The Art of Marketing to Get Attention

As we experience The Super Bowl we question whether the football game or the commercials are the spectacle. Actually prior to 1984, football commanded the interest. But all changed that year on January 22nd when Apple’s “1984” commercial might have reshaped the highlights of The Super Bowl. Since then, we have seen countless extravagant commercials and our expectations are to be wowed at each commercial break.

There is a massive amount of creative work and planning that goes into a Super Bowl commercial. Now I am not suggesting that you need to put in the budget and time that the major brands do for a Super Bowl commercial, but I am suggesting that your marketing efforts include a heavy dose of creative time and resources. You cannot just wing it. You need to thoroughly understand your audience and create something that peaks their interest. This is a requirement of all brands … Not just big brands.

And creativity is not just reserved for commercials. Take the next marketing milestone for Super Bowl marketing … The “dunk in the dark Oreo” tweet. What is noteworthy about this social media marketing moment is that the tweet did not come from one guy/gal just sitting in the dark with an epiphany. A creative agency and Oreo executives all huddled together to brainstorm, copy-write, and image the tweet. Creative planning allows you to seize a moment and get ATTENTION.

This takes me to the second point about attention … Scale it appropriately for your brand. Yes, Budweiser is big enough to go for an audience of 170 million, but that is likely a bit big for your brand’s budget. You don’t need to blow your budget on the price of Super Bowl commercial to get attention for your brand. Even if you are simply a local brand, work your creativity to get your audience’s attention.

So let the Super Bowl marketing motivate your creativity and don’t think you are too small to grab some attention.

But that is not the end of your marketing plight. It is just the beginning. And this is the last point I wanted to make here. What good is getting your audience’s attention if you do not activate them further? If you have read me before, you might be familiar with my “A-Path” methodology. cAs a brand, first I want to get your Attention; then I want you to be Attracted to my brand; then I want you to build Affinity for the brand; then I want you to opt-in in some fashion and become part of my Audience; and finally you work to get a subset of your audience to become your Advocate. And the cycle continues. Your advocates then work to get your brand objective attention.

So if you were wowed by The Super Bowl XLVIII commercials, think about how the brands are continuing (or not) to move their audience along the brand journey beyond attention.

Are you working on your brand’s complete marketing journey? Work hard for attention and even harder to get them emotionally tied to your brand by continuing on the A-Path.

Make It Happen!
Social Steve

Acknowledgement – Kimberly Potts – Is Oreo’s Super Bowl Blackout Tweet the Apple ‘1984’ of Social Media Advertising? for information regarding Apple and Oreo’s Super Bowl marketing milestones.