The Art of Creating Super Expectations

by Kim Niemi

Whether you’re a football fan or not, you can’t argue that the Superbowl provides an opportunity for commercial marketing that is unrivaled. Year after year companies pay millions of dollars for coveted Superbowl slots, rising to the occasion and trying to top themselves with a better commercial than last year’s, and millions of non-football fans tune in TO WATCH COMMERCIALS. Why? Expectations.

Mention the words “Superbowl” and “Budweiser” in the same breath and you know what’s on offer: a heartfelt montage dripping with sentiment. You don’t even need to see the commercial to start crying. I mean, seriously--the puppy this year? I. Can’t. 

What are those Clydesdales gonna do? What silliness is Doritos going to offer up? Which celebrities are going to unexpectedly show up and remind us why we always loved them? (Cue the “Full House” theme song, because there’s a mini-reunion afoot.) These are the questions on people’s minds as they sit down for pro football’s biggest game each year.

People tune in and engage. In olden times it was groups of people at Superbowl parties, talking amongst themselves, and then continuing the conversation the next day at the office. Nowadays, seconds after each commercial airs, social media lights up with instantaneous reviews by the masses.

You may not have the millions of dollars that Coca-Cola has to put toward a Superbowl campaign, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out. Here are a few ways to join in the fun and reap a few rewards as well:

• Build some expectations of your own with a mini-campaign of Superbowl related posts that tie into your brand in the days leading up to the game.
  
• 
  
• Live-tweet the game. Don’t forget to see which topics are trending and jump on board where applicable. And feel free to create your own hashtags and see what happens. Maybe your topic will be what’s trending by half-time. 
  
• 
  
• Continue the conversation for the few days following the Superbowl by building on your previous posts, slowly shifting the focus to your own business. 
  
• 
  
• Pick a time of year that is relevant to your business and have your own Superbowl, i.e., an interactive event for your fans to participate in – like a contest for fans/customers to enter and/or vote upon. Build expectations leading up to it and do it each year at the same time.
  

With a little planning you can use social media to create a sense of expectation from your followers, as long as you deliver on it consistently. And remember to have fun with it. Even the companies with the highest stakes on Superbowl Sunday clearly have their humor intact, so follow their examples and go for the win.