FUN FACTS and BIG NUMBERS:
The numbers, not even talking about the roman numerals, may seem kind of ridiculous. Yet, those huge dollars are not being spent by accident.
$2.5-3 million – the Estimated Production Budget – on average – for Super Bowl commercials.
$1 billion – the projected total production and media costs for all Super Bowl commercials.
$500,000 to $10 million – the range of celebrity fees to appear in a Super Bowl campaign.
Cost of ad time:
| 1970: $78,000 | 1980: $222,000 |
| 1990: $700,000 | 2010: $3 million |
| 2000: $2 million | 2023: $7 million |
There’s simply no other brand viewing event like the Super Bowl commercials. The question is … what can we find in all of the super-ness that can help you get the most from your next video project?
The first thought might be – celebrities! Where’s Steve Buscemi!
Yes, celebrities are now a constant in the big game commercial formula.
But here’s the thing – the role of the famous person is simply to deliver ‘surprise’ for viewers. (Even though we’re all looking for it!) A few years ago, Jeep featured Bruce Springsteen.“Wow, THEY got The Boss!” And this year, “Wow, Jack Harlow eats chips!” And on and on.
Look past their fame – their appearance brings SURPRISE. It’s the key ingredient to making messages work the way you want.
The first lesson is -Does your brand video have a rewarding twist or surprise? Messages – especially visual- lock in when served with a delightful turn that floods our brains with dopamine, lighting up our reward and pleasure centers and making the experience a memory.
Whether it’s your next video or your first – use an angle, idea or executional element that, as Meghan Trainor might say for Pringles, “Made you look.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG5E-dY_Tr4
Another lesson – Create Some Buzz
Most of us know where to find our viewers (and we don’t have to shell out anywhere close to $7 million to reach them.) So, if you’re about to roll out a new brand video or presentation – consider setting it up with a teaser or trailer in the days or weeks before you release it. Especially if it can help set up an element of (remember lesson 1?) surprise. Insider tip: don’t overlook the impact of a peek ‘Behind the Scenes’ in the making of your video. Viewers love a chance to see “behind the curtain” and it makes for a great teaser.
The lead up to big game spots shows there’s value beyond ‘the’ commercial itself. Here’s a peek behind the scenes for SquareSpace.
The biggest lesson of all, know that your brand video might have more riding on it than a Super Bowl commercial. We work with clients (including some global giants) whose video production budgets don’t come close to Super Bowl commercials. But the stakes can be much higher.
The brand video projects we’re called to work on have budgets that represent a greater percentage of our client’s annual marketing spend than the bets the biggest brands are making on Sunday. We think about that a lot.
It’s why we’re dedicated to making the most of every opportunity and bringing value and impact to presentations, sales messages, customer support, recruitment and more so our clients get everything (and more) from the power of video.
We’d love to get in the game with you and talk about your next video project, call us at 404-982-9552 or connect.
