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The 2012 Super Bowl Activation Index: The 5 Brands That Crossed The Goal Line
Most of you reading this post watched the New York Giants narrowly defeat the New England Patriots in yet another record-breaking, cost-per-spot Super Bowl. But did the $3.5 million spend for 30 seconds “activate” those brands–the way that Tom Stein defines brand activation in his 'Activating' Brands In A Hyperactive World post?
Marketers have come to realize the real value of a Super Bowl spot is not realized through the 30 seconds of airtime. Even the best spot in and of itself will not activate a brand. But the right ad will be a catalyst for engagement–ultimately leading to brand activation. To that end, many of the polls, analyses, and reporting devices/meters rating ad popularity and brand impact tell only a partial story.
We’ve taken it a step further with the first-ever Super Bowl Brand Activation Index (SBAI).
During and following the Super Bowl, we set out to examine what consumers do and say after commercials air. Specifically, we examined branded search engine queries, Tweets and Facebook posts, and the sentiment (positive, negative, or neutral) of that activity. All data, including spend, was normalized to arrive at a fair and balanced index.
In sum, we wanted to see which brands generated extended and positive engagement beyond Super Bowl Sunday–and, ultimately, received significantly greater value via their broadcast investments.
The top five brands of the 2012 Super Bowl Activation Index are (on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being the pinnacle of brand activation):
1. Chrysler: It’s Halftime in America
Score: 8.77 SBAI
Forget the political commentary this ad caused. Searches for branded Chrysler terms skyrocketed 1,500% within hours. Elevated search volume continued 48 hours after the big game, as did tweets about the ad and the flood of messages to the Chrysler Facebook page.
2. Coke: Catch and Superstition
Score: 8.25 SBAI
Coke is a case study in using social media to extend the impact of any marketing campaign. All of its social media properties experienced significant spikes; branded searches also were up 800%.
3. Doritos: Sling Baby and Man’s Best Friend
Score: 8.00 SBAI
They were just damn funny (sorry, just my personal bias…didn’t impact score). But, seriously, Doritos saw a nearly 6x spike in hashtag references and still has nearly 250,000 Facebook users talking about the brand.
4. Bud Light: Weego
Score: 7.95 SBAI
As of writing this post, “Weego” continues to be one of the top trending terms in Twitter, and 200K+ Facebook users continue to talk about Weego and supporting the Animal Rescue Foundation.
5. Honda: CRV’s Day Out
Score: 7.66 SBAI
Thank you, Matthew Broderick, for reprising your role as Ferris Bueller. Branded search terms shot up 500%, and Honda tweet mentions increased 200%. As noteworthy, the spike in activity continued beyond game day.
The ability for brands to take this momentum and sustain activation remains to be seen. One of the core tenets of brand activation is “a deep desire to know what customers are thinking, to better understand what they need, and to frame everything the brand stands for in that context.” Activated brands not only put forth messages in this context, they eagerly listen and apply the messages being put forth by customers and potential customers.
We’ll keep an eye on these brands going forward. We’ll also continue to evolve and apply our Brand Activation Index. Oscars, anyone?
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Methodology Overview
- Search volume measured across Google, Yahoo, and Bing for branded keywords and key phrases of advertisers.
- Facebook wall volume for all advertisers and percent change pre- vs. post-game.
- Tweet volume and hashtag volume for all advertisers and percent change pre- vs. post-game.
- Measurements taken prior to game day, during the game, and for the 48 hours following.
About Brand Activator
The authors of the Brand Activator blog are from Stein + Partners Brand Activation, New York, BtoB Magazine 2011 Agency of the Year.
