Submitted by Jackie Wright on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 12:11
We're Issuing an APB for ROI!
In the thirteen years I’ve been in Marketing, I’ve sat through a plethora of strategy meetings with CEO’s, CMO’s and CFO’s who are constantly demanding a sound ROI for their advertising investments. It really is a simple formula… company spends big money to hire very creative agency, agency puts together witty and memorable campaign and company sees increased brand awareness and additional revenue.
However, after watching just about every Super Bowl commercial that aired last night, I came away feeling dazed and confused… and not because I had a few too many beers or gorged myself on pizza and wings. I was confused because, in my somewhat professional opinion, 85% of last night’s commercials did not work to drive brand awareness or ROI. They were mere flashes in the advertising pan…millions of dollars incinerated right before my very eyes! Or, in a word… wasteful!
A few specifics:
- Denny’s – I voted their “we’re gonna need a lot of eggs” campaign as the most perplexing! Maybe I am missing something here, but why would you spend millions and millions of dollars to advertise something you are going to give away for free? Unless they are trying to brand themselves as the “go to” restaurant for free meals after Super Bowl, I am not really getting the point?
What they should have done
Focused more on their new menu offerings and skipped the focus on the free meals. Better yet, skip the Super Bowl advertising all together. If you have that much money to spend on Super Bowl ads, your marketing budget is WAAAY TOO big! Save the advertising dollars and cut the prices on your "Super Bird" and "Moons over my Hammy!"
Focused more on their new menu offerings and skipped the focus on the free meals. Better yet, skip the Super Bowl advertising all together. If you have that much money to spend on Super Bowl ads, your marketing budget is WAAAY TOO big! Save the advertising dollars and cut the prices on your "Super Bird" and "Moons over my Hammy!"
- U.S. Census – Seriously???? Did 2.5 million dollars of our tax money just go to inform the slackers of the world that they need to fill out their census form? What a waste!
What they should have done
Two words – GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN! Figure out who is least likely to fill out a census form and focus on getting them to take action via a grassroots strategy. And if you’re reading this President Obama, Rainmaker Communications will put the campaign together for you at ½ price!
- Chase Bank – You would think that one of the biggest banks in the U.S. should know about the importance of good creative during Super Bowl Sunday? Sadly, they used the exact same creative they inundate us with every day. BORING!
What they should have done
Pulled out the creative big guns! If you’re going to do it, do it right! Don’t put us to sleep with the same old creative.
Pulled out the creative big guns! If you’re going to do it, do it right! Don’t put us to sleep with the same old creative.
In the end, a few companies did get it right from a creative and branding standpoint. I got a real warm fuzzy watching the Budweiser commercial with the horse and the cow. Not sure I will run right out and buy a six pack, but I will certainly remember Budweiser a little better now. Ditto for Doritos… that little boy was hilarious! Coke did a great job with their visual effects in the “Man in Africa” commercial. But, if I had to choose one winner for 2010 it would be the E-Trade Babies. Funny, great creative, loveable, watchable and most importantly, memorable! And with some continued strategy and ingenuity, consumers just might remember who those sarcastic little babies belong to and actually do what agencies and advertisers dream of… become a loyal customer!
