January 27, 2010

Kristine Porter with The Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal interviews AIS Media CEO Thomas Harpointner regarding Interactive advertising strategies during the 2010 Super Bowl.

According to Harpointner, advertising in the Super Bowl is an effective way to drive traffic to your company’s website because with interactivity comes the ability to convert website traffic and monetize results. Well-known brands like Pepsi-Cola, who recently announced their advertising withdrawal from Super Bowl this year, will not gain much more marketing share by advertising during the game. Larger companies will eventually start shifting their advertising dollars to Interactive marketing and implement social media and search engine marketing campaigns.

“The key takeaway for 2010 Super Bowl advertisements is that they must have an interactive component,” says Harpointner. “The goal is for advertisements to drive the viewer to the company’s website.”

“For larger companies considering following in the footsteps of Pepsi, it’s really about product launch versus brand awareness. The Super Bowl is a great venue for companies who have very little brand awareness or are perhaps launching a brand new product or service. Launching your product during the Super Bowl is a very effective way to expose yourself to 100 million people in one shot. Big name brands like Pepsi are asking the question; where else can we use that $2-3 million dollars we would normally put towards Super Bowl advertisements?”

Interactive Marketing Key Points Harpointner Covered:

• Include URL: Last year’s Super Bowl advertisers saw an influx of 5-7 million visitors within a 24 hour period after their commercial aired. One of the easiest ways to make that happen is by adding your company’s URL to your advertisement.
• Get the Most for your Money: Monetizing 2010 Super Bowl commercials will take form in selling advertisers’ products/services and signing up visitors for promotions. Small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) can learn from their larger counterparts. Since SMB’s do not have $2.5 million to spend they need to focus on results. It’s not the size of the ad, it’s the strategy behind it
• Go Where Consumers Are: Facebook gains 740,000 new users’ everyday. That kind of market growth doesn’t exist in print, radio television or any other form of traditional media.