The Super Bowl’s Hidden Pay-Offs

For a city, hosting the Super Bowl can be a bigger win than a victory on the field.

The biggest sporting event in the country spurs business for local hotels, restaurants, and other establishments; but the New York Giants and Jets are hoping it could do a little bit more.

Winning the Super Bowl bid could boost interest in naming the New Meadowlands Stadium. (Image via Syracuse.com)

The two teams entered a bid to host the 2014 Super Bowl at their new $1.7 billion stadium.  As the New York Post reports, “if the sales pitch is successful– and many observers believe it will be — the teams would suddenly have a nice carrot to dangle in front of corporate sponsors.”

The carrot trick just worked for the Miami Dolphins, who used the Super Bowl to lure Sun Life Financial into paying a $5 million annual fee for the naming rights to Miami Dolphins Stadium.  So it is likely to work for the New York teams.

“There is no question that if they are awarded the duties, it enhances their chances of getting a naming-rights deal,” Kevin Adler, president of Engage Marketing, told the New York Post.

The two NFL teams initially expected to receive a $30 million, 20-year naming-rights deal for its News Meadowlands Stadium.  But with the recession, they have not been able to find a sponsor to pick up the reduced $20 million price tag.

If the Jets and Giants do win the Super Bowl bid, sponsors will be crawling over each other for a chance to get naming rights for the stadium.  During the 2010 Super Bowl, Sun Life Financial received more than $26 million in media value.

Get Screwed At The Super Bowl and Receive March Madness For Free

Remember the CareerBuilder Super Bowl ad where everyone in the office was in their underwear?

Remember the Dockers ad right after it where everyone was similarly missing their pants?

Or maybe you thought they were the same ad?

CBS  screwed up when they placed the two commercials back-to-back.  Many viewers believed them to be a single CareerBuilder ad, thus potentially making Dockers’ $3.5 million dollar investment a waste.

Jennifer Sey, VP of global marketing for Dockers told Ad Age:

Executives at Dockers were somewhat disappointed that we ran immediately after the CareerBuilder spot, given the visuals were similar, though we definitely felt the spots were very different.

To make up for their blunder, CBS is going above and beyond the norms of customer service.  According to Ad Age, CBS gave Dockers three 30-second spots during March Madness.  For free.

And it’s not even like CBS was forced to extend the offer to fill ad space.   According to Sports Business Digest, companies have been fighting to get in on the action during March Madness:

CBS has [already] sold more than 90 percent of the available ad time for its coverage of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s men’s basketball tournament. Both pricing and total sales are up compared to last year.

While CBS probably should have spaced the two ads apart, in the end, Dockers lucked out.  The clothing company has repeatedly stated that the Super Bowl ad, which reached 106.5 million people, was successful in improving sales.

And now, on top of that, they are receiving three 30-second ads that go for as much as $1 million dollars each.

Did CBS owe the three spots to Dockers after airing the commercials back-to-back?

Watch the ads and decide for yourself.

Sun Life Wins Big at Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLIV was a big hit for Sun Life (http://bit.ly/bDFajm)

These year’s Super Bowl ads were weak – at best. Each company paid over $3 million for a 30-second spot and then floundered when it came to creative execution.

For most advertisers the $3 million was a wasted investment that won’t lead to good returns.  But one corporation got it right.

Sun Life Financial recently paid a $5 million annual fee for the naming rights to Miami Dolphins Stadium. The deal was made just before the stadium played host to the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLIV, and is already paying off, Media Week reports.

With a slew of “verbal mentions, on-screen text and stadium signage,” Sun Life received more than $26 million in media value, according to FrontRow Analytics.  The deal, which encompasses everything from stadium signage to logo promotion, is expected to last for at least five years.

Saints: Pre-Super Bowl Champs

The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints don’t take the field until Sunday, but the two teams are already battling.

And the Saints are winning when it comes to merchandise.

Brees and Manning battle on eBay (http://bit.ly/9Q0BKF)

In January, the Saints had $1,192,344 worth of merchandise (just over 668,000 items) listed on eBay, compared to the Colts’ $904,750 (708,000 items), The Biz of Football reports.

But where the Saints really reign is with quarterback Drew Brees.  Brees has 378,612 items listed compared to the 82,2220 items for Colt’s QB Peyton Manning.

As The Biz of Football points out, this could be the result of more loyal Manning fans or swarms of new Saints fans.  Either way, Saints are racking up the points on eBay.

The question is, can they do it on the field?

The Future of Super Bowl Ads

GoDaddy.com 2009 SuperBowl Ad (http://bit.ly/d4VEI10

The Super Bowl is one week away, and the majority of viewers are looking forward to the ads, not the football.

But this year, ads from traditional sponsors such as Pepsi and GM will be missing in action, while lesser known brands take their turn at the big stage.

This makes sense.  Ad prices dropped this year for the second time in history, making a Super Bowl spot more affordable.  And in the midst of a struggling economy, companies are assessing whether spending $3.4 million on a  30 second commercial is worth the investment.

For Pepsi and other infamous brands, it simply isn’t.  But for growing companies such as GoDaddy.com and Hyundai, the access to millions of viewers at one moment is well worth the money.

One thing to definitely count on is being directed to the internet.  Whether Anheuser Busch or E-Trade, companies are going to use their precious seconds on air to get viewers to check in online.

“The key is leveraging it beyond the game itself. More marketers are taking it to the online world,” says George Belch, who teaches sports business at San Diego State University, to Forbes.

And to get in the Super Bowl spirit, here is one of 2009′s most popular commercials.  Instead of taking the traditional route of conveying product information, Cadbury counted on its ad becoming a viral success.