Dive Brief:
- Mars is already ahead of all 32 NFL teams. Training camp has yet to open but it already has its Super Bowl marketing plans prepped for kick off.
- For Super Bowl LI, the CPG company plans on a “Candy Bowl” that pits “team Snickers” against “team Skittles” that will include in-store and online elements, according to Ad Age.
- Snickers and Skittles are both NFL sponsors, and although no TV ads have been mentioned as part of the campaign so far, both brands had spots in the last two Super Bowl broadcasts.
Dive Insight:
The Super Bowl is the most-watched live TV show every year, and one reason is many non-football fans tune in for the social event. Beyond the star-studded halftime shows, viewers are there to watch the shiny new ads, which are often lauded as the best of the year. For marketers, there is no “too early” when planning around an event where the date and basic audience size and demographics are known well in advance, so Mars announcing its Super Bowl plans for Feb. 5, 2017, is no surprise.
What is interesting, even though Mars is likely to include TV spots during the game in the marketing plan, the elements it is sharing right now are the in-store and online aspects of the campaign. Events like the Super Bowl are marketing bonanzas with a real-time captive audience that is interacting on multiple screens and across social media. Marketers can take advantage of these types of opportunities and become part of the conversation even without buying an expensive linear TV spot tied to the game. The key to standing out is by creating content with stay power.