Who said TV Commercials were dead?
In this age of smartphones and electronic tablets, the prevailing wisdom seems to be that that mobile media rules the roost and that putting advertisements on old-fashioned TV instead of on a multitude of digital platforms is a complete waste of money. TV media spending, so say too many experts, only continues to support a very archaic marketing and message model.
Well, this may shock some or all of you. But according to a sample of 2017 media spend research just shared by Kantar Media, who provide clients worldwide with “the most comprehensive and accurate intelligence on media consumption, performance and value,” the situation is, in fact, dramatically different.
Here are some of the top findings Kantar shared regarding how the biggest media event in the world, the NFL’s Super Bowl [not FIFA’s World Cup] holds the power to deliver big-time through TV commercial placement and exposure:
• TV networks airing the Super Bowl still gain bigger revenues rewards, with commercial time in the game continuing to rise.
• The Super Bowl, along with its pre- and post-game coverage, brought in $534 million in 2017, a rise of 20 percent over 2016‘s $445 million.
• Advertising during NFL games aired in 2017 on Fox, which aired the Super Bowl last year, totaled $419 million.
• Pre- and post-game revenues came in at $115 million.
Interestingly the study also states that “total commercial NFL TV time in general continues to creep up—4 percent higher, to 51 minutes and 30 seconds [51:30] in 2017, with a total of 102 commercial spots, versus 2016.”
Also worth noting:
• Average total NFL commercial TV time per game in 2016 was 49:30, with 96 spots.
• In 2015, per game, it came in at 48:05 with 82 spots.
• In 2014, per game, there was a dip to 49:15 [83 spot] from 2013, which totaled 51:40 [97 spots].
What is most interesting is that the Super Bowl now delivers 15 percent to 20 percent more commercial time than a regular-season NFL game. And while it’s true that some marketers make an effort to enhance their message impact through longer Super Bowl TV commercials, the 30-second commercial remains the most common format length.
Note that in 2017, 63 percent of all TV spots were 30 seconds long, while 19 percent of all spots were a minute or longer, with 15 percent of all spots ran 15 seconds or less. The average price for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial was $5.05 million— up from $4.8 million in 2016.
According to Adweek, NBC, which will air this year’s Super Bowl LII, notes that “30-second spots are going for well north of $5 million, some as close to $6M.”
For this Super Bowl, that new figure just accounts for TV media placement on NBC. The figures do not in any way cover Super Bowl ambush advertisers going on mobile, tablet, PC, or anything connected online.
Apparently, TV advertising is not dead—especially for the NFL, which experienced a hiccup in TV viewership this season. But TV advertising did not get hurt. Brand marketers and their ad agencies continue to justify and find new and creative ways to make that advertising medium ever more fertile for marketers seeking a very committed, indeed fanatic, sports audience.