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The Covid-19 pandemic has taught brands that having an on-site presence at major live events — from the Super Bowl and Olympics to the Grammys and South by Southwest — isn’t as essential as it once was.
Brands have learned that they can “be there” without actually being there, and they can find success by spending significantly less money than the investment required for the tried and true tactics of 30-second ads and on-site activations. These lessons should have been learned long before the pandemic, but brand marketing approaches don’t always move at the speed of culture. And while traditional brands are adapting, new category players (in the crypto and cannabis industries) seem to be following dated marketing practices.
Super Bowl LVI: Beyond On-Site Activations
Last year, we saw many household names holding off on their typical Super Bowl advertising activities.
While Super Bowl ad inventory will be sold out, as Super Bowl LVI approaches, we’re seeing a similar trend — many brands won’t be jostling for viewers’ attention during the commercial breaks. Instead, many are finding innovative, less costly ways to get in front of viewers.
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Consider State Farm. The brand made headlines in 2021 for airing its first Super Bowl commercial, one that featured football stars Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. But this year, State Farm decided against running a spot, kicking off a TikTok challenge for fans instead. State Farm will feature whoever wins the challenge in a future commercial.
Then there’s Miller Lite, which won’t air a Super Bowl ad due to not being the game’s official beer advertiser. Miller Lite is working around that by creating a bar in the metaverse where fans can view its Super Bowl ad. It’s a prime example of a modern way to interact with a modern audience.
Through these types of integrated campaigns, brands are encouraging fans to interact with them long before the big game. The videos that fans create and send are conversation starters; fans feel like they have a greater stake because of the chance to win something, be it a starring role in a commercial or Super Bowl tickets. As a bonus, these brands are reaching younger audiences; TikTok and Instagram are two of the top social media platforms for Gen Z.
Whether they’re running a social media challenge or building a virtual bar, these brands are establishing a connection to the Super Bowl and becoming part of the conversation without spending top dollar on traditional ads. In fact, I’d argue that these marketing strategies have generated more direct consumer engagement for State Farm and Miller Lite than traditional Super Bowl ads would have.
Enter The New Guard For Super Bowl LVI
With categories such as cannabis and crypto making a cultural impact, we’re seeing those brands entering the Super Bowl world, too. They’re spending heavily and will be making waves, but for the most part, are following old tactics, not matching the innovation of their products to their game-day approaches.
There’s Snoop Dogg’s INDOGGO gin line, which announced its Instagram sweepstakes for fans to win two Super Bowl LVI tickets. Groupon is partnering with NFL player Rob Gronkowski for a contest; fans can submit a contest entry every day on the Groupon app, and if they win, they’ll have the opportunity to party with 15 of their friends at Gronkowski’s mansion while he’s on the field for SuperBowl LVI.
On the traditional advertising front, cryptocurrency platforms Crypto.com and FTX are set to air their first Super Bowl commercials, yet we haven’t seen integrated campaigns from these newbies yet.
Smart brands that believe the NFL is an ideal platform to reach their audience should have been building PR and social campaigns when the playoffs started —when the post-season Twitter conversation increased 397% compared to the 2020-2021 regular season, according to data from Twitter. The topics went beyond what was happening on the field. Compared to September 2020 – January 2021, between September 2021 – January 2022, conversations around drinks increased by 514%, the conversations around fashion and beauty increased by 120% and the conversations around podcasts increased by 45%.
These newer guard brands are marketing aggressively, albeit via traditional mediums, and while some will still opt for more traditional activations, expect them to return with more creative activations for live events in the years to come.
The same goes for the established brands — yes, many will continue with traditional on-site activations, but more and more of them will break the mold in the future when it comes to live events.
Whether the live event is the Super Bowl, the Olympics, South by Southwest, etc., expect brands to “be there” without actually “being there.” The new stadiums, auditoriums and conference halls are in the digital realm, and brands will need integrated programs to elevate themselves.
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Author: Bret Werner, Forbes Councils Member
