This article was originally published in Adweek.
The Super Bowl continues to be the biggest stage for TV advertisers, but this February takes on even greater stakes with the Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Weekend also occurring.
In just a few days, brands will soon compete for massive, leaned-in audiences across these major events, with NCAA March Madness tipping off just a few short weeks after Closing Ceremonies.
Given the premium value of live sports inventory, brands can’t afford not to maximize return on these critical creative and media investments. Their ads are on the line. Here are three tips to help advertisers optimize for an action-packed Q1.
1. Supercharge your big event ad by redeploying creative elements
When it comes to combining powerful engagement with an expansive audience, nothing tops a tentpole live sports event like the Super Bowl.
In fact, an advertiser would have to buy 1,056 ads on the average primetime program on broadcast or cable TV to generate the same total impact as a single ad in last year’s Big Game—as measured by the consumer behaviors that reliably predict future sales.
Of course, these events also come with relatively premium media costs—and often greater creative costs from premium production that can include special effects, longer creative, and celebrity appearances. That’s why it’s recommended to redeploy creative elements in the months after you run during a live sports tentpole.
For example, T-Mobile’s minute-long ad for the 2023 Super Bowl—starring John Travolta, Zach Braff, and Donald Faison—was later converted to a 30-second spot airing 777 times in the following four months. The edited creative generated 41% more engagement per person than the average T-Mobile spot, enabling the brand to generate cost-effective outcomes long after the Big Game’s final whistle. And that’s just one example.
2. Find your most engaged audiences on streaming after the game
From a media perspective, brands can generate even greater performance from their live sports buys by pairing the reach of a linear TV tentpole with the automation and targeting of streaming. The trick is to make sure you’re targeting your most engaged audiences across all your streaming buys.
For instance, EDO’s recent analysis of QSR brand ad performance found that targeting a brand’s 50 top-performing markets can deliver approximately twice the ROI compared to buys that run across all markets. Since each brand is different, you’ll need real-time TV outcomes data to determine the demographics, geographic locations, and content preferences of your most engaged viewers.
3. Optimize performance with regional buys and streaming pause ads
Don’t have the budget for a big, national ad during a live sports tentpole? Don’t worry.
When it comes to big events, EDO has seen clients have great success getting smarter with local and streaming ads. While these ads may have a higher CPM than a national buy, the overall cost is lower because you’re only buying part of the audience, and with enough markets, you can “feel bigger” to the consumers that matter most to your business. At last year’s Super Bowl, one client made a large regional investment and generated as much impact as some of the game’s bigger, national buys.
Brands can most effectively find new customers by targeting areas where consumers often engage with ads in their category, but their own engagement is relatively low. This way, you can connect with consumers who are likely to be interested in your offerings but haven’t engaged with your specific brand just yet.
And when buying streaming, be sure to take advantage of engaging formats like pause ads, which EDO has found can outperform the average spot. With streaming innovations being announced all the time, be sure to watch this space.
Run the field with ad-driven outcomes
As we head into a three-month live sports extravaganza, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of media and creative choices that need to be made.
But for all the buying opportunities available to advertisers this year, the brands that win the Super Bowl, Olympics, and the months to follow won’t be the ones chasing every moment. They’ll be the ones anchored to what matters most: Outcomes.
When your ad is on the line, all that matters is whether your advertising is actually moving consumers closer to purchase.
In a season defined by spectacle and scale, TV outcomes provide the clarity to invest with confidence by revealing which creatives are working, which audiences are responding, and where to double down.