• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, January 12, 2012

This is the time of year when marketing pundits launch into the inevitable debate of whether it makes sense to advertise on the Super Bowl or not.  It’s easily the single largest advertising event of the year, and there’s a football game, too!  Coming a close second to that debate is whether the Internet or TV will become the dominant form of advertising.  Both these debates are ridiculous. Why? It’s simple.  The answer to every question is “yes.”

When I say "yes," I’m being purposefully vague, because the fact of the matter is that all of the above avenues work, and they work well when you build frequency.  In many cases it makes sense to advertise on the Super Bowl, and in other cases it doesn't.  The same goes for advertising online, or TV in general.  For some brands and marketing objectives, both can be effective -- or useless.  The debate is a silly one because there’s no right or wrong answer.  The decision to advertise on the Super Bowl is a strategic decision, as is every other decision a company makes when laying out its marketing efforts.

To advertise on the Super Bowl is easy, and in my perspective it can be viewed as a copout, unless you back it up with other supportive marketing.  To advertise on the Super Bowl as a one-shot, or as the only element of your campaign, is wasteful.  The Super Bowl is the ultimate expression of marketing, intended to be your crowning achievement for the year, or a way to kick off your campaign.  You can reach a significantly larger audience than anywhere else, and you generate endless buzz. But if you don't follow up that buzz with some element of continuity through the rest of the year, then you're just doing your brand a disservice.  It can easily become a waste of money if it’s a  "one and done" strategy that you hope will carry you through the remainder of the year (hint: it won't).

The debate over Internet vs. television is similar, because it’s a copout to think that one or the other will work for you as a stand-alone vehicle for your messaging.  You have to use them both. In tandem, the Internet and TV can be a significantly effective one-two punch, and you can generate reach, frequency, engagement and impact in the eyes of your target audience.  There is no silver bullet solution anymore, in much the same way that you can't expect to spend your entire budget on a Super Bowl ad and expect to drive sales that year.  

Integrated marketing is the name of the game, and you have to do it all.  In sports you hear that "defense wins championships,” and that’s true. But behind every great defense is an offense capable of scoring.  You may be able to stop the opposing team from scoring, but if you can't score, then you can't win the game.  

The same strategy applies to marketing.  You can't focus all your attention against a single tactic and hope it will work, because your audience doesn't operate that way.  They’re not one-dimensional, so your marketing can't be one-dimensional either.  You need to do your homework, look at the information that’s available to you, and come up with a plan of attack that will balance your messaging against the key metrics of reach, frequency and impact, to drive results.

Integrated marketing requires you to come up with a plan that includes multiple avenues to reach your target, and do so repeatedly.  It requires you to have a back-up plan, and it requires that you build an image in the eyes of your target.  You can't do that in one sitting anymore.  

The days of the Apple "1984" ad are long gone.   When that ad ran, the world was a simpler place and a one-time showing could generate impact.  These days, that is simply not the case.  Your audience is fragmented and there are far more choices for them – you need frequency.

So the simple answer is this: The Super Bowl is an amazing advertising opportunity for the right brand, if they’re willing to back it up and support that spot with other marketing plan components. It could be Internet, point of sale, even direct mail, but there has to be something to create additional frequency in the eyes of their target audience.

 The Internet and television are both important elements of the marketing mix, but you can’t hang your hat on just one single element. You have to spread it out.