Key Elements to Drive Effective Advertising

Watching sports events is experiencing a boom in popularity, offering advertisers unique opportunities to reach large, engaged audiences. This article explores the challenges faced by advertisers along with key strategies for effective advertising.

Coming off of the Olympics in Paris and now heading into the NFL and college football season, many fans have been and will be watching some of their favorite athletes and teams. There are numerous TV shows (both live and streaming) that generate some high viewership numbers. Over the years, unscripted TV, such as sports, news, reality shows, and games have become more popular.

Advertising and sponsorships of the events (like the Olympics, NFL, and college football) bring the action to those who cannot attend in person. You may be wondering about the cost of running an ad during the Olympics. It was in the $750,000 to $850,000 range for a 30-second ad in prime time (as reported by Ad Age, based on several media buyers). That is a steal when compared to the $7 million price tag for a 30-second ad during the 2024 Super Bowl. The Super Bowl had more viewers compared to the Olympics; thus, it was able to command a higher price. For both the Olympics and the Super Bowl, most advertisers spent much more than the cost of running one ad. If an ad only appeared a few times, it may not have registered a brand or driven purchase/visit interest (for retail or restaurant). Brands want to optimize their appearance for these sports events.

It is not just about the total number of viewers (sometimes described as a competition for eyeballs), but about matching the demographics a brand is trying to reach. We know it can be very difficult to reach men 18 to 34, for example. So this is another reason that some sports events can command a higher ad price, as brands look to find a large number of viewers and the right target audience for their brand.

Based on years of advertising testing and consulting with brands in many industries, we have been able to identify some key elements to consider for effective advertising (whether the ads are being run on sports events or other types of programming). These key elements include:

Attention Grabbing – It must stand out

Consumers are bombarded with many messages every single day and on every platform possible—TV, billboards, social media, podcasts, cabs, buses, radio, etc. There are various ways to make attention-grabbing ads; for example, they can be visually beautiful, have amazing music, speak to the audience in a very compelling way, or have significant usage of relevant celebrities. Attention-grabbing ads also often present something unexpected to the viewer.

Likeability – It needs to have the right tone

A commercial performs better if it is likeable and if it is something consumers might mention to their friends or family. In addition, if it is likeable, consumers are more likely to watch the whole commercial and not turn it off, skip it, or just leave the room. This is a great defense to minimize the ad skipping behavior if the viewer has that capability.

Word Of Mouth – It needs to foster sharing

This is another key pillar of how advertising works. It can be boosted by digital and social media to encourage sharing and further conversations. As long as the sharing is positive, your advertising can really pay off.

Emotional Connection – It needs to resonate with the audience

Depending on your brand and communication strategy, it may be ideal for your ad to connect with consumers on a more emotional level (vs. a rational level). A deep understanding of your product category, the customer journey, and the purchase-decision process is required.

Brand Registration – It needs to highlight the brand

Do not forget the brand! Your spot might be memorable because it is hilarious, but if consumers do not know what company or brand of product the ad is for, it is a failure. The brand must be clearly communicated and not confused with other brands and products. You don’t want your advertising to accidentally promote or remind consumers of competitors’ products or even products from a completely different category.

Brand Imagery – It needs to be a fit

The brand imagery portrayed in the commercial must fit the brand and be authentic to who the brand is. For example, the commercial can be humorous, but it should not “step too far” from its brand identity. Humor is difficult as it is highly subjective to your target audience. What might seem over the top and not funny to some could be a perfect fit for your brand and target audience.

Persuasion – It needs a call to action

If your ad does not move the needle in terms of improving consumers’ likelihood to buy your brand, learn more about it, or shop your store/eat at your restaurant, then it is generally considered a failure. Even if it is improving your brand awareness, it must also achieve its persuasive objective.

There are other factors, such as whether or not the ad communicated the intended main message and was it understandable. Advertising testing is a best practice, if your organization has the time to do so, because of the many complexities and nuances of the ad’s communication.

Whether you had the opportunity to watch some of the recent sports events or plan to do so in the future (Olympics, NFL, or college football), I hope you enjoy the experience. I should also state there are a ton of other fantastic sports to watch, MLB, NBA, WNBA, college basketball, NHL, USSF, NWSL, and I could go on. Viewership numbers in this category are continuing to increase.

Take a few minutes to notice the ads and think about whether they are achieving their business objectives. What is your favorite commercial being aired on a sports event?

Author

Bonnie Janzen

President

Bonnie helps drive growth for companies based on strategic consumer insights, innovation, and analytics to shape marketing campaigns and new product development programs. She has consulted with clients on merger and acquisition strategy including global expansion. In addition, advertising and messaging research is a particular passion of hers.

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