Innis Agency Tells How to Score Super Bowl Ads

Friday, January 30, 2015

CANTON, Ohio -- Innis Maggiore, an advertising agency headquartered here, in the hometown of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, offers advice on how to watch Super Bowl commercials like an expert.

Effective advertising is meant to sell, says the agency. Unfortunately, for Super Bowl advertisers, 85% of Super Bowl ads can't be directly linked to an increase in sales. In football parlance, most of the ads fumble instead of score touchdowns with customers.

"At $4.5 million a pop, that's unacceptable," said Innis Maggiore chief strategist Lorraine Kessler.

Kessler recommends answering four questions to determine the merit of an advertisement:

• Did the ad gain your attention?
• Can you recall what brand or product was advertised?
• Does the ad convey a meaningful benefit?
• Does the ad offer a distinct advantage over the competition?
• "Positioning requires more than a good strategy for differentiation," Kessler said. "It requires memorable, creative dramatization of your idea, hitting all four positioning points."

One winner, Kessler cites: Victoria's Secret. The lingerie company's "Don't Drop the Ball" teaser ad (WATCH VIDEO) succeeds in gaining long chunks of yards for the brand, she says. Consider that in fewer than 90 seconds the ad is able to:

• Claim Valentine's Day as its own official holiday.
• Establish brand imagery and relevance.
• Capture and hold attention.
• And, deliver a powerful call-to-action message ... all with not one word spoken!

"Victoria's Secret definitely did not drop the ball on its re-entry to the Super Bowl arena. This is one of those ads that make you say, 'Gee, I wish I had done that' --- and mean it!" Kessler said.

Innis Maggiore's best and worst picks of the Super Bowl will be posted in its PositionistView on Monday following the game. To sign up and comment, go to http://www.innismaggiore.com/signup.aspx.

Innis Maggiore Group describes itself as "the nation's leading advertising agency in the practice of positioning, building strong brand positions for companies in competitive markets." The agency reports 2014 capitalized billings of more than $26 million.