Social Media and SuperBowl Commercials: The Future of Digital Advertising

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Social Media and SuperBowl Commercials: The Future of Digital Advertising

Erika Almanzar

Each February, the mix of gatherings with friends, large amounts of food and advertising’s biggest showcase collectively signify the most important night in American football: the SuperBowl. While audiences are amped to root for their favorite team, another moment many look forward to is the set of commercials, which advertisers estimate to be about $4.5 million for a 30 second spot this year, according to Ad Week. Among the list of companies purchasing spots for SuperBowl XLIX include Doritos, Dove Men + Care, Coca-Cola, Skittles, and many more (Ad Age). With the tremendous growth of social media in the past decade, large corporations have taken notice of its increasing popularity among users through apps and mobile websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Vine. As a result, advertisers have strategized ways to not only incorporate social networking into commercials, but have also collaborated with viral personalities and celebrities in promoting their brands.

While many view the SuperBowl as the most important night in branding, critics argue that the annual event showcases the flaws in advertising, resulting in companies creating pitches that “focus on nothing other than comedy or sex instead of prompting clicks and likes about the advertisements themselves” (Baskin). However, recent examples show that social media plays a vital role in the branding of companies during highly televised events, such as the SuperBowl. For example, last year’s Esurance commercial featuring The Office star, John Krasinski, used its 30-second slot to promote a giveaway of $1.5 million to one Twitter user who used the hash tag, #EsuranceSave30 (Luckerson). According to Time Magazine, the advertisement resulted in over two million tweets in less than 24 hours, with 200,000 tweets posted within a minute of the commercial’s airing. Additionally, Esurance’s Twitter page exploded from 8,900 to over 110,000 followers post-SuperBowl commercial. With an online giveaway, all Twitter users had equal opportunity to participate and share opinions through social media, which made Esurance a household name in the immediate days following the 2014 SuperBowl.

While Esurance received much attention and success in its collaboration with celebrities, social media, and a commercial, Oreos has also received large amounts of viral attention from its online advertisement during the blackout at the 2013 SuperBowl. Within minutes of the lights shutting off during the second half of the game, Oreos tweeted an ad with the caption, “Power out? No problem”, along with a picture saying “You can dunk in the dark” (Sanders). In a short amount of time, Oreos generated about 14,000 re-tweets, along with its Facebook post receiving over 200,000 likes, according to BuzzFeed. While Oreos previously aired a 30-second commercial earlier in the evening, the company took the Internet by storm with a quick and clever response to the game’s blackout.

After proven success from companies incorporating social media into their SuperBowl advertisements, what can we expect to see this year? According to Laura Johnson from Ad Week, we can anticipate a 90-second commercial from Bud Light based on its #UpForWhatever tagline, which is geared towards Millennials. While encouraging twenty and thirty-somethings to consume more of their beer, Bud Light is teaming up with DJ Steve Aoki to present a party scenario that younger viewers can enjoy. Another advertisement to look forward to is GoDaddy’s collaboration with Nascar star Danica Patrick and a Golden Retriever named Buddy during its 30-second spot. Throughout the game, Buddy will have a Twitter account and is planning on creating posts and interacting with online users.

With social media increasing at a rapid rate, is it important for companies to gear their advertisements more towards the digital community? Today, many corporations are hiring professionals to create and manage their online accounts. Additionally, platforms other than Facebook such as Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram have increased significantly over the past year, with about 52% of adults using two or more social media sites (Pew Research Center). In order for media industries and professionals to remain relevant in a digital age, it seems as though social media has become the key to networking and positive customer feedback. Recently, companies such as Taco Bell are notable for having constant interaction with their Twitter followers, which has increased the company page’s viral traffic and popularity.

In terms of the SuperBowl, do you believe the commercials that use social media throughout their ads are generally more successful than those who do not? Or is the quality of the commercial more important in generating online discussion? Furthermore, could we predict that eventually all SuperBowl advertisements will rely on social media, one way or another?

