Never call a Superbowl commercial a Superbowl commercial

[Column] Peter Van Wijnaerde (Springbok, Joe Public): Marketing only works if you mix your media really hard

Yesterday was the Superbowl. Americans watch sports, we watch commercials and clips of the halftime show. But if you pay attention, you will see that the real competition started weeks ago, brands are advertising their advertising.

Superbowl commercials are legendary but they can also get lost in the crowd. That's why brands try to create as much buzz as possible in advance. A good commercial not only scores on TV, but also lives on online. And those who are smart will take advantage of this by building it into the campaign.

Brands use different media to make their commercials pop

It’s fascinating to see how brands use different media to make their ads pop. In a TikTok video, I saw a geo-guesser claim that Gordon Ramsay was at Area 51. I didn’t think much of it until I saw a pre-release spot featuring him and an unidentified frying object . For a cookware brand: Hexclad. By making the connection in my mind, the spot grabbed all my attention. This shows how paid, earned and social media reinforce each other and how smart brands build a story around their advertising.

It reminded me of two things.

Serious media shows that you are serious

Banks put up marble facades to show that they are staying. Brands buy advertising space on big outlets to show that they are serious. In that sense, a Superbowl spot is not only reach, but also a statement. This also applies on a smaller scale, I see more LinkedIn posts with our ad in the newspaper than actual ads in the newspaper, but the newspaper impact still counts.

Marketing only works if you mix your media really hard

Paid and earned, social and performance, influencers and traditional media, they reinforce each other. An ad without context is a fragment. An ad embedded in a larger story is a campaign and has more recall and impact.

The Superbowl is a million dollar ball, but the principles apply everywhere. Are you creating content? Mix and match your media. Are you doing performance marketing or trade fair stands? Tap into what is already happening. You buy media, you earn attention.

Peter Van Wijnaerde , CMO at Springbok / Joe Public , is building the full package agency for the all-round CMO. An agency-Belgian with a broad view, who likes to make detours in other sectors and countries.

www.springbok.nl

www.joepublic.nl

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