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Jim SingerPartnerA.T. Kearney |
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Christina HeggieSenior AnalystA.T. Kearney |
If you were looking for social-media content in the advertising orgy known as Super Bowl Sunday, it was there, all right, but it was hiding in the shadows of the spotlight that America’s largest ad agencies shine on themselves. Unfortunately, a careful review of the commercials demonstrates that many advertisers still view audiences and media as separate and distinct–exactly the opposite of how those audiences see themselves and live their lives.
In fact, social media has a long road ahead of it before the lions of Madison Avenue give it a full seat at the table. Not all Super Bowl ads needed a social-media component, of course. But those that did include it could have done better.
Super Bowl XLVI drew a U.S. audience estimated at more than 111 million, making it one of the most-watched television shows of all time, as well as the second highest ranking Super Bowl audience in history. As we mentioned last week in Part 1 of this article, each 30-second Super Bowl ad spot cost an average of $3.5 million. Of course, while television is a great entertainment and educational vehicle, it fails to offer the robust, real-time interaction that social-media fans demand–170 million of whom are logged in to Facebook at any hour of the day or night. (That’s the part of the population who isn’t busy tweeting or blogging or gaming.)
So how well did advertisers leverage the combination of these two media during Sunday night's game?
From kickoff until the final whistle, there were approximately 75 Super Bowl ads, not including NBC’s promotions. Thirteen ads contained no mention of anything beyond the spot itself–no Web site address, Facebook page, or even a hashtag. The remaining ads did feature references to Web sites, social networks, QR codes, Shazam, or other acknowledgements of a digital reality. But of these, only a few really enriched their Super Bowl campaigns with social media; the rest seemed content spending millions to show a commercial with a URL slapped on the tail end.
Two clear winners emerged (other than the New York Giants and the surprisingly spry Madonna): the Coca-Cola Polar Bears and the new Chevy Sonic.
Coca-Cola unleashed its Polar Bears well in advance of the game, building momentum with Web previews, a Facebook app, a Web site (CokePolarBear.com and CokePolarBowl.com), Twitter engagement with #GameDayPolarBears, and more.
During the game, Coke ran the Polar Bear commercials featuring the bears watching and reacting to the game in real time. Interestingly, Coca-Cola’s ads didn’t refer viewers to the social-media promotions it had launched before the game. Social-media mavens, who were “in the know,” understood the maneuver, while the digitally deprived were left to just enjoy the furry television ads.
After the game, Coca-Cola’s #GameDayPolarBears hashtag generated significantly higher retweets than other Super Bowl hashtags. Coke enhanced its Polar bear app by allowing Facebook users to gift “friends” with free Cokes, and kept the competition fresh by tying into USAToday’s ad-o-meter, inviting people to vote for their favorite Coca-Cola ad from the Super Bowl. Let’s just say that Coke really understands how to refresh.
The other big winner was General Motors’ Chevy Sonic, which also used a two-pronged media blitz before the football game was even played. The brand’s LetsDoThis.com is promoting an eight-day tie-in competition that will conclude with the awarding of two new Chevy Sonics. In order to win a car, users compete via a video popularity contest, using their social networks to garner votes.
Just as important, the company was genuinely responsive to consumers. After a Facebook user posted on the company’s wall that the Chevy ads were “the best of all” the Super Bowl campaigns, Chevy responded in less than five minutes with a “Thanks, man!” Chevy.com was also promoting its full line of Super Bowl ads across all brands.
When it came to leveraging the combined power of the Super Bowl audience and social media, many big brands–basically everyone except Coke and Chevy–fell short of the potential mark.
GE, for example, ran a poignant spot with the theme of getting people back to work, and referred viewers to an online link. . .a noble sentiment had the link not led to an unrelated online refrigerator offer. GE.com proper showed the stories surrounding this year’s Super Bowl campaign, supported by videos, profiles, and stories, but without any opportunity for interactivity.
Maybe it should have hired the Polar Bears. That is, if they're not already booked for next year's game, which we're already looking forward to. Let's hope advertisers pick up a new playbook about social-TV integration before then.
About Jim Singer Jim Singer is a Partner and Vice President at A.T. Kearney, the global management consulting firm. He is also the leader of the New York office and head of Americas marketing. He has particular depth of experience in multiplatform media strategies and has spoken and written extensively on this issue.
About Christina Heggie Christina Heggie is a senior analyst at A.T. Kearney. She focuses on the marketing field, specializing in digital and social media. Christina leads the research team for A.T. Kearney’s annual review of Interbrand’s Top 50 companies’ on social media. She completed her B.S. with honors at Cornell University Hotel School.
