The Super Bowl Syndrome

It’s that time of year again. The time of year when hot-shot executives start hyperventilating about all the money that’s being thrown around. No, I’m not talking about the fee for the Stones’ halftime show. I’m talking about the annual spend-fest on 30 second ads for the Super Bowl. This year the Super Bowl marketing unit is $2.5m. That’s right, two and half million dollars for 30 seconds of air time. Unbelievable! There’s got to be a better way to spend that money.

What’s fascinating is that so many marketers still think that’s the best way to engage with their customers. And while it’s true that there may be a place for classic advertising and sales promotion in the marketing portfolio, it’s doubtful that anyone will generate a decent return-on-investment for a 30 second Super Bowl spot.

With all due respect to my friends in the business, much of the advertising crowd is the last holdout of marketing old-think. These folks remain stubbornly convinced that the best way to build brand equity and enhance customer relationships is by flashing something at an inattentive, fragmented audience who could care less about your message, much less your creative. (And besides, they are probably in the kitchen getting more nachos.) Worse, just as they did when online advertising started, these guys are trying to shoehorn the same principles (and in some cases the same creative) into Marketing 2.0. An article in today’s Wall Street Journal describes how some Fortune 500 advertisers are recycling creative from TV spots to podcasts. Talk about not getting it.

Today’s consumer is firmly in control and has time-shifted his/her way out of seeing or hearing the vast majority of advertising. As Bob Liodice, President of the Association of National Advertisers puts it, marketing is being reinvented.   “Technology has shaken the foundations of marketing in several distinct and profound ways.”

Today’s consumer is sick of receiving the endless stream of credit card solicitations and is buying larger shredders to eliminate the glut of paper. Today’s consumer has enrolled in the National Do Not Call Registry and has caller ID and won’t be answering your phone pitch during dinner anymore. Today’s consumer is twice as likely to respond to word-of-mouth referrals than any form of advertising or promotion.

So stop already with the overblown Super Bowl ads and the "science of stupidities" junk mail. Technology gives us unprecedented opportunities to understand our markets, to engage in customer dialogue and to build lasting brand loyalty. Stop thinking like a command and control tactician, and think strategically about ways to collaborate with your customers.

And by the way, since you don’t need it, the obliging folks over at iMedia have compiled a list of ideas for how to spend your $2.5m Super Bowl budget.

Addendum: 
Stuart Elliot has an article in today's New York Times about the various ways advertisers are trying to eek value out of the $83,333 per second cost of their Super Bowl ads.  The article includes a chart which  graphically depicts the inverse ratio of the rising costs of Super Bowl media versus the declining audiences.  Their justifications for the media spend sound a little weak.  These advertisers may talk the talk of consumer engagement, but they sure haven't figured out how to walk the walk.