What $4.5 Million Could Buy On Social
There were a number of records broken during Super Bowl XLIX, many of which took place off the field. This year’s Super Bowl was the most watched broadcast in U.S. television history (114.4 million) (http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/02/media/super-bowl-ratings/). NBC also made waves, charging a record-setting $4.5 million for a 30-second ad.
Although advertisers were fortunate enough to serve their message up to millions during one of television’s most watched events, marketers are exploring new digital and social media tactics to reach their Super Bowl audience.
“With [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][a $4.5 million] budget, you can run a YouTube masthead, Snapchat sponsored story, sponsored Instagram ad, promoted Twitter trend and a Yahoo homepage takeover and still have money to spare,” said Adam Shlachter, chief investment officer at DigitasLBi. (http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/what-45-million-could-buy-if-spent-social-ads-instead-super-bowl-spots-162485)
Below is a list of digital media tactics that cost as much as a $4.5 million Super Bowl spot:
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Ten “Premium Day” Promoted Trends – Twitter’s Promoted Trends normally cost brands roughly $200,000 per day, but Twitter considers the Super Bowl a “Premium” event. Promoted Trends during events such as the Grammys, Oscars and championships more than double ($425,000).
Twitter’s 2013 study (https://blog.twitter.com/2013/study-the-value-of-promoted-trends) found that exposure to Promoted Trends turned Twitter users into brand advocates, making them more likely to speak positively about a brand and retweet its messaging. Along with a sharp increase in mentions during the promotion itself, brands often benefit long after the dollars are spent. (http://sproutsocial.com/insights/twitter-promoted-trends-success-stories/)
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Four days of Facebook Reach Blocks – A Facebook Reach Block guarantees that your brand’s message will show up in 100% of your target audience’s newsfeeds at least once a day.
A Reach Block generates a ton of buzz around your brand in the form of new fans, brand mentions and interactions (Likes, Comments & Shares). Additionally, those interactions engage dormant users who may have ignored or missed your brand’s messages in the past.
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Five YouTube Masthead Ads – The YouTube Desktop Custom Masthead is an in-page unit running the full width of the YouTube homepage. The average price for a 24-hour block typically runs between $300,000 and $400,000, but the reported cost for Super Bowl Sunday Masthead Ads was approximately $800,000.
While TV spots may be the most effective medium, YouTube mastheads have proven to be a more efficient use of ad dollars, generating a larger impact per contact.
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Six days Worth of Sponsored Snapchat Snaps – Want to see $4.5 million disappear? At $750,000 apiece, Snapchat will send out your sponsored snaps only to have them vanish before your audience’s eyes.
Although the notion of a disappearing ad sounds insane, Snapchat offers a level of engagement that goes well beyond a captivating TV spot. Snapchat users are required to touch and hold their screen to play a message or view a photo. It is safe to assume that the longer the user has their finger on the screen, the more engaged or interested they are in the message.
The Super Bowl will always be chock-full of great ads, but are brands able to effectively quantify the impact from one of these $4.5 million spots? One of the best components of social media is the ability to monitor the success of a campaign or promotion in real time. Mentions, Retweets, clicks and sales can be measured and lumped together to quickly calculate a campaign’s ROI. Before you write a check for $5 million for Super Bowl 50, ask yourself, “How far would $5 million go on social?”
BONUS – Other goodies you could buy with $4.5 million:
642 78” Curved Smart TVs (Samsung)
236,966 Large orders of wings (Buffalo Wild Wings)
281,425 bottles of beer (Budweiser)
563,204 Large 2-topping pizzas (Pizza Hut *carryout)
3,781,512 Crunchy Tacos (Taco Bell)
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