Who’s looking forward to the Super Bowl this year? How about the commercials? I love football, but I must admit, I look forward to seeing the commercials about as much as the big game. With 100 million people watching and so much on the line for advertisers, the commercials rarely disappoint. Many of the same companies put together brilliant ads year after year. Certain companies are almost expected to have a spot. A great spot. Year after year.
Pepsi has advertised during the Super Bowl for 23 consecutive years, but this year they have decided to put that money toward a social media campaign. That’s right. Social Media instead of the Super Bowl. I was shocked to hear this, but when I heard their reasoning, the strategy makes sense to me. It is important to understand they are not abandoning TV advertising. They have specific goals for a new campaign, and they think social media is a better place to put their advertising money. I admire the bold decision.
One thing is for sure: times are changing. Companies are paying attention to where they are spending their advertising dollars and social media is becoming a viable option to reach millions of people. Only time will tell if the strategy to skip this year’s Super Bowl pays off for Pepsi.
Check out this article by Sean Gregory of Time Magazine and let me know your thoughts.
Social media is def. the place to be and it is much much cheaper than TV. It has always amazed me at how much people pay to advertise during the super bowl. I know millions and millions of people are watching it, but millions and millions of dollars spent to show your product for maybe 5 minutes??
Ashlee, I agree. I think there is definitely a time and place for all types of advertising, whether it is TV advertising, magazines, outdoor, phone book, Web, whatever. Super Bowl commercials have worked well for a lot of companies over the years. The thing that I don’t understand is when companies say “We’ve always advertised here, so why change now?” Or “All our competitors are advertising there, so we need to be there too.” IMO, you can waste a lot of money thinking like that. (Or I should say, not thinking.) Whether you decide to advertise online or on tv, it really boils down to a having a good marketing plan and solid strategy in place. And then selecting the right tool to get the word out to meet your goals. Props to Pepsi for thinking outside the box.