Did you watch today's [tag-tec]Super Bowl[/tag-tec]? It was one of the most watched Super Bowls because the [tag-ice]New England Patriots[/tag-ice] were trying to become the first 19-0 undefeated champions in [tag-tec]NFL history[/tag-tec]. Unfortunately the [tag-ice]New York Giants[/tag-ice] weren't about to let the Patriots walk into history without a fight and the Giants ended up beating the Patriots 17-14 in one of the [tag-tec]biggest upsets in Super Bowl history[/tag-tec]. Because the Patriots were trying to make history, this year's Super Bowl was supposed to have the highest ratings ever. This drove the price of a 30 second commercial to $2.4 million, another record.
Is it worth spending $2.4 million for a 30 second commercial that will be watched by millions of fans all over the world? Most of the fans are watching the game in a bar or at a Super Bowl party which is loud and chaotic. Most of the people will never hear any of the commercials so you have to have memorable visuals. Many of the people watching are drunk and pigging out on junk food. They won't remember the commercials. Or will they?
Here's a snapshot from [tag-ice]Google Trends[/tag-ice] about an hour after the game. Notice that every single entry in the top 100 is related to the Super Bowl? Every single one. Many of the top 100 entries in Google Trends are searches for products mentioned in the Super Bowl commercials. Internet traffic spiked heavily after the game and much of the traffic is people researching the commercials. I would say spending $2.4 million for 30 seconds of exposure is a damn good investment after seeing the post-game Google Trends.
Click on the image for a larger version
The Super Bowl generates a ton of internet traffic in a very short time. The window of opportunity is very short, only about 2 weeks, but it's like riding a tidal wave of publicity. You can leverage any media event to your advantage just like the Super Bowl. The next big event is Valentine's Day, one of the biggest gift giving events of the year. How are you going to leverage the tidal wave of publicity to promote your business?
