Digital Advertisers: Face The Super Bowl Reality

As Super Bowl advertising evolves into a cross-channel marketing campaign, brands need agencies to orchestrate the symphony.

The rise of digital marketing, and online video in particular, has changed the way Super Bowl advertising is done. No longer is the Super Bowl a one-day event; it is a month-long marketing program that starts weeks before the big game. As brands invest on winning the entire experience, here are four Super Bowl realities in today’s digital age they need to remember:

• TV is the Driving Force

The 2014 Super Bowl had a record-setting 111.5 million TV viewers. Officials expect this year’s game to set another record but the really fascinating thing is why people watch. A number of studies have shown that over 50% of Super Bowl audiences tune in just to watch the ads. Some historical Super Bowl brands have put the brakes on TV advertising this year, raising questions around whether a 30-second TV spot is worth approximately $4 million. The reason is simple, investing in the Super Bowl cannot be reduced to airing a single commercial during the game; it’s a cross-platform brand campaign that builds storytelling before and after air time. The first step? The teaser.

• A Longer Cycle of Teasers

The teaser model has proven successful in building anticipation and surprise. The odds are in favor of advertisers that release digital content early and, in particular, brands that promote teasers about two to three weeks before the game, ensuring broader reach and circulation. Snickers grabbed center stage with their teaser this year by giving viewers the chance to help fuel the full ad release in advance of the game. The brand promises to release the ad early if consumers generate 2.5 million social media views before kickoff. An interesting trend this year is to see more advertisers promoting their teasers on broadcast TV, instead of, or in addition to, online channels. Another sign that TV is still the centerpiece of Super Bowl viewership.

• Digital Wrap-Up

The Super Bowl TV ad is one part of a much larger distribution system. Brands can create longer-form, targeted content beyond the 30-second mainstream spot to drive further engagement online. If TV viewers are engaged in a Super Bowl story, they will search for it online via mobile, spend more time with it, and share it with their friends. Today, brands can then leverage this information, in real-time, and target customized messages to people who are talking about the Super Bowl on social media platforms. It’s about wrapping and coordinating all the digital touchpoints around the TV spot. As Super Bowl advertising evolves into a cross-channel marketing campaign, brands need agencies more than ever to orchestrate the symphony and drive measurable results.

• A Personalized Experience

As we move from mass marketing to mass personalization, consumers are increasingly engaged in the creation and execution of Super Bowl ads. This year again, Doritos will ask consumers to create the best ads in the “Crash the Super Bowl” competition. New advertiser Carnival is asking people to choose what its first Super Bowl commercial should be. It has become vital for brands to capture a majority share of the consumer conversation happening online in real time. Many of them have built social media command centers to join the conversation with the right content at the right time. The spot needs to be more than entertainment; it’s about brand engagement that drives consumers to buy products.

This article was originally posted to Forbes.