Budweiser win: How social media multiplied Super Bowl messages

Yesterday’s Super Bowl had a number of interesting aspects. We saw a blackout, a standout performance by Beyonce and a game that hung in the balance. Oh, we also had the commercials. Many of them, with the biggest brands vying for share of voice and for popularity. After which, of course, they would wait for the cash registers to ring. In an earlier, pre digital era, advertisers would have been able to get data on how many viewers, from which demographics, were able to view and actually viewed the commercials. [caption id=“attachment_614351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Screen grab from YouTube[/caption] But, as we said, that’s in an earlier, pre-digital era. Today, there are more answers to more pertinent questions. “But how much impact do these commercials actually make? Well social media can give an indication of this, and actually quite a good one. Do potential consumers just passively watch a commercial, or does it engage and entertain them enough to make them want to share it?,” Socialbakers asked. And they shared the answers as well. This is how it panned out. The winner, ladies and gentlemen, was the Budweiser Clysedales Brotherhood commercial. Take a look at the top ten commercials as measured by Socialbakers.  

  It’s astonishing how fast time flies. Just a few years ago, one would have measured just the YouTube figures and decided on the top ten. If viewed through that lens, Volkswagen and Audi would have been #1 and #2 in the table. But once you add a second lens, that of Facebook shares, we see a big change. More than 7.3 million views of the Audi TVC – but less than 0.0016 percent of those who viewed it thought the commercial entertaining and involving enough for them to share. Compare this with Budweiser, where 57 percent of those who viewed the commercial on YouTube chose to share it on Facebook. This will be the new challenge for marketers and advertising professionals. To create communication that goes beyond entertainment, which was a useful metric for a long time, and look at involvement and engagement as well. And the frightening bit is, stakeholders will know, within hours, whether they have passed or failed the ultimate test – where the jury comprises potential consumers. In the Super Bowl test, Budweiser wins. With ease.