While it's not an official holiday, many people treat it as if it is. Super Bowl Sunday is an opportunity for entrepreneurs and businesses to leverage a very popular event to promote their brand and their products and services. While it might be using social media, creating a motivational message or running a sale or campaign, it is clear that some entrepreneurs and business owners are preparing for Super Bowl Sunday as much as the players. We asked some entrepreneurs what they were doing for the “Big Game.”
1) Launching a Super Bowl Ad via Social Media
We're going to use both Twitter and Facebook to launch our own Super Bowl ad – a video commercial shot late last year promoting “The Perfect Bra for Breast Cancer.” Our plan is to target and time it after kickoff and after Victoria's Secret runs its Angels ad and Carl's Jr. runs its “Sexy Girl” ad. Our copy is a bit tongue-in-cheek stating “survivors are sexy, too.” Additionally, we are running another clip we have from a video produced for our launch party. This clip will play off of Budweiser's “Best Buds” ad, and how it emotional it is, especially for us. We will tie “Best Buds” into our own best friends, our “Survivor Sisters” and the sisterhood we build through breast cancer.
Thanks to Dana Donofree, AnaOno!
2) Creating Content & Targeted Facebook Campaign
I market for a criminal defense attorney in Arizona, so we saw this year's Super Bowl as a great opportunity to enhance our marketing strategy. We created a content page on our website that includes information about common offenses that occur in host cities during the weeks leading to the big game. We also wrote several blog posts geared towards out-of-state/country visitors who might find themselves in trouble with the law during their AZ vacation. We have posted links to these articles on social media, as well as general information regarding the Super Bowl and activities going on locally. Lastly, we ran a targeted Facebook campaign with the objective of reaching anyone interested in football, NFL, or the Super Bowl.
Thanks to Lauren Witte, JacksonWhite!
3) Promoting Giveaways via Social Media
Our small business is located in Tempe, Arizona just minutes from the location of Super Bowl 2015. Now, typically football and lighting don't exactly go hand in hand, but fortunately this year the Super Bowl will be played under LEDs and that is a huge deal for our industry! In fact it will be the first game played under all LED lighting, which is the first stepping stone in reducing energy usage in stadiums across the nation. In preparation for this large event, we have been promoting giveaways weekly throughout the entire NFL season on our Facebook page and other social media platforms. Having these promotions and giveaways has built a cult-like following which has grown exponentially each week in anticipation of our grand prize for the Super Bowl! While we may not be supplying LEDs within the stadium, we are helping fans across the nation with proper TV backlighting for the big game!
Thank you Erica Roselli, Inspired LED!
4) Our Annual Campaign
Our credit union certainly can't purchase a Super Bowl ad, but we do take advantage of “The Big Game” with our annual Get Your Game On campaign. Members who fund a loan with our credit union, during the qualifying timeframe, are eligible to win a pair of tickets to NFL regular season, playoffs and of course, Super Bowl (they also win gift cards to cover airfare and hotel stays). We promote this campaign through traditional outlets (print, radio, billboard, etc), social outlets and with lots of in-branch signage. Our staff also promote the campaign by wearing NFL football jerseys every Monday. Our 2015 winner, who was just announced last week, was a retired firefighter. Even better, he had already been able to scratch off that “bucket list” item when he attended Super Bowl XXI in 1987. So he called his two sons and told them they would be attending in his place! It's those kinds of stories that make an already great promotion even better. His Super Bowl win was picked up by local media, the fire department and also enjoyed great pick up on our social outlets.
Thanks to Ashley M. Harris, Generations Federal Credit Union!
5) Price Changes
As part of our Marketing strategy, we strategically took our prices down to $59/day for the month of February, knowing very well that while we were taking our rates down for the Superbowl, that every other car rental company would be taking their rates up dramatically. As a brand we also never up-charge, everyone booking a Silvercar for $59 for the Superbowl will receive a fully-loaded (free in-dash GPS, Wi-Fi, and Sirius Radio) silver Audi A4. We've been sold out in Phoenix since January, despite adding additional cars to our fleet and have a very loyal and appreciative customer base.
Thanks to Amber Soletti, Silvercar!
6) Brand Awareness
As a Seattle based company, it is essential for us to support our home team! Just this morning, we launched a social media and mailchimp campaign for “$12 for the 12th Man!” Since our fans are the best, we decided to offer our 3 pack for just $12 (regularly $29.99). We have already had dozens of online orders! For us, it is all about driving the consumer to our website for an outrageous deal, in hopes that they will return or search for them in a store near them. While offering the steep discount isn't a money maker for us, it is all about brand awareness at the most overly marketed time of the year for football fans! Fried Hot Mama pickles anyone?! GO HAWKS!
Thanks to Aly Cullinane, Lynnae's Gourmet Pickles!