The largest television audience ever watched Sunday’s Super Bowl as the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 according to Nielsen Co. The Saints weren’t the only ones who defied the odds by winning their first ever Super Bowl; CBS had no problem selling out their Super Bowl Ad inventory at a time when network ad spending has been in decline (down 13.9 percent the first nine months of 2009).
The Super Bowl telecast is considered the top advertising opportunity of the year, fetching as much as $3 million for a 30 second spot. So why would Pepsi’s executive team elect to forego advertising during the big game for the first time in 23 years, launching a social media ad campaign instead? Pepsi recently launched their “Pepsi Refresh” campaign where consumers are encouraged to submit and vote on ideas throughout the year that will have a positive impact on their communities, and have pledged to fund these ideas through grants from $5000 – $250,000. They’ve opted to use Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to encourage consumers to participate and cast their votes.
“This is such a fundamental change from anything we’ve done in the past,” says Lauren Hobart, chief marketing officer for Pepsi Cola North American Beverages. “We explored different launch plans, and the Super Bowl just wasn’t the right venue, because we’re really trying to spark a full year movement from the ground up. The plan is to have much more two-way dialogue with our customers.” Pepsi however will run television ads for the “Refresh” campaign and also made it clear they are not abandoning future Super Bowl advertising.
“This is exactly where Pepsi needs to be,” says Sophie Ann Terrisse, founder and CEO of STC Associates, a brand-consulting firm. “These days, brands need to become a movement instead of just relying on good reviews for their Super Bowl commercials.”
There is no doubt media and marketing has changed dramatically over the last two or three years. We at BurrellesLuce recognize this shift in marketing mediums and recently launched a dedicated service to monitor and measure social media activity.
But despite an increasingly fragmented media world, the rise of viral marketing through social media, and the growing popularity of watching video online and on handheld devices, 106.5 million people sat in front of their TV’s for three hours on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl.
I’m sure Pepsi will generate quite a following for their “Refresh” campaign in the social media world and as they have already created quite a buzz by actually not having a 2010 Super Bowl ad. But it still must be difficult for the executives at Pepsi to hear the words “Super Bowl 2010, the most watched TV program ever.”