Works Cited

Ad Age Staff. "Super Bowl XLIX Ad Chart: Who's Buying Commercials in Super Bowl 2015." Advertising Age Special Report Super Bowl RSS. Advertising Age, 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

Baskin, Jonathan S. "The Dumbest Night for Brands? It's Still the Super Bowl." AdAge.com. Advertising Age, 08 Jan. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

Duggan, Maeve, Nicole B. Ellison, Cliff Lampe, Amanda Lenhart, and Mary Madden. Social Media Update 2014. Rep. Pew Research Center, 09 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

"Esurance Featuring John Krasinski - Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial."YouTube.com. YouTube, 04 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

Johnson, Lauren. "The 10 Super Bowl Ads You Won't Want to Miss This Year." AdWeek.com. Ad Week, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

Luckerson, Victor. "Esurance’s $1.5 Million Giveaway Is Making Twitter Go Crazy." Time.com. Time Magazine, 03 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

Sanders, Rachel. "How Oreo Got That Twitter Ad Up So Fast." BuzzFeed.com. BuzzFeed, 03 Feb. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

8 comments:

UnknownFebruary 2, 2015 at 3:15 PM
Nicole Soleimani

Blog Response #1

Erika, after reading your post about advertisement and social media, I have found you made many valid points regarding commercials being successful, by incorporating online communication. The example you gave with last year’s Esurance, Superbowl commercial was a perfect representation on how a company was successful with using specific social media outlets, such as Twitter, to reach a specific audience. By the company bribing the audience by a chance of winning money, through just using a hashtag, many people will participate. I think this is not only a great marketing strategy, but also allows the consumer to get involved, and participate in their advertisement. In this case, the consumer can connect personally to the brand itself.

In my opinion, I believe that today’s generation is so heavily dependent on online communication, that without having that connection, it’s almost impossible to reach the consumers. According to the reading, Advertising & Audiences, the author states, “The advertising landscape is evolving at an unprecedented rate, influenced largely by two factors: media fragmentation and population shifts. Changes in the population are creating a younger, more diverse, more tech-savy consumer base.” (Nielson) Being “tech-savy” and social media friendly is a huge need today in the marketing world. Almost all the successful companies now, are specifically hiring people to just manage their social media accounts, and are relying heavily on online advertising. In regards to television commercials, the networks are aware of the “second screen” devices. In other words, they know that once the commercials turn on during their favorite television show, they automatically go on to their cell-phones and go on social media. According to the reading, “The Ratings System that could change the TV Industry Forever,” it states, “Every television executive covets viewers between age 18 and 49, widely considered the most valuable audience for advertisers.” (Suciu, Forbes) As you could see, this is not only the most valuable target audience, but it also is the most valuable target audience who heavily engages in social media use.

The reading also states, “Focusing on creating an entertaining ad first- and educating the consumer second is a key way to boost memorability and branding.” (Nielson) I think this would be a perfect opportunity for commercial advertisements to target these people and engage them with their brand, by using Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. According to Nielsen Social, “During 2013, 36 million people sent out 990 million Tweets about TV.” (Nielson) This shows that the audience is not only viewing the television shows, but are also engaging their thoughts about that show using social media. According to the PewResearchCenter, “Multi-platform use is on the rise: 52% of online adults now use two or more social media sites, a significant increase from 2013, when it stood at 42% of internet users.” (Duggan) This is an important find for advertisers because they need to determine whom they are targeting and how they are going to reach them. Furthermore, if 52% of adults are on more than two social media sites, than that could determine a great aspect to attract their attention.
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UnknownFebruary 2, 2015 at 3:16 PM
Nicole Soleimani Continued...

In regards to the most expensive commercial airtime, which is during the Super Bowl, I believe creating both a great quality commercial and a commercial that can engage the viewers would be the most successful. Companies who spend millions of dollars for a short spot on a Super Bowl commercial, have one goal. That goal is to have the audience talking about it long after the game is over.

For example, the commercial involving Kim Kardashian and T-Mobile, played on the Super Bowl this year. In the commercial, Kim mocked herself while explaining why you need to save your unused data, as they played the sad, somber music. In the commercial we see Kim doing what she loves to do, and that’s to take pictures of her self. She takes a selfie to show off her makeup, takes a selfie while playing tennis, takes a selfie in her closet and than takes another selfie in the snow. At first I thought it was obnoxious, and not entertaining whatsoever. She states, "Each month, millions of gigs of unused data are taken back by wireless companies. Tragic. Data you paid for can be used to see my makeup, my backhand, my outfits, my vacations and my outfits. Sadly all lost. Help save the data." At the end of 30 second commercial they show the hashtag #Kimsdatastash which I went on twitter to check out.

