Tag Archive for: Budweiser

The 2016 Super Bowl brought along its usual jaw dropping and unforgettable moments for consumer and spectators alike. But what we at CBC care about is how well those big-name Super Bowl advertisers reached their target audience. One way to monitor how well brands did in their advertising initiatives is to measure post-game mentions. For a lucky few brands, talk is still buzzing, and while most of the heavy hitters spent large sums of money to have that precious air time, some were able to grab attention for free. You might be wondering- how did they pull THAT off? It’s simple: product placement.

Product placement has been a notable advertising technique for quite some time. The obvious advantages of product placement are that your brand gets air time with respectable and trustworthy opinion leaders, allowing your brands reputation to become more credible. While most companies will pay to have their products featured in media programs, it’s not always the case. In a couple instances that are mentioned below, brands get credible airtime without spending a dime, allowing for great post-game coverage for their product of service. Here are some brands that are making viral waves post-game.

Red Lobster

One of the biggest benefactors of this advertising technique would be Red Lobster. During Beyoncé’s half time performance, she mentions the chain restaurant in her new song. Red Lobster saw a spike in activity on their social media as well as a rise in sales since the release of the song just a day prior.

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Apple

Apple was another brand that didn’t pay for air time in any facet, but was instead including in advertising by other popular brands. The iPhone 6S, Apple’s CarPlay interface, the Apple Watch, and Beats Audio were able to make cameo appearances which spiked interest in Apple products associated with these brands. The cameo appearances were in a variety of product commercials from car companies like Hyundai, phone companies like T-Mobile, and Machine Zone’s Mobile Strike campaign.

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Budweiser

Budweiser was an unexpected benefactor of product placement after Peyton Manning said he was “going to drink a lot of Budweiser” after his super bowl win. An unfortunate circumstance for Budweiser who already spent millions of dollars in advertising fees, but nonetheless a credible and substantial push for their target media.

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Overall, this kind of advertisement is a luck of the draw approach: it isn’t the most reliable, and of course unlike paid advertisement, it’s never guaranteed. But as a PR professional, always be prepared for the unexpected, and if the instance occurs, make sure you thank those who gave you a shout-out!

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Sometimes it can be hard to fit in everything you want to show off about a product in the span of a 30-second TV spot. That being said, when that time slot alone costs upward of 4 million dollars, you don’t have much of a choice.

This year, many of the Super Bowl ads that resonated with us were the ones that developed – however briefly – a strong story. Of course, a simple story line isn’t an automatic recipe for success, but it’s still a good start to creating an emotional tie between the viewer and the brand.

Looking through the lens of this year’s Super Bowl ads, let’s take a peek at three key ingredients for memorable storylines.

1. Originality. For some advertisers, originality was a challenge this year. Anyone else notice an abundance of father-centric ads? It makes sense; it is the right target audience.  Watching the Super Bowl is often thought of as a father-son or father-daughter activity, which resulted in more than one brand using this as an angle to approach their viewers. Amongst all the dad spots, it quickly became hard to stand out. Particularly, both Toyota and Nissan focused on this story line: developing a relationship between a father and child. This is even more confusing since they target similar segments – and coincidently are both car brands. The concept may be a memorable one, but there’s a big chance people who saw both ads will confuse the brands behind them.

2. Leverage Well-Known Characters. Another trend this year’s crop of Super Bowl ads displayed was the value of already established characters. When trying to tell a story in a short time span, using easily referable characters avoids timely introductions and saves precious seconds. Snickers made the most of the technique, with a Brady Bunch-themed commercial featuring Steve Buscemi and Sons of Anarchy’s Danny Trejo.

3. Use Real People. A good story doesn’t always need to be scripted by advertising masters to get a spontaneous approbation from viewers. While Budweiser told quite a tale, puppy included, other spots used “real people” and still managed to stay memorable. Microsoft profiled two everyday technology-users that greatly benefit from innovation to show off their brand’s core values in a friendly and touching way. Always also put relatable, everyday people in the spotlight to redefine female stereotypes, and although they didn’t quite stick to a “story” format, their real people had a real impact.

It’s difficult to agree on which Super Bowl ad came out on top, but it’s safe to say that many achieved their goal. That is, they were able to capture the viewer’s attention and keep it long enough to last at least 30 seconds. They were also able to establish an emotional connection with the viewer using these three key tactics above. How about you: what were your favorite Super Bowl ads this year?

 

This post can also be found on the Publicity Club of New England’s site!