Consistent messaging. For an advertising campaign to be successful, a message has to be repeated several times. This does not mean the ads have to be identical, but the theme and certain elements should carry through in each of them. Audi does this and even has a link to the Super Bowl ad on their website.
Advisors should look at all their marketing material, including their elevator speech, and evaluate if a strong brand message carries through each communication.
Use of social media. When you have a great message, do not keep it a secret, especially if there are free venues to promote it. Unlike prior years, many of the big companies launched their ads online before Super Bowl Sunday. Why take away the element of surprise? One big reason... Just like how the game and players were hyped during media week, now so are the ads. The early launches are so the ads can go viral, one of the biggest benefit of social media.
A quick look at the Audi Facebook page after the Packers won showed the "Release the Hounds" ad on its landing page and it encouraged voting for the commercial. The higher the ranking, the more people will see it online, all for free.
When advisors develop their marketing strategy, they should evaluate all the marketing tools in the tool box, social media being one of them. As communications plans are built, advisors, as a whole, need to do a better job of utilizing social media to help get expanded reach and exposure.
Be A Big Fish In A Small Pond
Although individual advisors are never going to run an ad during the Super Bowl, hopefully they can take lessons from the big boys and apply them to their own marketing strategies and messages to be more successful moving forward.
Share Your Thoughts
From a business perspective, what did you think was the best Super Bowl ad? Please share your thoughts below. For the record, I loved Volkswagen's "The Force" ad, staring a mini Darth Vador. Although the humor was great and the product launch with the car-starter feature were nice, it came in second place in my book.
Mike Byrnes founded Byrnes Consulting to provide consulting services to help advisors become even more successful. His expertise is in business planning, marketing strategy, business development, client service and management effectiveness, along with several other areas. Read more at www.byrnesconsulting.com.