There is much discussion in the press this time of year regarding the merits of running a Super Bowl ad. The nay-sayers argue that TV is increasingly irrelevant, the costs are ridiculous, running a Groupon coupon will generate more new users and what’s more one can just go on social media and create buzz for free. At times, I think I have said all those same things and when I did felt very smart about our marketing strategy and happy to be entertained by all the other foolish marketers who ponied up for the game.
Since we are running our first ever Super Bowl ad that includes Justin Bieber, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne no less, then, in the famous words of Ricky Ricardo I sure have some “splaining” to do.
My thinking has changed for a few reasons. First, as our media channels have gotten exponentially more fragmented, TV, especially live TV (sports, award programming etc), is one of the few stages in which we can talk to a large audience. Second, the Super Bowl is the biggest of stages. For us to make this kind of stage work, we needed to have something very important to say. This year, we have something new, important and differentiating to say, worthy we thought, of the bigness that is the Super Bowl. Third, we wanted to use this stage to highlight parts of our brand heritage that we have moved away from in recent years, our love of the Entertainment we sell and the fun we all have in consuming it. Finally and perhaps most importantly, I came to realize much more clearly how the Super Bowl platform done well could create a very impactful social campaign that could then create interest far beyond the game itself.
As for creative, Super Bowl ads are first and foremost about entertainment value so that did get us thinking about using celebrities which we have rarely used in the past. However, we truly ended up using Justin, Ozzy and Sharon because we thought they personified the main idea we are trying to convey in the spot despite what this USA today writer speculated (http://tinyurl.com/4npgbp8).
The idea launches on the Super Bowl so I am not going to spill it here. I know it’s a big bet. For us to run it our key business leaders, including our CEO, had to be all-in. You can just imagine how many people are interested in getting a peak at our creative. We feel good about the reasons we decided to go all-in to the big game this year. After the champion gets the trophy on Feb 6th we will have a pretty good idea as to whether the bet will pay off. In the meantime, I am interested in how others think about using the Super Bowl as a marketing platform.
Oh, and I will post the spot and our plans for leveraging the social space once the ad has run on Feb 6th.
Barry Judge // Updates from the CMO of Best Buy
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ben Malbon and Eric Swayne, Atom McCree. Atom McCree said: RT @Malbonnington: Reading: @BestBuyCMO: New post on why Best Buy is advertising for first time on the Super Bowl http://goo.gl/QqEWw [...]
Super Bowl commercials are less an advertisement and more a sponsorship of the hoopla. The value of such a vehicle can only be determined in the long term, not by those judging if the creative “worked.”
Therefore, I’m much, much more interested in how the idea is activated in social, email, publicity, in-store, etc. and the commitment/length of said activation.
Don’t get me wrong, I love speculating about Super Bowl creative – and count me in as one wondering how Bieber doesn’t break the fictive dream – but too often companies (and agencies) worry about being on the “Best of” list and less about genius ways to bring the campaign to life on Super Monday.
Sounds like you’ve thought beyond that.
Good luck.
Can’t wait to see the spot!
Hi Barry,
It sounds like you are indeed counting on the “afterlife” of the spot, and the launching pad it can become for an ongoing campaign and then some. Pending seeing the actual spot and the big news, it sounds like a good plan. Hopefully, from a marketing and advertising perspective, the Super Bowl commercial will turn out to be your Best Buy!
I look forward to experiencing it.
-Jeff
Hmmm.
It’s a gamble, no doubt. The two things you’re facing are 1) People comparing your ad to others in terms of impact, and 2) anyone caring that Best Buy was the brand behind it anyway.
On Monday, hundreds of outlets will be talking about the best Super Bowl ads. Will yours be one of them? If so, that’s great, because it will help the ad continue to have a shelf life, and will continue to get people curious about Best Buy.
If not, you’re in trouble.
But what you want is the relation between the brand and the spot. For example, the Mean Joe Greene Coca Cola is is considered one of the greatest of all time – but for Coca Cola? Or for the ad? Could you have put any other soft drink in there?
Yet another risk is the talent. Will people remember “the ad Justin was in,” or will Justin be the connection between the viewer and the brand?