The latest in marketing – 2022!
Introduction
February may be the shortest month of the year, but it has been jam-packed with marketing news. Here are some of the top marketing moments of the past month.
Superbowl Ads Jam-Packed with Creativity and Famous Faces
It couldn’t be a February marketing round-up without mentioning 2022’s Superbowl Sunday. Whereas other American sporting events have dropped in viewings, the Superbowl’s ratings have remained stable across the years. Over 40% of households across the USA tune in to watch the show live.
Because of its ratings, the competition for commercial spots is high, and the budget is even higher. Advertisers spend up to $7 million on a 30-second timeslot during the Superbowl. In recent years, TV advertising has become a questionable channel for many businesses as live tv ratings have drastically lowered and many users have recording options where they can fast-forward commercials. Despite this, Superbowl ads remain successful.
So why does the Superbowl do so well in terms of ad revenue? The answer is that viewers understand that this airtime is particularly special. Trust and loyalty are a huge part of advertising, and because the Superbowl ads have a bigger budget for creative liberties as well as drawing upon so many loveable public figures, they hit harder with viewers than regular ads do. Here are just some of the famous faces included in this year’s ads.
- Verizon – Jim Carrey starred as his iconic ‘Cable Guy’ role alongside Never Have I Ever’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
- Squarespace – the ad featured Euphoria and Spiderman star, Zendaya.
- Lays – the fun advert for these crisps featured Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen.
- Booking.com – the holiday booking website starred Idris Elba.
- Google Pixel 6 – Lizzo’s ‘If You Love Me’ features on the new phone’s advert, promoting its new camera that can capture darker skin tones.
- General Motors – this ad starred Mike Myers as his iconic Dr. Evil character.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The commercials were jam-packed with celebrities this year, adding a nostalgic touch to each brand.
As well as this, Superbowl ads have the creative liberty to approach new ways of advertising, this was especially prominent in Coinbase’s advertisement that showed nothing except a QR code. With a cost of around 14 million dollars, the commercial featured a bouncing QR code with the target of piquing viewers’ curiosity. Once scanned, viewers would be taken directly to a sign-up page offering 15 dollars in free Bitcoin or, alternatively, a free entry into the sweepstakes which would give three lucky winners one million dollars of Bitcoin each.
The commercial caused such a huge surge in traffic (over 20 million hits) that the website ended up crashing during the airing of the Superbowl. Coinbase reported that engagement was six times higher than their previous benchmarks.
As well as its ads, the Superbowl also draws in plenty of views from people who aren’t sports fans due to its infamous half-time show. This year, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Mary J Blige gave a nostalgic performance featuring some of their biggest hits.
Unlikely Demographics Boost Sales on Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is historically a great day for businesses with the average spend in the UK being over £900 million. Many businesses get creative with their Valentine’s Day marketing, drawing upon the romantic connotations of the day. Restaurants and travel agents tent to market ‘romantic getaways,’ whereas cards, lingerie, and clothing companies can benefit from the day by simply utilising some red, pink and hearts onto their February stock.
So, what is Valentine’s Day about in our current age? Though it’s most traditionally known for confessing your feelings to a romantic partner, the day has transformed into much more than that. People use Valentine’s Day to give gifts to family members and friends, with the term ‘Galentines Day’ gaining popularity over recent years, encouraging people to spend the day with their friends. Brands use this term to help sell pampering products, group dinners, and getaways amongst others. Recent statistics have even shown that Valentine’s Day is a big-spending day for singles as many choose to treat themselves.
Another perhaps surprising increase in sales is due to pet owners buying gifts for their pets. Card companies have reported an increase in cards designed for pets, but it doesn’t end there. Pets at Home, the leading UK pet specialist, said the number of searches for Valentine-themed dog toys had tripled over recent years. In response to the demand for products relating to Valentine’s Day, the chain has now released a ‘gift guide’ for pets. These gifts range from non-alcoholic wine for dogs to a split-heart keyring where you can attach one half of the heart to your pet’s collar and the other to your keys.
Many people dread Valentine’s Day due to not having a romantic partner, but Valentine’s Day’s marketing campaigns have switched their tone accordingly. The day can now be utilised for any type of love, whether it’s between romantic partners, friends, or pets and their owners. Business waste, a wheelie bin supplying company even made a special adaptation on Valentine’s Day where people could name a rubbish bin after their ex – so Valentine’s Day marketing really does target everyone!
Euphoria Season 2: How the HBO Show Has Influenced Marketing, Consumption, and Trends Globally
Over the past month, you have probably witnessed the buzz surrounding the heavily anticipated season 2 of Euphoria. The popular HBO show concluded on Sunday the 27th of February, and we cannot ignore the impact it had on marketing and online presence throughout its duration.
In our current age, we are extremely used to the immediacy of streaming services. Shows are usually added in bulk, meaning you can binge-watch the whole series in one go – Euphoria chose otherwise. The show was released on a week-by-week basis, a risky choice considering how users like to digest media. But the weekly nature of the episodes worked to Euphoria’s advantage.
- Social Media
An online community of people who watched the show would group together using social media after the release of each episode. People would utilise Twitter to discuss theories as well as getting creative on TikTok using the show’s comedic one-liners. Euphoria is now the second most-watched show on HBO, behind only Game of Thrones. The finale drew in over six million viewers and is currently holding the record for the most tweeted about show of the decade, with 34 million tweets in total.
- Fashion and Beauty
The show is influencing marketing and sales across a range of sectors, namely fashion, beauty, and music. Euphoria is the most influential show for worldwide makeup and fashion choices according to research carried out by Uswitch. Over the last twelve months, Euphoria brought in over 1.3 million combined Google searches for related fashion and makeup. After the first episode, searches for ‘black cut out dresses’ increased by 890% after one of the characters was seen wearing the style. The Euphoria aesthetic has become instantly recognisable in pop culture, and fashion and makeup brands are adapting their marketing accordingly.
- Music
Each episode has a carefully curated soundtrack to accompany it, alongside Labrinth’s composed soundtrack. Since the release of season two, streams of the soundtrack have risen by 265%. Songs that feature on the show have also seen an increase in streams. For example, Sinead O’Connor’s ‘Drink Before the War’ experienced a 26,900% increase in streams after it featured in an episode. The soundtrack is also trending heavily on TikTok which further increases streams in turn.
If your brand focuses on aesthetics in some way or another, you could benefit from the hype that shows like Euphoria generate, but it’s all about being reactive. Each episode draws a spike in searches, so you need to pay attention to be successful.
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