Super Bowl Ads and ROI: How Testing and Insights Deliver Long-Term Wins
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Can a $7M Super Bowl ad deliver lasting ROI? Explore strategies to maximize ROI and engagement.
Why Brands Bet Big on Super Bowl Ads
When it comes to advertising, the Super Bowl is the crown jewel. It’s a rare moment when brands get the undivided attention of millions. But with a high ticket cost of $7 million for a 30-second spot, the stakes are as high as the audience is vast. So why do brands keep coming back for more? The answer lies in the unparalleled visibility, brand awareness, and long-term engagement potential these ads deliver.
When it comes to the task of measuring ROI on Super Bowl ads, it’s no longer limited to short-term measurements of immediate spikes in social media impressions, website traffic, and sales. The biggest challenge for brands comes with measuring long-term ROI, which evaluates the sustained brand equity and awareness their Super Bowl campaigns have over the coming months, demonstrating the lasting impact of the ad.
The best campaigns launch weeks before and last months after the game
Brands can generate buzz by releasing ads early on platforms like YouTube or social media, allowing them to tap into viral potential before the game. For example, CeraVe’s 2024 Super Bowl ad featuring Michael Cera kicked off with an immersive strategy that included a dedicated website, iamcerave.com, featuring Cera in whimsical scenarios reminiscent of a melodramatic perfume commercial. This teaser campaign generated buzz across social media platforms through videos, influencer content, and even paparazzi-style photos, all leading up to the Super Bowl event.
Brands and agencies must also plan their campaigns so that they can live on via social media well after the ad airs, prolonging engagement through memes, highlights, and behind-the-scenes content. Often, brands might use clear calls-to-action that invite viewers to continue the engagement by following the brand on social media, using specific hashtags, or participating in contests related to the ad campaign. Brands might also choose to collaborate with influencers who resonate with target audiences, where they can create related content that keeps the conversation going on social media platforms.
How Suzy can enable research to set brands up for success
To set Super Bowl campaigns up for long-term success and prove ROI on the multi-million price tag, brands’ research should extend beyond the table stakes of creative and ad testing. Brands should carefully choose their objectives, methodologies, and metrics to ensure their campaigns not only resonate with their audiences, but also resonate in a measurable way.
Segment your audience: As is the case with most research, having a strong foundational understanding of your audience is a critical first step before diving into campaign direction. With Suzy, brands can benefit from conducting a Dynamic Segmentation, which divides their target audiences into distinct groups based on evolving consumer behaviors, attitudes, demographics, and preferences. Unlike traditional segmentation, which is often static and updated infrequently, Dynamic Segmentation uses real-time data and advanced analytics to adapt to changes in consumer behavior and market trends. By targeting segments in their Super Bowl campaign research, brands can tailor their marketing efforts, and deliver personalized experiences to those segments, and drive better engagement, loyalty, and ROI well after their ad airs.
Be intentional with your metrics: In order to properly measure ROI for a Super Bowl campaign, it’s imperative to set benchmarks and track those metrics well before the campaign begins. The obvious metrics include brand awareness, purchase intent, NPS, and brand perceptions, but Super Bowl campaigns are expected to continue their engagement on social media. So it’s equally important to measure metrics like likelihood to follow on social media, likelihood to share digital content, and more to ensure you can show long-term ROI later on.
Iteratively test creative: This is arguably the most critical part of research for Super Bowl ads, typically starting months in advance of game day. With Suzy, brands can leverage a number of creative testing methodologies, such as monadic surveys, heatmapping, and live interviews or focus groups, to refine create concepts, storyboards, video ads, and more before release. Suzy’s platform is flexible and designed for iterative testing, enabling brands to continuously refine their concepts, combine methodologies, and customize their metrics according to their specific needs.
Influencer testing: Brands may choose to partner with influencers to keep the conversation going after their Super Bowl ad spot, and by using Suzy’s concept testing methodologies, like monadic surveys, MaxDiff, or TURF, it’s easy to understand which influencers will resonate most and catalyze higher engagement with their target segments or audiences.
Measuring campaign impact: To properly measure ROI on Super Bowl campaigns, it’s important to conduct a pre/post tracker, evaluating all key metrics before any pre-game day campaigns kick off, then again after the ad airs to measure short-term or immediate impact. With Suzy, our Center of Excellence team has a dedicated tracker unit, specializing in tracking studies like these, which can be flexibly folded into an ongoing tracker to measure the ad’s long-term impact, making it easy to demonstrate outcomes to key stakeholders.
Conclusion: Driving Long-Term Impact from a Super Bowl Investment with Strategic Research
Investing in a Super Bowl ad is more than securing 30 seconds of fame—it’s about creating a campaign that resonates, engages, and delivers measurable results long after the game ends. Success requires a strategic approach that combines audience insights, intentional metrics, iterative testing, and innovative tactics like influencer partnerships and social media engagement.
With Suzy’s cutting-edge tools and research expertise, brands can maximize their Super Bowl campaigns' impact, prove ROI, and build lasting connections with their audiences. When backed by data-driven strategies, the Super Bowl spotlight becomes not just an expense, but a powerful investment in your brand’s future.
Ready to turn your campaigns into a game-changing investment? Book a demo to learn how Suzy can help your brand maximize ROI and deliver lasting impact for your marketing efforts.
