Not every advertiser is able to pony up the ad and production costs associated with the Super Bowl. Some might not realize they want to be a part of the big game until after all the spots have been bought up, which – depending on the year – can happen as early as mid-fall.
The Super Bowl is an advertising event for a reason: in 2022, the game had an average audience 8.1 million, with 16.9 million unique viewers. But that means more than half of the country didn’t watch the game – at least, not on TV – and even more who tuned in at some point before switching away.
As an alternative strategy, Lindsay Talbot, chief investment officer at GroupM, says targeting people not watching offers a chance to dominate the non-Super Bowl media space across multiple channels.
“Viewers have come to expect highly engaging Super Bowl commercials,” she says. “However, in a challenging economic climate, many marketers will struggle to justify investment in Super Bowl specific creative.”
Jeff Thibodeau, president of Publicis Media’s PMX, adds that if a brand wants to be a part of the cultural moment, leveraging their own channels can help them control costs a bit better and build content with messaging and timing around what the Super Bowl represents.
Talbot says many things come into play when it comes to the Super Bowl, including category exclusivity and sponsor rights. But once those have been identified, advertisers who are not a major sponsor of the broadcast but want to be affiliated with it can still do so. Whether it’s a cross media strategy in the weeks leading up to it driving consumers to stock up on snacks, drinks or new TVs to get ready for the big game, or a social strategy reacting to things happening in the game in real time, there are many ways to tie their brands into Super Bowl without being a major sponsor.
Heinz, for example, launched a campaign in late January that didn’t mention the game specifically but still established a connection in OOH and digital ads through the fact that it is Super Bowl LVII – or 57, the number that appears on the brand’s ketchup bottles.
The economic climate also means, according to Talbot, we are likely to see even more brands opt for “a more sustainable strategy, which is to debut a new piece of creative in the Super Bowl and then continue to use it for weeks or even months to follow.”
But even if they do have something planned, a cross-media approach that goes beyond the spot during the game is likely still the best approach.
“We talk to our clients about the need for support leading up to the game being equally important to the game itself,” says Trish Irwin, communications director at Cairns Oneil. “It provides an opportunity to build reach and frequency and break through the cluttered message environment, making game day support even more impactful due to the extended and relevant brand exposure.”
FanDuel is a sponsor and is a running its first-ever Super Bowl spot this year in both the U.S. and Canada – “The Kick of Destiny.” The live ad will feature former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski and will air during the third quarter of the game. If he makes the live 25-yard field goal attempt, FanDuel customers who wager $5 or more on Super Bowl will win a share of $10 million in free bets. It has also been hyped for the month leading up to the Super Bowl will digital, OOH and TV ads.
“Moments matter so our first commercial is going to be way more than just a television spot, it’s going to be a moment celebrating times together,” says Conor Murray, VP of marketing for FanDuel Canada.
Brent Jones, director of sports strategy and media investment at Horizon Media, suggests OOH as an option for reaching Super Bowl fans. Outside of the TV broadcast, he says OOH is a key channel increasingly being utilized by brands, either to extend from the TV spot and to create a halo effect, or to create a connect to the big game without participating in the broadcast.
“There are plenty of place-based opportunities bringing brands closer to the sports fans at this time of the year, such as resto-bar. There are also high impact OOH stunts, like the Avocados From Mexico campaign taking over a billboard in Times Square to promote its TV spot in the Super Bowl.”
Scott Mitchell, managing director of DOOH company Vistar Media Canada, says OOH has capabilities that allow brands to amplify their message and target an audience based on behavioral insights and purchase data. “It really comes down to the priorities of the advertiser. If you are an already well-known brand trying to gain incremental awareness for an always-on product that doesn’t have any specific tie-ins to sports or the teams in the Super Bowl, it probably doesn’t make sense to plan a campaign specifically centered around that tentpole moment. You’re better off focusing on sustained messaging to your key audience across multiple contexts in their day-to-day life.”
Mitchell says one of the biggest benefits of adding DOOH to the mix for game day advertising is the ability to modify the campaign using real-time triggers, much like brands responding on social would do. Brands can activate messaging that is both relevant and timely throughout their campaigns such as pulling live scoring into their DOOH ads in relevant markets to drive fan engagement and tune-in intent for the big game.