Super Bowl Ads—Social Media Is Rewriting the Playbook

One of the NFL’s biggest sponsors, PepsiCo, sent a shudder through the broadcast industry last month when it said it was benching its soft drink ads after 23 years and tens of millions of dollars of air time purchased during previous championship games.  Instead, Pepsi is planning to spend $20 million on a long-term social media goodwill initiative called The Pepsi Refresh Project.

Pepsi gets it!  Its decision to sit out the Super Bowl, once deemed a “can’t miss” showcase for major advertisers, underscores how social media and the Internet are reshaping marketing by providing companies better ways to convey their messages to customers who might be likely to buy their products. 

Social media is the real deal.  It gets used by people who are thinking about buying your products because it was created by people who have already purchased your products or services.   Social media is utilized in the conversations that occur between your customers - conversations that you may not even know about and certainly will not be part of unless you are present and listening.  Pepsi realizes they need to be an active participant of the conversation.  As a contemporary brand aiming for long-term success, not participating is not an option.

Social media also levels the playing field for smaller companies to compete with larger competitors in building brand and consideration for their products or services.  Social media cost less and has greater impact than most traditional marketing channels.

Keep in mind, however, that all of your other channels still exist - social media is a complementary extension of all your other marketing efforts.  It has always been our recommendation to approach social media as if it is a natural extension of your traditional marketing efforts.

So how do you influence a crowd?  You listen to it.  You tap into it.  You learn from it.  And then you engage.  One of the characteristics of social media is that you can listen, measure and track your success over time.  You can use what you learn to modify and improve what you offer, and in so doing influence the online conversation.

Social media is characterized largely if not completely by the content trail - ratings, reviews, comments, and much, much more, giving you clear feedback on what customers think of the content.  Like never before, companies have a measureable “pulse” that they can use to guide their efforts in real-time.

Pepsi’s decision to integrate social media into its traditional marketing efforts uses the power of the Internet and “word-of-mouth” to reinforce its current customers on why making the same choice for Pepsi products again is a good idea. 

Super Bowl ads are expensive and great for building awareness if you have the right product and the right message.  But word-of-mouth is increasingly manifesting itself through social media, where it spreads both farther and faster.  And a trusted fact affirmed by a recent research study, word-of-mouth is considered to be a more trusted source of information.

My question to any company executive is, “Are you going to be a leader in joining the social media revolution or are you going to wait for your customers to pull you into the conversation?” 

Integrating social media into your traditional marketing efforts will make you more efficient and effective with your budget, and help develop a more trusted relationship with your customers.  Just ask Pepsi.

Tags: Bob Maples, digital media, integrated marketing communications, Pepsi social media, public relations, social media, social media conversations, social media initiatives, traditional marketing, trusted customer relationships, word of mouth