To my surprise, twitter was blown up by tweets about this commercial. There were some positive feedback, but there were negative tweets as well. Regardless, they still had the audience engaged, and talking about this commercial after the show. Even though it was a little silly, putting Kim Kardashian as a spoke person for their commercial, it was defiantly a good idea on their part. I am almost positive that this commercial will be talked about, and remembered for a good amount of time, which is exactly what the company tries to do. As long as people remember this commercial and think about T-Mobile when they think/hear about her, than this commercial would be a successful advertisement.

Works Cited

Duggan, Maeve, Nicole B. Ellison, Cliff Lampe, Amanda Lenhart, and Mary Madden. Social Media Update 2014. Rep. Pew Research Center, 09 Jan. 2015. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

"Advertising & Audiences: State of the Media, May 2014." Nielsen.com. May 2014.
Web.

Suciu, Peter. "The Ratings System That Could Change the TV Industry forever." Fortune The Ratings System That Could Change the TV Industryforever Comments. Forbes, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

"Kim Kardashian's Amazing Super Bowl Commercial 2015 - T-Mobile's DataStashâ„¢." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.
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UnknownFebruary 2, 2015 at 6:42 PM
The Super Bowl is undoubtedly the most notable time of year for commercial advertisements. Companies spend millions of dollars on ads aired during the game with the awareness that tens of millions of viewers will be watching. It is a crucial time for advertisers because they are tasked with creating a clever commercial that will get viewers talking and will in turn increase sales for that company. Knowing how many and what types of viewers will be tuned in, how to be memorable, and how to gain positive feedback are aspects that advertisers seek to optimize. The Nielsen Company calls this “the 3Rs”- reach, resonance, and reaction. Nielsen also mentions in “Advertising & Audiences” that, “the ever-increasing range of media channels available for viewer consumption has allowed marketers to connect with consumers in new ways and opened the minds of intended audiences to embracing new mediums for receiving information about goods and services.” These new media outlets have caused advertisers to find new creative ways to market their products; this involves utilizing the 3Rs in a different manner.

Since it has been proven from past experience that integrating social media into Super Bowl ads has been beneficial, companies have naturally gone with that technique with this year’s ads. In terms of reach, they know that the Super Bowl will reach a great deal of viewers and a big majority of those viewers tend to be millennials who utilize social media. This is perhaps why that particular Bud Light commercial aired. In terms of resonance, advertisers want to connect to Super Bowl viewers by creating compelling messages that will stand out in the minds of millions. In addition, creating a hashtag for a particular product and including it in the advertisement is a way of connecting to the viewer and encouraging online discussion. In terms of reaction, it is safe to say that many advertisers got the reaction they were hoping for when millions went to twitter to use those hashtags and create buzz about the product or ad. For these reasons, it is certainly important for companies to gear their ads towards the digital community because that is how word gets around fast among consumers. An example of this comes from some of the top 10 ads of 2014 as determined by AdWeek. Many of these ads, including “World’s Toughest Job,” “Monty the Penguin,” and “Most Shocking Second a Day Video” showed hashtags at the end of the commercial to encourage talk on social media (Nudd). AdWeek explains that these commercials were successful based on YouTube views and product sales after the commercials were aired (Nudd). Whether the social media aspect or the commercial quality had anything to do with their success is debatable. In my opinion, a combination of both will garner the most optimal results for companies. Advertisers do not have to sacrifice one for the other. Take Budweiser’s Super Bowl ad from this year featuring an adorable puppy and the iconic Clydesdales. AdAge determined this ad to be one of the tops ads viewers are not going to want to miss during this year’s game and for good reason (Johnson). It was compelling, heartwarming and creative and it included the hashtag #BestBuds at the end. I thought this was one of the best ads of the night and according to a lot of buzz on social media, many seem to agree. It is proof that although creating a clever commercial is critical to getting viewers attention, incorporating social media is a way of keeping that momentum going and spreading awareness of the company even further.

