What do YOU look for when watching the Super Bowl ads during America's biggest TV day of the year? If you are like most of us, you are looking to get a good laugh, or just be left with a bit of a "Wow!" factor...but put yourself in the shoes of a Marketer, and this year why not enjoy the view through the lens of a Branding Consultant?
One of the most memorable commercials of all time "Where's the Beef?" was immensely popular for a full year after it came out in 1984. I personally remember the commercial but also remember asking classmates who quoted it if they could tell me which Brand the commercial was advertising and many could not. Since then, I
've always wondered if popular or funny commercials uniformly do anything for their Brands. Because if the viewer remembers the ad but not who sponsored it, it just becomes a very expensive charitable act for the nation's funnybones (and for those who don't recall, it was for Wendy's).
Before getting into our plans for this year, it might be worth refreshing your memory of last year's Super Bowl TV ads here.
Forbes has a reasonable methodology that measures the effectiveness of these TV Super Bowl TV advertisements which use the following criteria:
A consumer remembering the brand An ad that moves them A relevant ad An ad that provides information and ultimately creates desire for a product An ad that results in a change of behavior
I won't go into the scientific validity of their method, but just leave it to acknowledge it has value for the consistency with which they apply it and that it also aims to measure real consumer action.
While there is no truly precise way to measure advertising effectiveness in broadcast media, the list above is a good way to start a way to measure what you really believe is a good ad.
How do you personally react in those five categories to each ad?
To that list I would also add one additional criteria about "sharing". Do you find yourself talking about the ad in the breakroom the next morning? Do you feel tempted to go on Youtube and share it with your Facebook friends? Ultimately, this single reaction might be the ultimate measure that represents the sum of the five criteria used in the Forbes rankings.
Do you have a favorite TV commercial to share? Let us know and more importantly, tell us "why?"
Watch the Super Bowl 2013 TV Commercials before game day:
