Super Bowl advertisers turning to social to amp up ROI

While there is no doubt the Super Bowl is a big deal in the cultural landscape, it's quickly becoming a big deal for advertisers, too. Over the past 10 years, Super Bowl ad dollars have risen sharply year to year, with the spend for 2019 expected to be the largest ever. And, while brands seem to have no problem shelling out the $5 million+ price tag, they're looking for ways to make that spend go farther than a :30 spot in a single game.

by Kristina Knight

The place many are turning? Social media. According to new Kantar Media data earned media, including social media, is where brands are turning to increase the ROI of their Super Bowl spending. For example, in 2018 Bud Light and Amazon took to Facebook in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, spending more than $100,000 on the Monday and Tuesday before the game, and at least $5,000 per day leading up to the game.

On average, the price for a national commercial in the Super Bowl $5.24 million in 2018; that is a 96% increase in cost over the past 10 years.

One interesting trend in Super Bowl advertising is the varied length in commercials. While :30 spots remain at the top, brands are changing up their ad lengths, some going up to :60 and some down to :15; several brands are also using multiple spots to tell a larger story, which some ads showing in the lead-up to the big game.

Meanwhile, new data out from 4C Insights is looking at the impact regular advertisers for NFL games are faring in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, and potential interests of the fans of the various teams in the playoffs.

"Multiscreen engagement is transforming media to the point where the new living room experience is sometimes better than actually being at the game," said Aaron Goldman, Chief Marketing Officer at 4C Insights. "The Super Bowl is one of the biggest live events of the year and it's no surprise that viewers are tuned in and readily sharing reactions about what's happening on the field and during the commercials ."

Among the more interesting findings are these:

▪ New Orleans Saints fans show interest in brands including Adidas and Gatorade and TV shows like NCIS: New Orleans and Chrisley Knows Best
▪ Kansas City Chiefs fans like Vera Bradley and Pure Leaf and watch shows including The Great American Baking Show and Final Space
▪ LA Rams fans like Vera Bradley and goodnessKNOWS and watch shows like The Talk and Final Space

And from YEXT comes information about how search is faring in the lead-up to the big game. For example, their data shows that in the lead-up to last year's Super Bowl in Minneapolis, searches for hotels and banking services saw a sharp increase in the week leading up to Super Bowl Sunday and that about 41% of those in Minneapolis hit a sporting goods store before the big game.

Researchers further found that food is high on consumers' radar in the lead-up to Super Bowl Sunday, which searches for grocery stores and restaurants both seeing increases as shoppers determined what they would cook - or order - for Game Day.

"Customers are searching for grocery stores, hotels, and sportswear during Super Bowl week, particularly in the host city," said Marc Ferrentino, Chief Strategy Officer at Yext. "This underscores the importance of providing perfect business information everywhere to bring in consumers when they're most interested in transacting. It's especially critical for brands to be in control of data like special hours, locations, events, and Super Bowl-related promotions across the web in the weeks leading up to the big game in order to take advantage."

More YEXT data can be accessed here.

Tags: 4C Insights, advertising, advertising trends, Kantar Media, social marketing, sports marketing, super bowl advertising, YEXT