• by Aaron Baar , February 1, 2012

The Super Bowl may be on Sunday but the truth is, advertising on the industry’s biggest day has become about much more than simply running a commercial during the game and waiting to see whether the public liked it or not.

“I think the best integrated strategy is one that begins pre-game, comes to a head during the game, and continues after the game,” Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, chief strategy officer at Leo Burnett Worldwide in Chicago, tells Marketing Daily. “There are a couple of brands that have done a good job doing that this year, specifically what Volkswagen has done. It creates hype and expectation around the commercial. I think that’s indicative of how the Super Bowl is about one great big water cooler conversation.”

More than ever, the Super Bowl this year has become about starting that conversation earlier and continuing it long after the game ends, Hahn-Griffiths says. “This year, the conversation started earlier than ever,” he says. “Two weeks out, social media were talking about the Super Bowl and what commercial were you looking forward to.”

All of which makes strategies that rely on unveiling a big surprise a bit mystifying in 2012, Hahn-Griffiths says. Companies like CareerBuilder or Anheuser-Busch, which are saving their entire commercials to be viewed for the first time during the Super Bowl, may be doing themselves a disservice. “What are they holding back on?” he says. “To me, it feels a little foolhardy to limit possibilities.”

Case in point, he says, was Honda’s decision to put its entire “Ferris Bueller”-themed spot online after word broke the brand was behind the concept. “They heard there might have been a leak and were smart enough to react and respond,” he says. “It will stack the odds and increase favorability.”

Meanwhile, the rise in social media participation gives consumers the chance to become a part of the ad game. “They won’t just be tweeting. They’ll be going to the GoDaddy website, using the Chevy app and going to the Coca-Cola Website,” he says. “The conversations that used to happen in the living room have become amplified and are now public.”

And with all of that, marketers considering advertising on high-profile events like the Super Bowl need to recognize some changes in the demographic viewing audience. First, Hahn-Griffiths says, is to recognize that women wield much more purchasing power than they have in the past. Fewer women than men have lost their jobs in the recession, and a significant number are earning more than their partners. H&M’s decision to advertise using a near-naked David Beckham is evidence of this taking hold.

Second, consumers are looking for small indulgences. Commercials for M&Ms and Dannon’s Greek-style yogurt are evidence that consumers will look for little luxuries to make them feel better as the economy improves.

Finally, the preponderance of car advertising during this year’s Super Bowl indicates consumers are ready to begin looking toward the future and spending, Hahn-Griffiths says. “When the cars are back, the rest of the economy can’t be far behind.”