The Increasingly Big Game Around the Big Game
As we gear up for this year's Super Bowl, it's important to consider all aspects of the consumer experience when planning for marketing around the big game.
As we gear up for this year's Super Bowl, it's important to consider all aspects of the consumer experience when planning for marketing around the big game.
One of the greatest sports and entertainment spectacles of the American year is once again upon us. As we get ready for Super Bowl XLIX, it is interesting to see how we consume media around this mega event. What started as a celebration of our collective love of football has become practically a national holiday. My kids even asked me why they didn’t get “Super Bowl Monday” off from school. I had no good answer. The media saturation includes everything from multi-angle viewing of the game itself to weeks of jockeying for attention from advertisers trying to squeeze every ounce of hype out of the time leading up to kickoff.
With all systems revved up for this extravaganza, there is, naturally, a powerful opportunity for marketers. So, thinking about what is happening outside of TV for a minute, what do we, as in industry, have to get right to maximize the opportunity? Putting on our consumer hats, let’s take a look at what might strike the balance between entertainment, utility, and cross-screen value in a way that satisfies and enables the experience — without coming across like a forced stunt.
Even though the Super Bowl is expected to play prominently for large brands this year, like McDonald’s, Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch, Doritos, and Dove, they should be aware that excessive use of tech and innovation can also lead to an overwrought and confusing consumer experience. If you truly contemplate what’s possible and then overlay that with what is desirable from a consumer’s experience, the temperature should come down a few degrees. Here are some questions and considerations.
Just as it is every year, there is a tremendous amount of build up to the Super Bowl this year. I suggest to marketers that rather than looking to soar above it all, they let a little air out of their plans and take a more tactical approach with the good old consumer experience as their guiding principle. Can you tell who I’m rooting for?