Super Bowl commercials are the most underpriced advertising opportunity you’ll ever have.
A spot costs more than $5 million. Regardless, the costs associated with all that matters less than the awareness and revenue that brands get in return for their time during the most watched event in the country.
Take a look at the chart below, which shows the relative ad price year-over-year for a Super Bowl commercial across the last ten years.
The big brands make sure they tell a good story, make everyone laugh, and that their brand ends up being the main character. Nearly everyone is watching. There are few times a brand has America’s complete attention, and brands cash in on that. The commercial will shape how people see them, not just what they know about the brand.
One Signature Video
Most people miss that this same logic works for small businesses too.
You can’t afford a game-day spot. But you can make one signature video, post it on Tik Tok, on Facebook, in a few memes. Spend your advertising dollars on creating a story about your brand, an unforgettable story, and post that everywhere you can think to.
Call your signature commercial an ”anchor video”. Done right, an anchor video can define how customers see your company. It can change the entire trajectory of a business.
The Dollar Shave Club anchor video is one of the best examples of this. It went viral, leading to 12,000 sign-ups in the first two days.
The Purple mattress company used a similar video.
How do you define what you want to do, to say, about your business, your offering, your journey?
There are two things that work here.
For an emotional video, film a day in the life of the founder. The goal is connection, so the video has to show the human side of the founder.
The other option is a hero video. In a hero video, humor, creativity and repetition of the brand’s message matter most. Think Dollar Shave Club or Purple.
The good news is this: as the owner, you know your customer better than anyone. You’ve lived what they live. You know the story they want told. Which means most of you already know which messages will land with customers, and which will fall flat. Listen to your instinct here.
Feeling confused about what to say? Use creative and media to test different directions with customers. Set aside $20k to $30k for it. If you find what works, you’re ready to make an anchor video.
Your business needs sales today, not tomorrow. Cashflow sees to that. When you make your anchor video, make sure to end it with a clear, direct call to action. The best place to drive traffic is your website or a landing page for whatever you are trying to sell.
The Power of an Anchor Video and Targeted Ad
What good is a video if nobody sees it? YouTube Pre-roll ads, targeted to users based on what they have searched for, are one of the best ad products out there.
Here is the core idea behind YouTube Pre-roll ads: If someone searches for what you sell on Google, you can show them a video about your service or product on YouTube. Say you’re a plumber in Boise, Idaho. If a person in Boise searches on Google for “leaky faucet” or “plumber” or even “faucet replacement”, you can now have your pre-roll ad get in front of them. Later, while they watch Boise State video highlights on YouTube, they can see your video there first. That’s the power of an anchor video and targeted ad.
I love how YouTube pre-roll ads let you pinpoint your customer based on intent. Intent is what drives the sales a small business needs to get.
Facebook and LinkedIn ads are another good advertising option for you.
If you truly know your consumer, Facebook and Instagram can actually be a gold mine. B2B is best on LinkedIn, hands down.
If you sell B2B, there is still plenty of white space here.
A Big Investment
Making an anchor video is one of the best investments you can make for your business.
Most businesses would rather keep paying $5 to $10 a click on Google AdWords because it feels lower risk. Good hero videos are a big investment. It can take $30k to $50k to make one. You may need to try a few before you find the one that really lands with your customers. Choosing the anchor video for your business sounds like a big decision. It is.
The brands that decide they’re worth the investment an anchor video needs, that do the real work to earn the connection a video makes with a customer: they’re the brands that will win.
About Delancey Street
Delancey Street is a premier, and award winning, business debt settlement company that helps business owners nationwide. Our goal is simple: help you escape debt in a safe and legal manner. Based out of New York, we can help in 49 of 50 states. We tell you how it is; because your business and future is on the line.
