A Spot Does Not "Make a Brand"

You probably heard the news that Fox sold out their ad time for Super Bowl LIV months ahead of the event. If not, read more about it here because that is not what this quick post is about. Super happy for all the brands in the big game and the network! Seriously. Exciting stuff and I can't wait to see the brilliant ads! As a media geek who is constantly analyzing channel strategy for brands and putting together media plans to help reach certain goals for companies large and small, I am not here to say whether or not advertising in the Super Bowl or live events "work or does not work" as many people often ask myself and the Dirigo Collective team. There are too many variables and each business has different objectives to answer that in a single post. However, as someone who not only respects the role all media plays in our culture but also respects the role true marketers have to our economy, I am calling out the promotion from media sales organizations making irresponsible claims of its value of such events like the Super Bowl with material claiming it "makes brands."

Sure there might be over 100 million viewers of the Super Bowl who represent "$10.1 trillion in annual income" but that still has only a piece to do with what makes a brand. Just because you're in it, and have a lot of eyes on you does not make who you are, what you're offering, and the relationship between brand and consumer. Media is a vehicle to relay a message and engage with an audience, and while ads and airtime are important in building a brand's perception which is absolutely part of the brand... to say it "makes a brand" is a very different and dangerous line to pull when people's businesses are on the line with the information that is spread and trust that is relied on. A spot. Eyeballs. A single airing of a message, while it may be an efficient and important engagement play for your dollar it will not, and does not make your brand. So much more goes into “making a brand” and it’s this division and noise that makes people skeptical of advertising and media professionals in particular. If all marketers who spend their time around media put enough empathy behind the “why” when looking at how and who to reach it would make for not only better business and stronger brands, but also better understanding of the marketing process for businesses which for everyone in the industry... helps us all.

Words have meaning. Facts have purpose. Sure the science isn't perfect in what we do, and my plea is that what we have isn't twisted and falsely represented. Call me a hopeless romantic for truth and understanding, but ask yourself this... whether you're on the media side, the agency side, or even brand side, if you're pitching something without understanding it's merit than who are you really helping?