need is for an ever enhanced theatrical experience. To compete with falling DVD sales and ever more sophisticated in-home viewing options, Katzenberg and others are pioneering the next generation 3-D theater.
How does the Super Bowl fit? Katzenberg has identified the event as the perfect marketing platform for the launch of this new 3-D experience and will be bringing a taste of the new 3-D directly to people‘s living rooms.
Dreamworks is doing a Super Bowl advertisement in a way that sets them apart from the pack. They aren’t really running an ad as much as offering an event (their 3-D launch) within an event (the Super Bowl).
This is real marketing. It’s not an advertisement; it’s a sales promotion. This is not the “make them watch it and hope that they buy it” model. Instead, Dreamworks is offering an experience (sampling is the most effective way to sell a product) and then letting people know that there are future events (movies) that they can participate in.
This is marketing as the new advertising, and advertising as part of a strategic web of message delivery and experience of the product that reinforces brand and generates sales by meeting the needs of a Target Market. I didn’t think I would ever say this, but sometimes a Super Bowl spot might just pay. Stay tuned.
And here are the fast facts:
Five Fast Facts For Why Superbowl Advertising
is a Waste of Money:
1) The most famous ad in Super Bowl history —Apple’s “1984” ad directed by Ridley Scott of Gladiator fame— became an icon and introduced so-called “event marketing”... But for Apple, it spelled the beginning of the end in its personal computer war with IBM and Windows. In fact, in the year following the big Super Bowl ad, Apple sold fewer computers than ever.
2) Not everybody watches the Super Bowl. The same money spent on Super Bowl ads, used instead to reach those watching other television programs on at the same time, could land almost double the viewers in the 18-49 demographic.
3) Why does the hype continue? Because Super Bowl advertising is great publicity for advertising agencies. (Unfortunately, it’s a poor business decision for their clients).
4) A direct marketing campaign that invested $3 million in advertising and production costs (the price tag of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial) would generate a much higher multiple of sales.
5) The cost for one Super Bowl ad in 2008 (somewhere between 2.4 and 2.7 million for a 30-second spot) could buy up to 600 30-second ads in the NY market or 800 30-second ads in LA.
And remember, it’s always easier when you keep marketing and branding in mind.
TODAY'S TANTILLO TAKEAWAY -
The best ad buy is the ad buy that generates the most sales… period.
I agree to you that it is easier when you keep marketing and branding in mind.
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