Unless social media become much less popular, I think that all Super Bowl ads will eventually rely at least somewhat on social media if they do not already (I can’t really think of an ad from the game that did not include some sort of social media). It does not hurt for advertisers to include things like hashtags in their ads as it can only increase awareness so it seems harmless not to jump on the social media bandwagon.
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UnknownFebruary 3, 2015 at 10:20 AM
Caroline Gaudet

Hi Erika! I definitely feel that incorporation social media is going to continue to grow in importance when it comes to television advertisement. I think you made some great points when you talked about the fact that advertisers such as Oreo have begun to incorporate real time advertising into their Super Bowl commercials. I definitely agree that this is the advertising of the future. As stated in Lauren Johnson’s article 10 Super Bowl Commercials you don’t want to Miss this Year, “the Super Bowl remains not only the biggest televised sports event in the U.S. but the year's most anticipated advertising showcase” (Johnson). The Super Bowl is the big leagues of advertising, and a lot is on the line.

In reality, advertisers are paying 4.5 million dollars for 30 seconds of airtime during the Super Bowl. However, with that 30 seconds of airtime, you can spark a conversation that lasts for weeks, every second bringing attention to your product. This is the goal for advertising, to bring as much attention to your product for as small a cost as possible.

Having watched the advertisements throughout this year’s Super Bowl, I can definitely say that I feel that above all, the “#SuperBowlRally” commercials were the most effective when it came to their use of social media. One of the commercials featured Britney Spears and showed the pop singer warming up her with the text, “Britney’s getting ready, Are you?”, then flashed the hash tag, #SuperBowlRally. In having watched it during the game, my first reaction was, “What?” This reaction seemed to resonate throughout viewership, as many people took social media to discuss what exactly the commercial meant. The commercial aired for eleven seconds, much less airtime to pay for than the usual 30 second slot (and therefore much less expensive). However, the commercial depended on its ambiguity and the power of social media to drag out the effects of the commercial for much more than 11 seconds.

I definitely feel that if used correctly, social media can take your 30 second commercial, and draw out its effects for days or even weeks. To evoke any strong emotion in viewers, be it sadness in the Nationwide commercial, happiness in the Budweiser commercial, or any emotion in between, is to get people talking, talking among their peer groups and on social media.
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Jake CarletonFebruary 5, 2015 at 12:50 PM
Erika, I think your article is extremely on point when it comes to the discussion of companies incorporating possible social media campaigns with their television ad campaigns. The Super Bowl is a unique event, because unlike other sporting events, the majority of the World watches it whether or not their team is currently playing in the Super Bowl. The main contributor for this is due to the fact that people love the commercials that air during the Super Bowl, and they are often discussed as much, or more, than the actual game itself. This leads to the discussion of how much it is worth to a company to advertise during the Super Bowl. Adweek discusses the price of ads, but in correlation of projected worth to a company to advertise when they write, “"($4.5 million) is a steal. We think the Super Bowl is worth closer to $10 million in incremental exposure for marketers” (Adweek). This shows that it is seemingly well worth it for a company, given they have the financial means, to invest in a Super Bowl commercial. However, even more interesting is the possibility of launching a social media campaign with the proper placement of the campaign in your Super Bowl commercial.
Erika’s use of the Esurance campaign is a very evident depiction of this trend. Last year, they gained a substantial amount of followers on Twitter and had a huge impact on the social media landscape with their # (hash tag) usage during their ad immediately after the Super Bowl. As Erika explained, the number of followers they had skyrocketed from 8,900 to 110,000 just from airing that in their commercial. It is fair to say that a majority of those followers are still following Esurance on Twitter, which therefore is giving Esurance free publicity to those people due to their ad that they placed at last year’s Super Bowl. The demographic they hit were huge as social media usage has been leaping in the past few years. As the Pew Social Media Update 2014 shows, 71% of adults aged 18+ use Facebook, and 23% of adults aged 18+ use Twitter (Pew Social Media Update 2014). This shows the amount of outreach a company can reach by utilizing a social media campaign within their normal advertising that they would do. I agree with Erika that social media campaigns will become more and more engrained in normal advertisements, and we are seeing them encompassed every day in many fields.
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