A Personal Perspective on Super Bowl Commercials and More
As a preview for the 2nd Annual Big Game Ad Watch Party (click here for more information), we did a short interview with our emcee Scott Sheinberg, Executive VP of 22squared.
Q: What Super Bowl ad campaigns have you seen in the past that have succeeded in creating a fully three-dimensional ad experience?
A: “Dove has been great at creating a 3-D experience, especially with its efforts to empower women. Old Spice has also done a great job. They used to be seen as a brand for old men, but their funny and more hip content has rebranded Old Spice to appeal more to the hipster crowd.”
Q: What are some of the trends you expect to see in advertising in 2016, especially coming from well-marketed brands such as the ones advertising during the Super Bowl?
A: “Advertising is going to be more focused on content and more focused on video throughout all platforms, not just TV and internet TV streaming. Video watching on cell phones will continue to increase. For marketers, this means an increase in the demand for video ads that are appealing and useful. Videos ads intrude on consumers, so it’s our job as marketers and advertisers to make them a welcome intrusion. That increases the pressure and the necessity to create excellent video content. Video also has to be social. We have to create video content that stimulates conversation. This content has to be easy and fun to share on social platforms.”
Q: What are some of the most dramatic changes (aside from digitalization) that you have seen in advertising since you began your career? How do those changes impact Super Bowl advertising environment?
A: “Advertisers can’t force their will on consumers anymore. They have to be genuine. With social media and other digital platforms, customers judge brands immediately and marketers cannot control the conversation about their brands anymore. Also, advertisers know immediately if their content and campaigns are successful or if they have failed…because viewers begin talking about them immediately online. Additionally, advertisers used to only be able to choose from a few platforms when designing a campaign. These platforms were print, TV, outdoor advertising, in store advertising, and radio. Now, there are so many platforms available and new ones emerging every day. Half the battle of designing a campaign is coming up with a list of platforms that are appropriate for the brand and goals in question.”
Q: Ad blockers are widely used and they make it tough for advertisers to continue their Super Bowl ad campaigns online and on mobile after the initial commercials air on TV. What do brands do or what should they do to ensure that viewers see their ads?
A: “Make the ads interesting and useful. The trick is to make viewers not want to skip the ad in 5 seconds. Brands have to make sure they are welcome intruders in people’s lives. To do this, they have to provide helpful content. The content can provide useful information, instructions, tips, or can just be entertaining enough to be enjoyable to watch.”
Q: With the dawn of digital marketing and its integration with traditional advertising, there are plenty of companies that are stuck behind the bell curve in adapting to this new environment. What advice do you have for marketers who work in-house for these types of companies and want to implement change? How can they start?
A: “Marketers should be persistent about the changes they’d like to make and have good reasons behind why they want to make those changes…but it all depends on the leadership. If a company is run by executives who are not willing to embrace change, the marketers trying to implement the change probably will not succeed. In this type of situation, marketers should probably find a different company to work for.”
Q: Many of the brands that create Super Bowl ads are successful brands that have high performing advertising and marketing departments. What cultural elements and company values absolutely have to exist in an advertising or marketing department to build a stellar marketing team?
A: “Leadership must be comfortable with failure and enable the company’s employees to feel comfortable with failure. It is impossible to do great work without taking risks and failure sometimes comes with risk. Employees will not be creative enough to do great work if they are constantly fearing the consequences of failure. They also won’t learn either. Collaboration is also necessary and members of a marketing team have to be willing to work as a team. So many pieces have to come together to orchestrate a ad campaign that those who would rather work alone don’t do well in an advertising environment. With team work comes the need for relationship building. Individuals who fail to build mutually supportive relationships with colleagues and fail to treat their colleagues with respect and professionalism can interfere a great deal with a team’s performance. Employees like that should be asked to leave the organization.”
About the Interviewer
Chiara Tedone
Chiara is Digital Content Creator for AMA Tampa Bay. She is Co-founder and Director of Winning the Fight, a non-profit organization specializing in neurodegenerative disease research. Chiara is also a freelance digital marketer for small businesses and is finishing up her MBA with a specialty in marketing from the University of South Florida. Prior to moving to Florida, Chiara lived in Washington, DC. She earned her BA in International Studies from American University’s School of International Services in 2007 and worked for Booz Allen Hamilton and the Department of Defense thereafter. Her hobbies include obstacle racing, running, swimming, kayaking, SCUBA diving, and opera/classical singing. She also loves country music and chocolate!
Contact Chiara
Email: Chiara at [email protected]
Social Media: LinkedIn