Major advertisers like Hyundai and Budweiser are skipping the Super Bowl this year. Here's why that's a smart idea according to experts.
Hyundai
- Some long-time Super Bowl advertisers like Budweiser and Audi are skipping the game this year.
- The pandemic and economic uncertainty should make brands more hesitant, experts said.
- Some firms that have done especially well during the pandemic are running ads for the first time.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
Hyundai's star-studded, Boston-accented Super Bowl ad last year - about its new "Smaht Pahk" feature - was a smash hit. It went viral, sent visits to Hyundai's online listings through the roof, and cleverly put the carmaker's products in front of a TV audience of around 100 million people.
But, after running Super Bowl spots for the last 13 years in a row, Hyundai is sitting the game out this Sunday.
And it's not alone. Hyundai joins a handful of major brands - Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Planter's Peanuts, and Audi among them - that have shaken up their advertising strategy for the big game or decided not to run ads altogether.
CBS, which is broadcasting Super Bowl LV, didn't sell out of all its national ad spots until late January. By comparison, for 2020's game, all the spots were booked up by late November.
Amid economic and social uncertainty, some advertisers bow out
It's not surprising that advertisers are more hesitant to shell out millions for a 30-second slot in a year that's been dominated by uncertainty and crisis across issues of social justice, politics, and public health, said Derek Rucker, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business, which hosts an annual review of Super Bowl commercials.
All of those currents will not only compete with brands for attention, but they also can be seen as "icebergs in the water" that companies need to carefully navigate around to run a successful ad, Rucker said.
Even in a more typical year, "going to the Super Bowl does not guarantee results, so if you don't have a great campaign idea, you don't want to show up," he said. "There are so many things going on where it makes sense that some brands might say: 'I'm going to sit this one out.'"
Pandemic-fueled economic struggles for certain companies don't help matters either, Cait Lamberton, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told Insider. In Hyundai's case, the auto industry was badly battered early on in the pandemic, though sales rebounded in the second half of 2020.
"We are in an incredibly chaotic time, it's still very unclear when the economy as a whole is going to return to anything like normal, and if you're a carmaker who is dependent on people feeling the need to leave their homes, it's not exactly obvious that this is the time to keep trying to raise awareness about a brand that's already very well-known," Lamberton said.
Hyundai said it decided not to run an ad this year based on "marketing priorities" and "where we felt it was best to allocate our marketing resources" in an emailed statement to Insider.
Advertisers are also grappling with the uncharted territory of a Super Bowl that people will consume not at large viewing parties, but in small groups or alone. The social phenomenon of watching commercials with friends - seeing their reactions, chatting about the hits and misses - will be largely gone this year, and it's still unknown how that will affect advertisers' ROI, Rucker said.
Companies with pandemic-friendly offerings seize the moment
Despite all that uncertainty, plenty of brands still see the upside in getting their product out in front of an audience that will potentially exceed 100 million viewers.
Although that exposure isn't so important for well-established companies with strong name recognition, it can be a massive boon for younger firms with less brand awareness - especially ones that are offering something catered to this atypical moment, experts said.
Fiverr, an online freelancing platform, is running its first ad this year, as are car-buying market place Vroom and delivery app DoorDash.
"Those are all brands that are particularly good fits for the conditions in which people find themselves in right now," Lamberton said, adding that a Super Bowl ad can put lesser-known companies on the map overnight.
GoDaddy, the web hosting service now known for its irreverent ads, is one company that did just that, she said.
Skipping the big game, but for a cause
Not only does sitting out the Super Bowl carry little risk for big-name brands, but the move can also even be a savvy media play, Lamberton said.
"Making a decision to sit out where you're expected, being a little bit scarce, coming a little bit late to the party or going to a different party altogether - it's not a bad move either," she said. "I think there could be some real benefits to that for these very well-known brands."
One brand that has executed this particularly well, according to Lambert, is Budweiser, which announced last month that it would forego a Super Bowl ad for the first time in decades, opting instead to fund a COVID-19 vaccination awareness campaign that would air online in the lead-up to the game.
Budweiser's move lends it authenticity, sets it apart from companies that have made grand social promises without action, and signals its support for something that helps everyone, Lamberton said. Plus, she says, "It's not a bad thing for consumers to miss your brand.
"The thing is, by not being there, [Budweiser is] getting people to talk about them," Lamberton said. "That's pretty brilliant."
from Business Insider https://ift.tt/3jq7sCP
No comments