By: Katrina Stroh, Vice President
The Super Bowl is one of the country’s largest cultural moments, as well as one of ad land’s most debated times of year. Are $7 million dollar ad slots worth the investment? If you can afford it, it can be very powerful, as there is no other TV viewing event that reaches nearly 60% of Americans. However, if your marketing budget is more modest, how can you participate from the sidelines and still capture consumer attention?
As in-game spots cost a pretty penny, it’s no surprise that many brands want to strategize an alternate approach to garnering buzz, with much less competition, during this impactful time. From our perspective, it’s certainly not everything or nothing when it comes to the Super Bowl. There are a variety of ways brands can get involved and still make a splash without the lofty price tag.
Consider pre and post-game spots
For TV advertisers looking to tap the Super Bowl’s significant audience, we recommend a “surround” strategy, which means placing TV spots in the pre or post-game programming. This comes at a fraction of the cost of a spot in the big game itself, however, this inventory fills up quickly, so it’s important to book as far in advance as possible. We also recommend :30 second inventory over :15, as :30s have a lower chance of getting bumped at the last minute due to oversold inventory. Also, since the game will be simulcast across CBS, Nickelodeon and Paramount+, there are more pre and post-game opportunities available than ever before.
Look into place-based outdoor advertising
There are a couple of ways that place-based media can play a role in getting in front of Super Bowl audiences.
Host City/Stadium: If you want to reach super passionate football fans, seeking out media opportunities around the venue itself can be a fun way to make a splash. You could surround the stadium by geofencing advertising on digital outdoor screens like billboards, gas stations, bars, restaurants or grocery stores. If your brand is more adventurous, there are guerilla media options like branded pedicabs, street teams, sidewalk chalk, street murals, wild postings or even a flashmob.
Bar viewing: Considering that virtually every bar in the country will be broadcasting the game, you could experiment with a bar viewing strategy, leveraging different tactics available in bars like digital screens, coasters, table tents, branded cups/napkins, and restroom posters/decals, etc.
Social media is key
We know that social media plays an important and integrated role in the Super Bowl as it’s a channel that allows people to react and interact in real time with their network. Whether it’s leveraging X, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, or Snapchat, all of these channels will see heightened activity surrounding the Super Bowl. On X, TikTok, and Reddit you can target specific hashtags and content related to the big game, while on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat you can tap into various audience segments and interests related to fans, football, party planners, etc. To add, Pinterest also offers a great opportunity to tap party planners and those seeking inspiration in preparation of the Super Bowl.
Leverage TV viewer retargeting
ACR (automatic content recognition) is an effective way to identify those who have viewed Super Bowl TV content and retarget them in real-time or post-event via mobile devices. Real-time viewing retargeting allows you to capitalize on the excitement of the day and for certain advertisers, offer time sensitive deals or content related to the game. If being in front of audiences in real time isn’t as critical to your brand, you can reach people after the game, by retargeting them on their devices across both display and video placements. This might be especially appropriate if you’re trying to tie in messaging about the game results.
Have a contextual alignment strategy
This strategy is a no-brainer if you want to align your brand with the game, but don’t necessarily need it to be on Super Bowl Sunday. A contextual strategy could span just about any channel including content relating to the Super Bowl, such as digital sports articles across the web with Super Bowl keyword targeting, as well as placement in produced content like podcasts, or TV/Radio programming.
No matter your strategy or channel, one constant remains: if you want your media to work hardest, we recommend leveraging Super Bowl-specific creative or copy as a way to join the conversation and gain attention in an authentic way.
