With an average of 102 million viewers, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest days in the sports world. Simultaneously, it’s one of the biggest days for the select few brands and agencies that have the luck, and the budget, to air the most viewed commercials of the entire year. For these agencies, the Super Bowl is a day to show off your creative and media buying abilities. For us, it’s an opportunity to take note and learn from these media trends. Today we’ll discuss three trends that we can take away from the Super Bowl 2020.
Super Bowl Trend #1: The importance of storytelling.
One trend that was observed in this year’s Super Bowl commercials was an increase in full story-telling. In the marketing world we’ve been seeing an increase in the use and talk of storytelling and its importance. Seeing this tactic being used in the Super Bowl solidifies how effective way to communicate with a diverse audiences is on the rise.
It’s no secret that media buying has a high cost during the Super Bowl. According to Kantar Media data, just half a minute of air time during the sporting event costs $5.6 million dollars. With prices that high, it’s important to make every second count. Even though a spot for 60 to 90 seconds will have a higher cost, more brands opted for a longer spot this year since it allows them to tell a more complete story that engages and resonates with the consumer.
Super Bowl Trend #2: The impact of cultural moments or references.
Another element that was repeatedly seen this Super Bowl was the use of cultural references in commercials. When there’s a limited time to form a narrative, using cultural references allows you to provide context and familiarity to your audiences instead of starting to tell a story from scratch. In this case, the cultural references that really shined were references to movies. Commercials this year went as far as to make remakes of these, such as Mountain Dew who replicated scenes from the classic horror movie, The Shining, to advertise its product.
Super Bowl Trend #3: Space time
Traveling to space was another common theme for Super Bowl commercials with 4 brands using this in their creative direction. According to an analisis by AdWeek, incorporating special elements was a big theme this year because it acts as a symbol of neutrality that lets you escape the complexities that exist on Earth. Since we’re living in a stressful and often times divided world, space represents a neutral place both for the consumer and the advertiser. For advertisers, space gives them the symbolic opportunity to present a product as a universal one that everyone can use regardless of where you come from or what your preferences are. For the consumer, it presents the opportunity to unite and form a community based on a shared taste regardless of individual differences. This change in approach where brands focus on communities and shared tastes and behaviors rather than targeting through demographics is something we will be seeing more of in the years to come.
source: www.adweek.com