Does any other sporting event in the world come close to getting as much hype in the media as the Super Bowl? I mean, seriously, when commercials aired during the big game get practically as much post-game analysis as the actual game itself, you know hype has reached Olympic proportions.
So what can the hoopla and hype surrounding the Super Bowl teach us about PR? Here are six Super PR truths to keep in mind when attempting to turn your company into the Super Bowl of brands.
- Promotions: The promotions surrounding the Super Bowl are of epic proportions. Every media personality from Dan Patrick and Jim Rome to Colin Cowherd and Scott Van Pelt park in close proximity to the Palace of Pigskin for a whole week prior. These media mavens become mouthpieces of the NFL’s big game. The buzz builds as a parade of football players run the media gauntlet, bouncing from interview to interview as they talk shop and promote their individual causes and/or products. It’s a perfect promotional storm that no other sporting event in history has come close to perfecting.
- Entertaining: Brands, fans and critics all wait with bated breath to watch the funniest, and most expensive, barrage of advertising on TV. What other TV show boasts over 80% of viewers sticking around to watch their commercials? And the half-time show? From Michael Jackson’s standard-setting performance in 1993 to Janet Jackson’s provocative wardrobe malfunction, the Super Bowl has added sizzle and surprise to keep fans from switching channels en masse, and deflating ad rates faster than a Goodyear blimp on fire.
- Branding: The NFL is a master at branding. The Super Bowl, the Big Game, Super Bowl Sunday, Super Bowl ads, Super Bowl rings, Lombardi Trophies – all are synonymous with one single event watched by millions. The Super Bowl brand is backed by a great product, creatively packaged to appeal to almost every demographic watching TV.
- Consistency: We just watched Super Bowl XLV, which is a fancy way of saying the 45th Super Bowl. The event is revered by all, but it wasn’t always. Sure, among males between the ages of 10 and 100, it was an event not to be missed. But it wasn’t always the Big Game it is today. By staying focused on perfecting its mass appeal, the Demi-Gods of the Gridiron created a product that has slipped the surly bonds of mere mortal entertainment.
- Stories: Granted, it helps to have a great product when branding. But stories help sell tickets and fire our imaginations. The NFL exceeds at promoting player personalities, celebrating the daring deeds of its weekly wars on turf. Tom Brady’s hair, Michael Vick’s redemption, Aaron Rodger’s Super Bowl transcendence – all make for compelling hooks that sell content on TV and radio, in magazines and newspapers, on blogs and social media.
- Set the Bar High: Don’t you think that by naming it the “Super” Bowl in the beginning, the NFL made a bold statement, laid down the gauntlet for future games? Calling it “Super” has required the NFL to take risks to live up to the super billing. Would the “Championship Bowl” have sounded as great or inspired the league to reach for such Olympic heights in branding and publicity? Personally, I think that by imposing a daringly high goal challenged the NFL year after year to outdo the previous game, to rise above all other sporting events in terms of popularity, ad revenue and entertainment.
Is your company super? Have you set an impossibly-high bar that continuously challenges you to take risks and outperform yourself year after year? Share your story with all of us. Who knows, you may get nominated to the PR Hall of Fame for your daring promotional punditry.
