Most of this country’s eyes and, millions around the world as well, will be focused on Super Bowl LI Sunday evening (6:35p EST kickoff), which will be held at NRG Stadium in Houston. The New England Patriots will be seeking their fifth Super Bowl title, while its opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, will be looking for the franchise’s first.
In this day and age of social media, Super Bowl commercials can create more customer engagement and, ultimately, brand loyalty than in the past. At $5 million a pop, each Super Bowl commercial can resonate globally, if done correctly, and be a powerful branding tool.
Before Super Bowl L1 kicks off in two days, Loyalty360 caught up with Todd Grossman, CEO of Talkwalker, to find out more about the potential impact and customer engagement tied to Super Bowl commercials.
What do you think makes a good Super Bowl commercial that can attract brand loyalty and create emotional moments?
Grossman: I think this is interesting as there is potentially a big difference between the commercials that get the most attention and those that drive loyalty. For example, last year it was Esurance’s sweepstakes campaign that was the most discussed on social media, but there was a debate as to whether this kind of competition campaign really drives loyalty.
I think the key here is understanding and listening to your audience. This means not just listening to your customers, but also to wider trends and events taking place in the public sphere and on social media. From what we saw last year, the best campaigns can mix in a bold message that goes beyond just their brand and product with a bit of humor−a good example being Budweiser’s anti-drunk driving Ad from last year.
In this age of social media, what makes the potential impact of a Super Bowl commercial more powerful for a brand now than, say, 10 or more years ago?
Grossman: I think one of the differences social media can make is that it makes people more engaged with the commercial. It’s not just something you watch on TV. Most people are on their phones while watching TV commenting about the commercials on Twitter or Facebook and sharing them with friends. This gives brands new channels they can use to both connect with their audience. It also means brands aren’t 100% reliant on their TV ad knocking it out of the park.
By listening to social media and online reaction, brands can, to a degree, amend or refine their messaging on social channels to increase the impact of their campaigns. A Super Bowl ad buy has always been a huge investment for companies and, in the past, it was generally one and done. It aired, it was done, and brands hoped that impact was strong. Today, with YouTube and other social channels available for previewing and promoting these ads, companies are investing more, but also increasing the depth of impact possible.
Emotional moments are so important to achieving true customer loyalty. How can brands create these emotional moments throughout the year and not just on Super Bowl Sunday?
Grossman: The key here is making sure you’re regularly taking the pulse of what’s being said online, in the media, and perhaps most importantly, on social networks. People are increasingly happy to voice their opinions on social media and this gives brands an incredible opportunity to drill down into what elicits an emotional reaction from people. Another important thing is to be bold. In a recent piece of research we did about the Twitter marketing activity of global brands, we discovered that it was the brands willing to take a stand on big issues that really managed to cut through the noise. There will always be a risk, but in the noisy social media age, brands need to be bold, otherwise they won’t get noticed. The difficulty lies is in making sure this bold message is genuine and relevant to your brand, otherwise the public will see through it and it could have the opposite effect.