Inside The Super Bowl Of Marketing

Forbes

Forget $7 million for a 30-second commercial. Here’s why brands at the big game in Las Vegas are spending millions that fans will never see.  For the past month, a 30-story-high Doritos chip has towered over the Las Vegas Strip, covering the face of the Luxor Hotel. Other brands are similarly plastering their names and logos all over the city, on the exterior of the Sphere and on events like Super Bowl Opening Night Fueled by Gatorade, the Super Bowl Experience Presented by Toyota and the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.  Meanwhile, Mattel has released a Super Bowl-themed Barbie, and a long list of companies are running extravagant promotions and giveaways, including Marriott Courtyard’s Super Bowl Sleepover, which will give fans an opportunity to stay the night in a suite at Allegiant Stadium. Then there’s Sunday’s game, which of course will feature a firehose of TV commercials that sold for a reported $7 million per 30-second slot (without even taking into account their production budgets).  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2024/02/06/inside-the-super-bowl-of-marketing/?sh=62e214427231  Forbes Daily Briefing shares the best of Forbes reporting on wealth, business, entrepreneurship, leadership and more. Tune in every day, seven days a week, to hear a new story. Subscribe here: https://art19.com/shows/forbes-daily-briefing  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Thursday, February 8th.

00:04 Today on Forbes, inside the Super Bowl of marketing.

00:10 For the past month, a 30-story high Doritos chip has towered over the Las Vegas Strip,

00:16 covering the face of the Luxor Hotel.

00:19 Other brands are similarly plastering their names and logos all over the city, on the

00:23 exterior of the Sphere, and on events like Super Bowl opening night fueled by Gatorade,

00:29 the Super Bowl Experience, presented by Toyota, and the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.

00:35 Meanwhile, Mattel has released a Super Bowl-themed Barbie, and a long list of companies are running

00:40 extravagant promotions and giveaways, including Marriott Courtyard's Super Bowl Sleepover,

00:45 which will give fans an opportunity to stay the night in a suite at Allegiant Stadium.

00:50 Then there's Sunday's Game, which of course will feature a firehose of TV commercials

00:55 that sold for a reported $7 million per 30-second slot, and that reported cost is without even

01:01 taking into account their production budgets.

01:04 For marketers looking to connect with fans, whether the 125,000 expected to attend this

01:09 week's roster of fan events in Las Vegas, or the 100 million tuning in on television,

01:14 the Super Bowl is, well, their Super Bowl, the time of year brands pull out all the stops

01:20 to generate buzz.

01:22 Behind the scenes, however, there is an equally elaborate series of events and activations

01:26 this week aimed at a much more exclusive audience of business partners and C-suite executives.

01:32 And the goal isn't just generating brand awareness, it's retaining key clients and ideally laying

01:37 the foundation for new business.

01:40 David M. Carter, a sports business consultant and adjunct professor of management and organization

01:45 at USC, says, "Major events like the Super Bowl have become this perfect intersection

01:50 of a corporate off-site and an industry convention.

01:54 To aggregate everybody in one place around the seminal event of the year has become the

01:58 way to meet and mingle among the sports business parties."

02:02 Consider a brand like Xtreme Networks, among the NFL's 35 current sponsors, all of which

02:07 have activations in Las Vegas this week.

02:09 A typical consumer isn't going to see an ad and suddenly purchase Xtreme's large-scale

02:14 wireless internet solutions, but that's not the game plan.

02:18 John Brams, senior vice president of America's sales at Xtreme Networks, which is attending

02:23 its 11th Super Bowl as an NFL partner, says, "We're definitely not a consumer brand, right?

02:30 Like we're not worried about people viewing us that way.

02:32 The story we want to tell about our relationship with the NFL is how the NFL is using our technology,

02:38 and if the NFL is using it this way, we think that's compelling to other verticals we work

02:42 with, for example, higher education.

02:44 We can say, 'Hey, if the NFL uses this technology this way, don't you think that could be compelling

02:49 in your environment as well?'"

02:53 Cisco, which powers the Wi-Fi at Allegiant Stadium, and Verizon, which is setting up

02:57 a network command center about 12 miles away and will provide a private network to enable

03:02 sideline communications among coaches during the game, will likewise use the event to showcase

03:07 their technology to potential partners.

03:10 And David Cohen, senior director for sponsorship and partnership management for the league,

03:15 says that in some cases, brands can make their pitches with help from NFL executives participating

03:19 in panels, PR opportunities, and private tours.

03:24 The business-to-business mindset also extends to consumer brands.

03:28 TCL, the official TV partner of the NFL, is sponsoring Super Bowl parties hosted by Accel

03:33 Sports Management and Michelob Ultra that cater to influencers and VIPs.

03:39 USA Today, which is not an NFL partner but is one of many companies putting on events

03:43 in Las Vegas this week, is holding its annual Ad Meter Summit, a panel for prominent marketing

03:48 executives.

03:50 And under the label of so-called corporate hospitality, brands of all types have planned

03:55 trips, including transportation, lodging, food, and entertainment, for existing and

04:00 prospective clients, with Toyota, for instance, hosting a large dealer group this week in

04:05 Las Vegas.

04:06 Those efforts can be tailored for a handful of key executives.

04:09 Rams says Xtreme's contingent will be in the 10-to-20-person range, but they can also accommodate

04:15 several hundred.

04:16 The price tag varies in kind, starting in the six figures and stretching well into the

04:21 millions.

04:23 For full coverage, check out Brett Knight's piece on Forbes.com.

04:28 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:30 Thanks for tuning in.

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