The Super Bowl arguably could be one of the most important events of the year for digital marketers.
The event itself extends beyond just the three hour game. It is renowned for the halftime show with acts from global stars such as Shakira, J-Lo and Prince. And of-course the most iconic commercials of all time!
The National Football League championship is the biggest American sporting event that generates huge amounts of online activity.
The big game draws on average a television audience of around 98.2 million viewers.
CBS stated that a combined viewership including digital and streaming platforms, was 100.7 million people in 2019.
Brand’s digital marketing campaigns usually aim to drive sales, traffic, increase revenue and inform consumers. However the advertisements that make the cut for game day have one goal: creating buzz.
These digital marketing campaigns are extremely creative and optimise the best technology for communications and production.
The price for ad placement at the Super Bowl excluding production costs have gone up 76% in the last decade.
“In 2019, a 30-second Super Bowl spot cost advertisers US$5.25 million (AUD $7.1 million) . This was just the cost to air the ad, not the actual cost of producing the commercial itself—a solid Super Bowl marketing effort could easily cost US$10 million.”
Source: Lynette Sawyer
Interestingly as part of the Super Bowl marketing strategy, a dedicated landing page for advertisement enquiries has been implemented with a search engine results page (SERP).
Unlike any other media platform, 71. 1% of viewers see the commercials as part of the entertainment of the game.
The stakes are high for ad placement for this event. Not only is the costs involved astronomical, but the viewer expectations are high.
This sports event is like the hall of fame for best digital marketing campaigns ever.
The Digital Marketer's Apprentice 
Great post Emma! I don’t even watch the Super Bowl and I’ve still seen some really entertaining and memorable ads from the event, so it’s clearly very effective in raising awareness as you said. I wouldn’t recommend it for companies which have tight marketing budgets, but for powerful multinationals like Pepsi, I would definitely say this is a great advertising opportunity since they have the high budget for it!
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Thank-you for your positive feedback Ella! Definitely it does seem like the only players able to access budgets like these are global brands. However one brand that comes to mind is CopyKat. This was a relatively small menu provider, and the brand published an ad for the game. This company saw unbelievable attraction to their brand after this apperance.
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Hey Emma, great post! I think advertising at the Super Bowl could make a company look more powerful than its competitors and creates a huge amount of awareness so it works in that sense. But, the ads are so expensive! I think it depends on what is being advertised to know if the price is worth it. Maybe a new alcoholic or sporting product would be worth it as it would suit the consumer base at the Super Bowl.
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Hi Amy, thank-you so much for your comment. Definitely, awareness is such a key takeaway from campaigns staged at this event.
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Great post Emma! 🙂 Wow I never realised how much it costs to advertise during the SuperBowl. However, it is understandable as it is one of the most watched sporting events of the year. Smaller companies would be unable to afford these prices but it’s a great way for the larger businesses to promote their products, especially since it’ll be seen by so many. Now I wonder what the prices are for sporting events in Australia such as the AFL grand final and AusOpen final.
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Thank-you Rosa for your comment! That is a great question; I do wonder especially Grand Final Day! Sport is big money and mass consumption.
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Hi Emma! great post as always. Your explanation of the super bowl ads is fantastic – I had no idea the budget required, must be a tough bid for marketers to get their content in!
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Hi Maddy! Thank-you for your comment. I was surprised too when I looked into the numbers, its crazy!
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Great post! I never realised just how high the cost for a super bowl ad was, it’s insane. I don’t personally watch the super bowl but in some way or another – through the news or memes mostly – am exposed to the ads every year which shows just how much reach it has! Given the cost, it’s no wonder you always see the big corporations who can afford it. Not sure if this type of advertising would be beneficial for smaller companies though, specially if an increase in revenue is not guaranteed.
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Hi Taniah, thank-you for your comment! Great point, I think for established companies with glamorous marketing budgets for sure, however the smaller business’ are at a disadvantage. Maybe in the future Super Bowl might implement small business support by featuring a few commercials at a lower cost.
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Haha personally I love Super Bowl ads! The food ads in particular are so appealing to me! I didn’t realise that there was such a high cost!! However, I reckon the exposure is a great ROI!
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Great post, i think its worth it for sure! Just by being a superbowl ad, a different level of attention is paid to it, and it does tend to encourage higher quality work. If nothing else, the Superbowl slot is good for the advertising industry as it forces creative work!
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I think superbowl ads are often highly creative and highly engaging, however I don’t know if many companies can justify making a superbowl ad year after year as the prices hike up and up. Brand awareness is all good and well, however you want to see some ROI from your ad as well
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Wow! I knew the Super Bowl was a big deal but I didn’t realise how big! I don’t know how beneficial it would be for sales, or even how much it would increase awareness as brands that are big enough to afford such opportunities are likely household names already! However, it is a great point of conversation (they’re almost always iconic – like the Britney x Beyonce x Pink “We will rock you” Pepsi ad”) that can create great social media buzz!
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