Super media

It is Super Bowl week and although it might not have the biggest following in Australia, it is always interesting to see how the major companies with the biggest budgets decide to promote their products via the most expensive advertising space on the planet.

More importantly though, it reveals some major online statistics which change the way business, both large and small, should look at social media during major events.

According to analytics firm Nielsen in 2009, 12% of viewers were using the internet during the Super Bowl and they spent an average of 24 minutes online. The analysis revealed that of these internet users the majority were spending their time on… you guessed it – Facebook (23.5% of simultaneous users).

Why is this important?

The magnitude of these figures has caused companies to re-think their advertising strategies. For the first time in 23 years Pepsi have opted out of Super Bowl advertising in favour of a social media campaign called ‘project refresh’. While Pepsi have a major budget dedicated to this project, online social activity surrounding major events enables businesses with minimal budgets the opportunity to leverage the discussion for promotional activities. Special offers and announcements can be made in the lead up and aftermath of an event. They can also occur in real time and be based on certain events during the coverage.

Social media advertising and promotion online removes cost as a major barrier to entry and ensures campaign success is only limited by the creativity of the advertising and marketing departments of an organisation. I expect we will see some very clever use of social media technologies surrounding major events in Australia over the next 12 months.

NB. Don’t forget to check out the commercials that aired during the Super Bowl on the YouTube ad channel that was created for the event. Nothing can top Britney Spears in 2001 but users do have the chance to vote on their favourite advert and YouTube will feature the most popular choice on their homepage on Thursday, February 18.

Benjamin Nicoll is a founding partner of GoDigital Media, one of Australia’s best value digital media agencies, which provides up-to-date, affordable products and services for SMEs.