UPDATE: You’ll have to wait until the next Just Talk to find out what a Schmoozapalooza is, because we’re postponing it until spring!

But, please join us and NCET for Wifi Wednesday instead!

The Chocolate Bar
Wednesday, March 12, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
475 S Arlington Ave
Reno, NV 89501
(775) 337-1122

Visit NCET for more info and to RSVP

In anticipation of our February AMA luncheon panel that will be critiquing this year’s Super Bowl ads, we ask the question, “are the ads getting better or getting worse?”

Surely, more money is being spent on them each year. Surely, ad execs and creatives have more data and better understanding of what drives consumers. So, in theory, with all the attention and effort that is poured into them they should be getting better- right?

This year’s Super Bowl attracted more viewers than nearly any other program in the history of television (only getting beat by the last episode of MASH- that pesky bugger refuses to go away). On top of that, there’s no other program that people tune in specifically with high interest in the ads- even if they have no interest in football at all!

All those captive eyeballs are a precious treat for advertisers, anxious to set their services or products before them. It’s no surprise, then, that there has evolved a standard that viewers expect; we don’t just want to see your ad, we want to be entertained. People tune in to be surprised, to be drawn in & to see ads that reach a level not usually seen during regular programming.

It’s not just on TV that the war is waged either. Two major trends have pushed the attention to the internet as well: 1. Companies now use the TV spots to generate web traffic and 2. Internet video has become incredibly easy to create and access. Super Bowl commercials see longer lifespans as they are reposted on the internet- something that countless companies attempted to harness this year. Youtube even gave the ads their own page.

So what was the result?

Well, there were certainly more people watching the Super Bowl this year, but their habits may show a general dissatisfaction with what they saw. Many have claimed that the commercials aren’t what they used to be. CBS’s Sunday Morning blames the internet:

Every year, we expect miracles — and every year, to be honest, many of them disappoint. This year is no different, though the culprit might surprise you - that vast new advertising frontier we call “the Internet.” Yes, the great equalizer has leveled the playing field; now bad is the new good.

Even web traffic from the ads wasn’t what was expected. According to Akamai Techologies (the folks who track this sort of stuff), the ads this year didn’t drive significant traffic to the advertisers websites. While ad execs and marketing VPs attempt to figure out why, the question remains “could it be the ads themselves aren’t living up?”

One exception, though, was the Godaddy spot. While many others failed to drive the expected traffic, Godaddy won big by having their original ad banned by Fox, and be replaced by another they produced in order to sent viewers online to watch the original. I’m pretty certain the ban was part of Godaddy’s strategy, but nevertheless it succeeded. I’ll post the aired ad below- you can decide if it’s enticing enough to follow it to the original. See you all at the Luncheon!

The Super Bowl is the biggest advertising venue of the year, reaching up to 60 percent of the United States’ population. However, it is not just the big game that draws spectators. According to a Retail Advertising and Marketing Association survey, 36.3 percent of consumers will tune in primarily to watch the commercials. With so many eyeballs on the screen, Fox had advertisers paying $2.7 million for a 30-second commercial.

The top-dollar ad spending was not the only impressive number for the big weekend:

Viewing Statistics
- 141.4 million viewers
- More people watched the Super Bowl than voted in the 2004 Presidential Election

Party Time
- 7.5 million parties on Super Bowl Sunday
- 1.5 million televisions are sold the week prior to the game
- Big screen television sales increased five-fold

Food Consumption
- Food consumption during this weekend is second to Thanksgiving
- 13.2 million avocados are sold in preparation for guacamole
- According to the Snack Food Association, 30.4 million pounds of snack foods are consumed by Americans
- 1 in 7 people order take-out or delivery from a restaurant
- The largest number of pizza deliveries are made during Super Bowl Sunday, most of them during half-time

Beer Consumption
- According to the Beer Institute, 3.5 percent annual beer sales come from Super Bowl weekend
- The big game makes January one of the top months for beer consumption

Sources: Associated Content and About.com

We know you’re excited about the February Luncheon, “Who Fumbled, Who Scored” panel, and we know you can’t WAIT to chime in.

So, here’s a couple clips of Super Bowl commercials that YOU can sound off on.

What do you think- instant classics or just ho-hum? Are they worth the nearly $3 million they cost for airtime alone?

BUDWEISER: ROCKY

BRIDGESTONE: THE SCREAMING SQUIRREL

COKE: FIGHTING BALLOONS

What happens if you take a bunch of marketers, toss them in a blender and turn it on high?

No, it doesn’t make a horrible mess- it brings business people together! At the last AMA luncheon, Alice Heiman put everyone in her “Biz Talk Blender” and the results were awesome.

We know how it is. Sure, the AMA luncheons are the best networking opportunity in town and sure, most of us are marketers (we’re supposed to be natural networkers, right?) but what usually happens? Most of the time, many of us come right in, sit down to eat and leave soon after the speaker ends- totally missing out on valuable networking opportunities! From time to time, even the most natural networkers are guilty of this.

But on Thursday, everything changed.

Even before entering the luncheon I joined my fellow AMA’ers in getting a FREE head shot from Digiman photography! Free! Now if that doesn’t put you in a good mood…

I walked into our banquet room at Harrah’s and it was packed & electric with activity. No one was sitting down. The entire crowd was furiously meeting as many people as they could. Immediately, Alice greeted me personally.

“Hello! Here you go,” She handed me a copy of what we were going to cover in the blender. “you do have business cards- right?”

And with that I was caught. Two months into my current position, I hadn’t gotten around to ordering cards! Alice charged me with meeting as many people as I could and getting their contact info. I may not have cards, but this I could do.

All the AMA members and guests were great. People were laughing, meeting one another and finding out about businesses they previously didn’t even know were in Reno. I witnessed several “introverts” introducing people to each other like networking experts.

As Alice’s talk started, it was clear she isn’t your usual speaker. Not content to stay on the stage, she walked through the tables asking questions, sparking debate and spurring us to collaborate on subjects like “how to create a sales culture.”

We all talked. We learned about each other’s businesses. We found out who could make business cards for guys like me who don’t have them yet!

If you skipped the luncheon you missed an incredible opportunity to meet local businesses as well as pick up powerful networking skills. At the next lunch you’ll easily be able to pick out who attended. They’ll be the ones who don’t rush to eat- who meet everyone they can - and who have business cards!