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Puppy Love? Super Bowl Ads Target Elusive Millennials
Aug
The Millennial generation, a shy group born between 1982 and 2002 with characteristics and temperaments unlike any other age group, is increasingly becoming a target for attacks Super Bowl Advertiserswhat fans will be able to see this weekend when the Seattle Seahawks take on the Fresh England Patriots.
Unfortunately for marketers, engaging the group it wasn’t straightforward.
Who exactly is a millennial?
Millennials, including those aged 13 to 33, there are more of them (about 80 million), more affluent and better educated. They are more connected and technologically savvy, having grown up with the internet and having grown up with smartphones. Their conversations revolve around social media (as a medium and a topic).
According to Pew Personality Profileare confident, expressive, liberal, less religious, bullish and open to change, as well as more ethnically and racially diverse.
They are an age group whose influence is clearly growing. In total, they are expected to spend over $200 billion annually as of 2017 and $10 trillion over their entire existence.
Taken together, they make them highly desirable targets for companies of all stripes, from iGadget makers to soda sellers—albeit very amorphous ones. The point is, they can’t be ignored, and advertisers will have to learn to court this group effectively, because they will be the most essential target group for years to come—replacing their baby-boomer parents.
But it seems the Super Bowl — the biggest advertising day of the year, where a 60-second spot costs about $9 million — isn’t doing so well.
Estimates suggest that 23 million 18-34-year-olds watch the Super Bowl. But perhaps as many as four in five of them find the ads to be typically “just okay,” “disappointing,” “just awful,” “offensive,” and/or “not as good as they used to be,” according to informal survey conducted by Forbes.
At the same time, almost a quarter of people aged 18 to 24 say that ads are the most important part of the gamemore than any other age group, according to a study by the National Retail Federation.
What’s more, they’re spending more than average on Super Bowl parties. Adults 18 to 24 plan to spend $96, and those 25 to 34 plan to spend $102, while all age groups are spending $78.
This Bud is for millennials
Anheuser-Busch InBev, for example, took up the challenge and this year developed a strategy aimed directly at millennials, many of whom have never tried Budweiser before.
In the commercials, the self-proclaimed King of Beer will of course present his renowned Clydesdale horses, but also a little puppy that melted hearts last year – although this year the plot seems to be getting lost.
Anheuser-Busch is currently the only beer advertiser in the Super Bowl advertising schedule and plans to air three ads: two for Budweiser beer and one for Bud Airy beer.
This year, the focus will be on engaging millennials in digital interactions with these two major brands. That means no more celebrities, a digital “war room” for engaging consumers before, during and after the game, and more horses.
The company definitely has a lot of work to do. The company he told the Wall Street Journal Last year, it was found that 44% of 21-27 year olds had never tried Budweiser.
This puppies can do itAccording to Advertising Week, adorable baby dogs are one of three key “Ps” that millennials will want to see this year, alongside provocative content and progressive characters.
Make a mess of it
In addition to advertising itself, some companies focus on social media, specifically Twitter hashtags, to attract the attention of their target age group.
Hashtags, used to identify topics and threads on social media, are popular among millennials and are used to translate Super Bowl buzz into social media status. Nearly a third say that if they can’t employ social media during the game they will be upset.
For example, Loctite, a miniature adhesives manufacturer based in Westlake, Ohio, bought advertising space during the Super Bowl for the first time this year. The half-minute slot, costing about $4.5 million, will eat up the company’s entire 2015 advertising budget. But Loctite, owned by German conglomerate Henkel, hopes its hashtag #WinAtGlue will have a multiplier effect and make those seconds that much more valuable.
Toyota is also present on social media, using Twitter, calling users to tweet photos of their fathers using the hashtag #OneBoldChoice. The Japanese automaker is trying to engage millennials — who are less likely to buy cars than other age groups — ahead of the substantial game. Its Super Bowl ads will feature fathers playing football and other professional athletes with their children to highlight the contribution fathers make to their families.
Driving the road
Two brands it is said that he paves the way Kia cars and Axe deodorant assist reach the millennial generation.
Kia won them over with dancing hamsters, with ads based on the four pillars of music, sports, pop culture and online life, and found success with last year’s Matrix spoof. This year, the carmaker is skipping the hamsters and running an ad starring Pierce Brosnan parodying his roles as an action star.
Axe also found success reaching millennials with its tongue-in-cheek political campaign “Make Love Not War,” which surprised audiences accustomed to the company’s sexually suggestive ads.
I don’t really like it
McDonald’s has I plan to advertise during the Super Bowl for the first time in years. But the fast-food chain has a lot of work to do to appeal to health-conscious millennials. The company released a teaser this suggests that one of its main points will be a up-to-date payment system, which youthful people will be much more willing to adopt than most of us.
Beyond the substantial games, McDonald’s has been trying unsuccessfully to appeal to millennials, with 18- to 33-year-olds avoiding the Golden Arches and opting instead for Panera Bread and Chipotle.
$150,000 per second
Marketers are hoping that Super Bowl XLIX viewership will surpass last year’s record of 112 million households, making those precious seconds (at $150,000 each) worth it.
While the audience will be broad, millennials will make up a vast portion and will command a growing share of advertisers’ attention. With trillions of dollars in spending, how well the content of these spots resonates with millennials could determine the future of their companies.
