Why Solid Content Marketing Strategy is Better than Super Bowl Ad

I admit it…I watch the Super Bowl for the ads – not the football.  You know people like me; I get quiet during the advertising breaks.  I enjoy evaluating each $3.5 million ad and distract the real football fans in the room.   Super Bowl is likely the only event that audiences remain glued to their televisions to watch the ads.  Viewers use TiVo or a DVR to skip advertisements the other 364 days a year. 

I, as a marketer, have been asked by sales, “Why can’t we run Super Bowl Commercials too?” Next time they ask, I will pull out this handy list of 25 Things You Could do with a Super Bowl Ad Budget.   While $3.5m may get your product on the shopping list, there is much more work to be done to close a sale.

The shopping experience has changed fundamentally – especially for long purchase cycle consumer goods (consumer electronics, cars, etc) and B2B solutions.  We live in world in which we are deluged by marketing noise.  Prospects have adapted by tuning us out.  They skip our ads (except on Super Bowl Sunday), toss direct mail, ignore our banners, and snicker when the see our emails languishing in their junk email folders.  Our world is a nightmare for the “Mad Men” marketers of the past. 

Prospects will actively engage when they are ready to make a purchase decision. Investments in branding advertising can help you make their short list. According the recent research, the B2B IT purchase cycle has shrunk significantly.  This is one of the reasons content marketing becomes a critical investment.  Prospects want information quickly.  Marketing content includes white papers, case studies, comparison guides, video demonstrations, webcasts, and podcasts.  Prospects may visit your website.  They are more likely to seek unbiased reviews from blogs, industry experts, twitter and other social media venues.

Integrating your content marketing with messaging, positioning, and calls-to-action across multiple sources allows you to leverage the web to its potential.  Inbound marketing, where your SEO optimized marketing content draws prospects to you is evolving to be one of the most cost-effective ways to generate qualified leads. 

One Super Bowl Ad is not likely to sell a car; but it can get the car on the shopping list.  Once it is on the shopping list, savvy marketers need to have marketing content ready to help the prospect make the purchase decision.