What Can Super Bowl Ads Tell Us About Local Business Marketing? 

Coming in at around $5 m illio n + for a 30-second spot , Super Bowl commercials are in a league of their own when it comes to advertising. These commercials have become as much a part of the Super Bowl experience as the game itself. It’s hard to imagine these mega- ads have anything in common with the marketing efforts of small, local businesses. But in reality, Super Bowl commercials can teach us some important lessons.

Have you ever watched a commercial but you weren’t immediately sure of the actual product or company being advertised? That’s because the ad was focusing on you – the customer – rather than touting the business itself . You were drawn in because the ad was marketed to you instead of solely focusing on the product or company.

It seems natural that your marketing efforts should focus on the services your local business can provide to your customers. But that’s actually not the case. M arketing should focus on the customer first.

Rather than showcasing what your company does, put a spotlight on your customer ’ s problem and how it can be solved. After all, there’s a good chance that customers already know what your company does; there’s no need to explain it to them again.

Instead, make it clear that you know what kind of challenges or problems your customer is dealing with. Then you can explain how your company will fix the problem.

Let’s consider a kitchen and bath remodeling company as an example. It’s a waste of time and energy to explain that you remodel kitchens and bathrooms – the c onsu mer already knows that. If you want to connect with your customer, draw attention to the problems homeowners often have, like an inefficient kitchen or a small, cluttered bathroom. Go on to explain how your business help with those specific problems.

You may have noticed a social aspect to many Super Bowl commercials, particularly in recent years. Whether it’s the mention of a company’s volunteer activities or a brand’s commitment to environmental sustainability, th e professional s developing these ads know that community involvement is not only s ocially responsible, it also makes a connection with customers.

As a local business, you’re in a perfect position to follow this marketing blueprint. Share your community involvement with your customers. Make it part of your basic marketing plan.

When c onsumers see your business playing a role in their community, they’re more likely to develop feelings of trust and confidence in your brand. Use your website’s Location page or About Us page to share information about your community involvement and invite your customers to participate, if appropriate.

In many cases, brands use the national stage of the Super Bowl to debut new marketing campaign s . You’ll see the commercials first during the Super Bowl, then similarly-themed ads over the course of the next months or even years.

As a local business, you can employ a similar tactic. Identify the opportunity to launch add a new marketing campaign or a new aspect of your branding , then continue to reinforce the message with ongoing marketing efforts.

Of course, you won’t have an event as big as the Super Bowl to use as a launch pad for your new campaign, but there are other great opportunities. Consider launching a new campaign at the start of the new year, or the start of a new season (Spring, for example,) or even on y our company’s anniversary.

Build your new campaign on the foundation of your existing branding and then grow from there. If customer engagement with the new campaign begins to wane, take a step back and re-assess its effectiveness .

Most local businesses don’t have a budget that allows for a $5 million commercial (not even close!) But even if you’re not on the same level as Pepsi, Facebook, or Amazon, you can still take a lesson from the way they use Super Bowl ads as part of their marketing efforts. Use these tactics on a smaller scale to boost your own local business’s marketing.