Head of Marketing at Tracksuit, Mikayla Hopkins, believes the big game can help marketers score big with their strategies.
Between the action-packed gridiron and the halftime show, this year’s Super Bowl proved it’s the equivalent of the Oscars for brands and marketers. As fans cheered the Chiefs’ overtime victory and swooned over Taylor
Swift’s fairytale moment with its player Travis Kelce, marketers were glued to a different game, one that was playing for eyeballs.
With almost 125 million people watching, it’s no wonder a prized spot in the ‘big game’ is every marketer’s dream. Although an ad during the halftime show is out of reach for most brands (coming with a whopping US$7 million price tag), the Super Bowl is a goldmine of marketing strategies that can be adapted and scaled to suit even the leanest of budgets.
It’s giving cultural relevance
First and foremost is the importance of tapping into trending cultural moments. By incorporating what’s hot in pop culture, brands can carve out authentic ways to resonate with consumers and spark conversations that extend past a campaign itself.
Verizon’s ad was a study in cultural relevance. Cleverly weaving in their own AI version of Beyoncé among playful nods to presidential campaigns, it was packed with iconic references, and as a cherry on top, it teased Queen B’s highly anticipated album, slated to be one of the biggest cultural moments of the year.
If Kiwi brands want to replicate this strategy, they need to tune in to what’s trending. Whether it’s the latest fad
on social media or what’s got everyone talking at your next team coffee, you should be looking at leveraging cultural movements to make your marketing efforts relatable and relevant.
Engage with engagement
Of course, as marketers, we’ve got to consider engagement. Beyond the chase for eyeballs, the Super Bowl teaches us a more valuable lesson: engaged audiences are far more impactful than the number of views. During the game, viewers are minimally distracted, which presents a prime opportunity to create deeper connections. This ‘quality over quantity’ mentality means brands can leave a lasting impression and create that brand affinity where consumers see an ad and connect with the brand on a deeper level.
Does your audience pay attention to paid online ads? Is your target consumer influenced by TikTok creators, or are they glued to their TV screen at 6pm? Identifying your audience’s preferred platforms is a first step. Once you know where they spend their time, the key lies in crafting engaging and immersive experiences tailored to those channels.
Before, during & after
Getting a brand to live rent-free in consumers’ heads is all about developing longevity with your campaign, so it doesn’t disappear once you’ve given it enough airtime. Take CeraVe, for example. It didn’t just drop a random ad during the game. Instead, in the build-up to the event, it executed a quirky integrated campaign pondering how actor Michael Cera is linked to the skincare brand. Is he the founder or is this simply a public stunt? No matter what side of the coin you were on, everyone was pulled into the discussion, and by the time the Super Bowl rolled around, we were all tuned in, ready for the big reveal.
This was a move that had people talking pre- and post-game, and we can learn from that, shifting our marketing focus from short-term buzz to creating long-term engagement. You should ask yourself how your campaign can come alive before, during and after it’s gone out publicly. Think multi-platform, and create touchpoints for your audience across all your key channels. This will maximise exposure and keep the momentum rolling for weeks, months or even years.
For industry giants and scrappy start-ups, the Super Bowl offers a masterclass in marketing. Remember: relevance, engagement and longevity are the winning plays that can help you stay ahead of the game.
This was first published in our March/April issue.
