“The future of branding is marketing with people, not at them.” – John Morgan
The last few years have seen the branding and marketing of products take a progressive turn. Historically marketers would plaster brands in the face of consumers to a more intimate approach where there is a closer relationship between brands and their consumers. Innovation has become king and with new technology, marketers are being challenged to develop new methods of engagement.
Last Sunday, 111.9 million people tuned in to watch the 50th edition of Super Bowl at the Levi’s Stadium, between Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. Not only was the event a showdown between two top teams in one of the world’s most followed sports, but it it also provided a global platform for the clash of the most powerful and innovative brand titans.
“Brands reportedly spent a whopping $377 million advertising at this year’s Super Bowl event”
As brands fight for the number one spot as marketing King, the event was the perfect spectacle to display some of the modern techniques that brands should consider when marketing:
Niche vs mass experience
One of the reoccurring questions in marketing has always been what provides better return on investment between niche and mass marketing. For many years, we have seen brands align themselves with just one method of marketing. Super Bowl 50 gave us some really great examples of how forward-thinking marketers have been able to utilise both methods in order to reinforce their brand message and image by communicating to the mass but creating niche experiences for smaller groups of consumers that generate greater conversation.
Marriott Hotel launched its “50 / 50 Sweepstake”, giving two winners the opportunity to bring 50 members of their family and friends to an all-expense paid for trip to see the game and hotel stay. This technique generated 250,000 entries, with more than 53.8 million impressions on their social media sites.
“Social Media: It’s kind of the oldest form marketing – word of mouth – with the newest form of technology – Marc S Pritchard”
Social media as a channel, not a strategy
When social media first emerged many thought that it was the godsend that will replace traditional methods of marketing entirely, solving many marketing issues with very little effort required. Marketers quickly learnt this was nowhere near the reality. It was soon realised that in order for social media to be an effective tool, it must be treated as a mode of communication as oppose to a standalone strategy. Marketers have now found the perfect balance for using social media as a tool and avenue to reiterate the same message that is being communicated.
Branding has moved away dramatically from talking about the product you make to a brand telling their story and strengthening their efforts by creating a platform that allows consumers to contribute their experience to the story. During the sporting event, most of the major brands participated with the official Super Bowl hashtag #SB50, not only encouraging consumers to participate in the conversation and sharing their opinions and stories but also we saw a big surge of brand-to-brand interaction which resulted in more conversations being generated amongst consumers.
Growth in real-time marketing
Effective marketing in 2016 means making the consumer feel as a part of the brand and process as possible. With new technological developments in live platforms, this has allowed brands to engage consumers in a more direct way. Although many of the brands advertising at Super Bowl did not have an official real-time streaming partner inside the stadium, the official SB50 team did used twitter live streaming platform Periscope (Check out The power of periscope for sport teams and sponsors post) to give exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews leading up to the game, thus creating excitement for the event.
Snapchat, on the other hand, were able to secure deals with the likes of Budweiser, Pepsi and Amazon, who all streamed live stories and advertised their products and services during the event, which was available to all snapchat users.
Celebrity Endorsement
Perhaps the only method mentioned that is not exclusively linked to social media or technology, celebrity sponsorship – a model that consumers are already really familiar with. However, Super Bowl gave us the opportunity to see the real power of celebrity endorsement and how even untraditional methods of endorsing a brand can result in a really positive effect, particularly in the midst of the celebrity-heavy adverts during the event. One of the most benefiting moments for a brand was during the halftime show when Beyonce performed her latest single ‘Formation’. After mentioning food chain ‘Red Lobster’, which led sales to soar by 33%.
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