How to Waste $2.4 Million Dollars in 30 Seconds or Less
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Written By Reprise Media | February 8, 2005 | Share This
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While it may not have been the most relaxing or exciting way to watch the Big Game, if you spent a majority of Sunday night’s Super Bowl at your computer, typing in brand and product names the way we did, you probably realized that a lot of companies still have a loooong way to […]
While it may not have been the most relaxing or exciting way to watch the Big Game, if you spent a majority of Sunday night’s Super Bowl at your computer, typing in brand and product names the way we did, you probably realized that a lot of companies still have a loooong way to go when it comes to Search Engine Marketing.
Companies pay outrageous fees for Super Bowl advertisements for two reasons: The captive audience (many of whom are actually watching TV TO SEE THE ADVERTISING, for once) and the buzz it generates. But what a majority of those companies failed to realize is that just ponying up for TV time isn’t enough anymore. If your ad is successful - memorable, intruiging, exciting, controversial, whatever - the next place people are going to go is to their computer, to call up a search engine.
If your brand isn’t visible in the results, and (more importantly) ready to reward the consumer for seeking you out, you’ve essentially wasted your money. Period.
That’s not to say that every company didn’t get it. There were definite winners (and losers). Here’s a couple of the trends we saw from kickoff to the hoisting of the Lombardi trophy:
- Online Companies: Suprise, Surprise. Online companies did a phenomenal job of tying their search campaigns into Super Bowl Sponsorship. Napster, CareerBuilder and GoDaddy (all Bowl rookies) had paid search campaigns leading to Super Bowl related content. GoDaddy gets an extra point for going above and beyond, sharing a blog written by their CEO, and an extended version of the commercial featuring more of the very…umm… enthusiastic GoDaddy girl
- Movie Studios: For an industry that relies so heavily on buzz, the movie studios did a horrible job of following up on it. While their sites are, as a rule, always exciting and interactive, not a single movie had a sponsorship presence on the major engines, and none of them had any new/exciting content tied to the Super Bowl for those lucky souls who found them. (That new Batman movie looked mighty cool, though)
- Automotive Companies: Nice work from the automotive category. You don’t need to offer much to make a prospective customer glad they clicked through - a downloadable copy of the ad you just spent millions on is a good first start. Big thumbs up to Cadillac and Volvo, who also bought “Super Bowl” keywords, and had a tightly integrated presence
- Consumer Packaged Goods: The category still doesn’t get it. Static, boring sites. No search presence. No tie ins with their ads. Does Degree Antiperspirant even have a site? We certainly couldn’t find it. And don’t even get us started on McDonalds’ fake “Lincoln Fry” Blog. Yecch.
So what’s our takeaway from this whole project? What steps can savvy marketers take to ensure that they’re not flushing their ad budget down the toilet? Here’s a few for starters:
- Mention your Site: In ‘99 it was acceptable for a company to not feature a URL in their ad. In ‘05, it’s embarassing. No matter how niche you think your audience is, there’s still an audience out there. SOMEBODY is going to want to visit your site, and learn more.
- Bid On Your Brand Name: And the name of the product or service you’re selling. And the name of your celebrity pitch men, slogans, characters, etc. Make sure that no matter how someone might choose to search for your brand, that you’re ready with a message that’s consistent with your ad.
- Target your messaging: Reinforce what they just saw on TV. Repeat key phrases. Give them a reason to take the next step and visit your site.
- Reward your Customers: They cared enough to get to their computer and type in your brand name. You should care enough to reinforce that behavior. Let them download your commercial, read about why you bought the ad, or register to win something. Or, why don’t you get really nuts and let them interact with each other? Or maybe even let them interact with you.
OK, that’s enough time on the soapbox on this particular issue. If you’re interested in seeing where other companies were ranked, click here for a detailed version of our scorecard. (It’s a PDF, so click here to download Acrobat if needed). This was a fun little exercise for us, and it’s something we’re planning to do again very soon.
Topics: SEM: Ad Creative, SEM: Paid Search |
You are right on target.To spot trends I watch the college kids that hang around our home. The first thing they did immediately after the game was to go to the internet to find their favorite commercials. They were still sharing links to "good sites" yesterday evening.
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Where did you find that? Pretty cool!