Super Bowl commercial costs and advertising reach analysis

Marketing and Advertising

Marketing & Advertising

(01) Super Bowl commercials cost millions of dollars (as an example, companies paid an average of $2.6 million for 30 seconds of airtime in Super Bowl XLIV for the chance to reach a projected audience of 90 million viewers worldwide). Go to this site to view the latest Super Bowl ads. Identify which ad you believe was the most effective for domestic and international markets and why.

The advertisement that I believe has the most appeal to domestic markets is the Chrysler Commercial titled "Its Halftime in America." If effectiveness is defined as the ability to cause the consumer to remember the commercial, to encourage the customer to be engaged with the brand, to bring about a positive customer attitude toward the brand, and to tip the consumer toward converting those feelings and perceptions about the brand into a purchase of the product, then this commercial is effective according to all of these criteria. The narration of the commercial is -- until the very end of the advertisement -- provided by a shadowy figure whose face and other details cannot be discerned. Although the audience may guess that the narrator is Clint Eastwood, they cannot be certain until most of the commercial has run. A primary reason why this commercial has domestic appeal is because it can cause people to relate the commercial to their own lives in very real ways. Another strong reason is because the commercial conveys a sense of hope and national pride about America and its position in the world. Without ever saying it, the commercial is about "buying American," and specifically, about buying American automobiles. The advertisement features the rebuilding of American manufacturing and economic strength. As these issues are in the forefront of American thinking today, the advertisement will have the undivided attention of the audience -- who will also find the commercial moving.

The Coca-Cola commercials featuring the beloved polar bears will have the most appeal and be the most effective with international markets. The commercial has a certain universality because it doesn't use language, but the behavior of the bears is completely interpretable to viewers from any region or nation.

Sources:

Chrysler Commercial -- "It's Half-time in America. Retrieved http://mashable.com/2012/02/06/super-bowl-2012-commercials/#_PE5V4Uzobc

Coca-Cola.com Retrieved http://www.coca-cola.com/en/index.html

(02)Visit the American Marketing Association, AMA, website and review the statement of ethics. Identify two companies that you believe integrate corporate social marketing in their overall strategic marketing plan. Provide examples.

Corporate social marketing is an opportunity for companies to demonstrate their concern about issues that are important to their consumers. Using an integrated suite of communications, companies use social marketing to achieve particular goals that provide a social good. The distinction between conventional commercial marketing and corporate social marketing is that social marketing is driven by goals that have social benefit rather than being driven by goals that are focused on corporate profits.

Starbucks is a very savvy user of corporate social marketing, particularly because many of the social marketing projects that the company engages in benefit the people, regions, and social groups with which Starbucks does business. For example, Starbucks has a strong ethical sourcing program in which they do business with partners who provide high-quality raw material that are grown and harvested responsibly. Starbucks makes ethical trading a foundation of their partner relationships. In the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, the Association of Kilimanjaro Coffee Growers (KiliCafe) completed its verification in the fall of 2011 to participate in Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices. Since 2006, several arabica coffee growers agreed to participate in C.A.F.E. Practices in order to help coffee farmers, coffee bean processors, and coffee suppliers sustain responsible coffee production-- incentives for provided to participants who demonstrate progress in transitioning to these practices.