Super Bowl Advertising Attracts Two B2B Brands

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend and marketers are looking forward to this year's crop of premium advertising. Find out why two major B2B brands are betting on the Super Bowl and what marketers can learn from their approaches.

As a Canadian, I'll confess that I've never been overcome with passion for the Super Bowl. We have our own version of gridiron football in Canada. Although some Canucks disagree, I prefer cheering for the East Division champion in our Grey Cup playing by the Canadian Football League's (CFL's) more challenging rules.

I do have a soft spot for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, but they've had an uncharacteristically lacklustre season. Besides, I'm only drawn to them because they're the only publicly held, non-profit team in North American professional sports

However, like everyone in the marketing world, I do get enthusiastic about the advertising campaigns the NFL's premiere event attracts. As readers know, the Super Bowl has earned its reputation as the showcase for superlative television advertising.

B2B Marketers Don't Consider the Super Bowl an Opportunity

Given its audience, Super Bowl advertising is heavily targeted toward consumers and households. B2B marketers don't automatically think of it as a profitable opportunity.

For the most part, Super Bowl LVII will fit that mold. Brands of snack food, alcohol, cars and sports books will dominate Fox's advertising roster.

There are also some notable exceptions. For example, this Sunday, SquareSpace and Workday have shelled out Fox's reported $7 million fee to air 30-second spots on the "Big Game."

Conventional Wisdom: Budgets Better Spent on Client Research

The conventional wisdom is that B2B marketing budgets are better spent on researching client needs as opposed to mass media advertising. Since most B2B brands are already well known in their vertical markets, long-form marketing content is usually a much more cost-effective branding tactic.

Many years ago, a colleague of mine at a mid-sized B2B company half-jokingly suggested, "Maybe we should take our whole marketing budget and blow it on one Super Bowl ad." We had a chuckle about it but then agreed it would be an incredibly risky, long shot bet that nobody in their right mind would place.

Many industry watchers have drawn an analogy between even major B2B brands buying ad time on the Super Bowl and a "Hail Mary" pass. There's a huge potential return, but only at an even more massive risk.

SquareSpace Advertising in Super Bowl for Ninth Time

Despite this, we see SquareSpace lining up for Super Bowl Sunday for the ninth time in a row. Are they the exception that proves the rule?

Many analysts think so. For one thing, SquareSpace targets self-employed individual creators and entrepreneurs with ten employees or less.

These are businesses where one person makes buying decisions in much the same way as households choose consumer goods. Observers also note that SquareSpace is seeking small, retail investors.

Folks SquareSpace Wants to Reach Will Be Tuned In

So, the folks SpareSpace wants to reach will probably be tuned into the game. There's even a chance that a few could sign up for a SquareSpace site during halftime if they're not dedicated Rihanna fans.

Certainly, SquareSpace CEO Anthony Casalina seems to be getting a kick out of the Super Bowl experience. "Partnering with?Adam Driver?to satirize our origin is a fun way to honor where we’ve been as a company," he told Hollywood Life's Jason Brow.

Human resource and finance software brand Workday is buying its first Super Bowl ad time. They'll be using real-life music legends, including Ozzie Osbourne, Billy Idol and Joan Jett, to parody the buzzword "rock star" in the business world. Clearly, they're having fun with their Super Bowl experience as well.

Underlying Message: Workday Makes You Good at Your Job

Their underlying message is that Workday makes you good at your job. Observers believe the software provider's strategy is to use mass exposure to lift their brand awareness to the level of competitors like SAP and ADP.

What can we learn from these campaigns? If thirty-second ad spots seem appropriate for your brand, there seem to be four takeaways here.

1. Have fun with it. Too often, B2B creative has no sense of humour.
2. Keep it simple. Even an elevator speech is longer than thirty seconds. You don't have time for analysis or a business case.
3. Spotlight your brand name. It's amazing how many viewers don't remember who sponsored the spot they just watched.
4. Explain what business you're in. Don't assume that viewers already know what your company does.

Strategy Should Drive Channel and Content

As always, your B2B marketing strategy should drive your channel selection and your content. Few, if any, readers of this newsletter can afford the Super Bowl, but it may be a mistake to rule out sponsoring sporting events on a smaller scale.

Above all, if you decide to give it a try, humour is vital. And remember, as Shakespeare wrote, "Brevity is the soul of wit."

Learn More:

Adam Driver Gets A Little Too Meta & Causes The Singularity In Squarespace’s Super Bowl Ad

What B2B marketers can learn from Super Bowl ads?