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Super Bowl ad complements social media marketing
Posted under Personal Branding Strategies by Linda Griffin
The New Orleans Times-Picayune said it best – Amen! in 5″ high type. The road to their first Super Bowl appearance and victory for the New Orleans Saints was 43 years long and covered in bumps, bruises and set-backs. They played for twenty years before having a winning season. But in 2009, the Saints set a winning record and paved the way for their Super Bowl appearance.
In 43 years, a lot has changed in the way that football is played but even more so in the way that companies are spending their marketing dollars.The average cost for a 60 second spot is now $3M. Some companies, such as Pepsi Cola decided to pull out of the Super Bowl this year and spend their ad money on social media campaigns and other projects instead.
While I’m an advocate for social media marketing, there is still plenty of opportunity for traditional marketing channels such as print and TV. We have changed the way we watch television. We no longer sit and watch passively. We are browsing the web with our laptops and cell phones and posting comments in real time to Twitter and Face Book while we watch.
One very smart company, Homeaway.com seems to have figured that out. They combined the instant and widespread reach of a superbowl ad with an innovative social media strategy to extend the value of their spot and increase their return on investment.
The leader in online vacation rentals, Homeaway.com generated 1 million views to their website immediately following their ad which was based on National Lampoon’s Vacation movies.Visits to their web site continue to go up today and are currently tracking at 500% more than before the ad aired.
Homeaway.com did several things very well.
- They captured people’s interest with a funny ad which tapped into our common experiences of hotel stays gone horribly wrong.
- The timing of the ad was perfect because many people are starting to plan their spring and summer vacations.
- They tapped into an immediate need for reliable and reasonably priced lodging and positioned themselves as the solution to that need.
- They combined the on air ad with a website campaign for consumers to share their stories of hotel horrors for the chance to win one of four $10,000 family vacations. They set up the campaign beautifully for widespread viral participation and sharing by inviting the public to vote on the worst stories.
We can incorporate these same strategies into our marketing plans regardless of the size of our budget. Let me know in the comments if you try any of these and how they work for you.
For more inspiration and examples check out the Mashable blog which has a review of some other super bowl- social media strategies.