2009 Super Bowl Ads Commercials Selling Fast on NBC

super bowl 2009 tampa bay florida game logo XLIII

It’s that time of year again when the first rumblings of the next year’s super bowl advertisers come out. (for super bowl 43) I think the companies just ask that their info be released this early to start the buzz cycle and get more mileage out of the media buy. There really isn’t any other reason to release the advertiser names now in September when the ads aren’t even finished yet.

They say the 30 second ad spots are selling for $3 Million dollars each. That is the going rate for a direct sales pitch into 88 million homes and TV sets all at the same time. (when are they going to start webcasting the game and the ads all together like a second delivery system of the same signal? why wouldn’t that work?) Advertisers that actually get a positive ROI from that kind of heavy hitting creative investment are wide appeal mass market companies that have products that are either seasonal at that time of year or products that relate to sports watchers or families watching at home.  Products like snacks, drinks, beer and cars have long been popular categories for Super Bowl Ads.

This year some of the confirmed advertisers are Pepsi and CocaCola, Anheuser-Bush, and a bunch of un-named Automotive, Movie and snack companies. Doritos have done really well the past few years and I wonder if they will plunge in again. I think the trend may be finally waning in the internet sites do ads category since few of them have that kind of money laying around anymore and/or need the visibility.

The timing of your ad during the Super Bowl Game is also crucial. The good spots are probably taken already in Q1 and Q3. Q2 gets boring because people have been sitting a while and just want halftime to start so they can use the bathroom and Q4 may be less well watched if the game isn’t almost tied the whole time. Many people just turn it off when the game is a blowout. The ends of pods are also bad because it just leads back into the game and consumers forget the ad pretty quickly. Being first in a pod is best since people have been proven to remember things in chunks and the beginning and end are usually the chunks they remember most.

Sometimes companies get their ads in at the last moment when 1 or 2 ads are left a week or two before the Super Bowl Game but this may not be available this year if companies are paying 300K more per ad willingly and forking over the money (or deposit) this early in the year. I think that marketers are realizing that in a fragmented market you have to be as prominent on every screen as possible to stay top of mind and above the chatter that gets tuned out. But ad placement is only 1/2 of the strategy. The other half is really the most important. It is really about relevance and humor. If you can make your product funny in a way that real people identify with personally, you have a winner and get all the chatter at the watercooler the next day.

Six Creative Uses for RSS « eMarketing & New Media Trends

Six Creative Uses for RSS « eMarketing & New Media 

I thought that this was a good article, it outlines that RSS is still not used as much as it should be considering how versatile it is. Sometimes it has to do with a lack of technology knowledge about feeds and other times by the limitations of your reader. I have gotten away from feeds though for a different reason entirely, there is just too much info out there to keep up with, so I gave up trying in mid-2005. I am happier now to just read things as I run across them rather than having to see that all my feeds have been read and subscribing to everything I see that had one interesting post back in 2004. I do think that rss has more to give as far as mashing up content and re-purposing it as well as searching and delivering info also, but we haven’t really seen good user interface WYSIWYG tools for non-programmers yet to really access that potential. I hope in 08 things evolve further and RSS is a big winner.

Greeting Cards Contest – Art Students

If you are a weekend artist or you have always wanted to work for Hallmark or Martha Stewart this might be for you. When I was a kid I did a lot of drawing, I don’t anymore but it is still something a lot of people go to school to learn and keep active with throughout their lives. I ran across a contest and wanted to blog about it because it offers a $10,000.00 prize for the winner and you get your design published on a greeting or on corporate christmas cards as well. It is a great stepping stone into that profession of graphic design for cards and paper products that a lot of people want to get into. Here are some of the rules to enter the greeting cards scholarship contest:

You have to be over the age of 14

You must be a student enrolled in high school or college

You must be a legal US resident

Only one application entry is allowed per person

The submitted artwork or photos must be your own original work 

The contest ends January 15, 2008

If you submit it they own it and can use it as they like even if you don’t win which could still be a stepping stone fr your career even if you aren’t the big winner.

Renegade Craft Fair Chicago December 8-9

I have been really getting into http://www.Etsy.com lately and now I am buying christmas gifts, baby gifts and christmas cards all online there. I may get all my christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving! One of the cool things about crafters is that they are bringing back the idea of the craft fair and they are making it cool again. There is one coming up in Chicago for the holidays that I would like to go to and check out all the cool hand made stuff. Its the renegade craft fair. Here is the info I got on the email update I got today:

Just a reminder that the deadline to apply for this year’s Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale is just one week away! Late applications won’t be considered – so get yours in before November 1! Visit our website to apply -

http://www.renegadecraft.com/holiday/index.html

The fair is scheduled for the weekend of December 8 + 9 from Noon – 8pm at The Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, which is located at 1419 W. Blackhawk in Chicago. Hope to see you there!

Etsy Love

I just wanted to take a moment to state my love for Etsy. I am someone who loves to craft but doesn’t have time for it right now. So I go buy a craft or two for very reasonable prices when normal store type stuff just doesn’t fit the bill.

For example, I got this great real garnet pendant from mcfarland designs for 36 bucks and I love it so much I am going to get them for christmas gifts for some people on my list.

I also got this solar lamp from Etsy but I haven’t gotten it in the mail yet, becasue I just ordered it yesterday.

I like surfing through all the listings, but a lot of the stuff isn’t really my style and keyword searching doesn’t seem to do the trick. (not all sellers may have things tagged correctly) but once in a while you find some really polished professional made goods at very reasonable prices. And I love that.

Plus you find cuter than buttons baby things like these cherry booties , messenger baby bags and sushi baby costume. Stuff that is so creative it’s great. They have everything from artwork, to home goods, to clothing, to jewelry, to kids toys and clothes to eco friendly pet items. So check out Etsy for some really interesting and unique finds this holiday shopping season.