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Well much like Christmas, Super Sunday came with more fanfare than it delivered and in the end, the game actually was probably the best part of the day.  Odd.

A quick recap of winners and losers Onequartlow style.

Winner.  The New Orleans Saints.  Drew Brees tied a Superbowl record with completions (32-tying the golden one…err…Tom Brady) and the Saints Defense turned in the one game changing play on that side of the ball with a Tracy Porter pick 6 of 74 yards to seal the fate of Superbowl 44.

Loser.  Reggie Wayne.  Maybe the injury was worse than we knew, but Wayne looked uninspired, and wanting to be somewhere else it seemed all game long.  Indy Defense.  There’s an oxymoron.

Nuff about football.

On to the ads.

Winner.  Doritos.  Is it me or was this by far the best ad. campaign of the day.  From shock collar dogs turning the tide to a slap from a 4 year old, to a crazed Dorito maniac reacting to theft,  to a Dorito filled casket replete with television, Doritos won the day.

Winner. E-Trade. Talking babies just never get old do they?

Loser.  Go-Daddy.  I know they’ve been banned from some stations and have had a hard time maintaining their sexy Go-Daddy girl persona, but this year’s effort was weak even with Danica in the mix.

Loser. Budweiser.  Very disappointing array of commercials.

Winner. Google. Their first foray into Television advertising I actually liked.  It reflected the company in a way that was true to Google.  No models.  No funny stuff.  Just a carefully crafted commercial that I found refreshing.

Loser. Pants.  From Dockers to Casual Office day, there was entirely too many bare legs being shown this year.  ewwwwww.

And finally, The Best Advertisement of Superbowl 44…..and it didn’t even air until the 4th quarter.  Audi’s “Green Police”, borrowing Cheap Trick’s Dream Police tune, this commercial was right on target, not to mention hilarious.  Enjoy.

As the underdog New-Orleans Saints finish last minute preparations to take on the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts in Superbowl XLIV (that’s 44 for the non Romans reading), so too do the high powered execs awaiting the results of their multi-million dollar advertising investments.  Of course, their last minute prep may have more to do with doctor’s prescriptions and alcohol, but nevertheless, there is certainly a feeling of anxiety slowly building to a frantic fear, culminating in a heart stopping, palm sweating kick off.

I digress.

What can the internet marketing type glean from Superbowl Sunday?  In a word, plenty.

I’m going to delve into a few areas that most may not consider and eschew the relatively obvious correlations between Superbowl marketing and your marketing (such as product placement, new releases around events, timing, brand recognition, etc…).  These seem relatively basic.

However, there are a few areas that I think many in marketing and advertising miss, and could learn a thing or two from Superbowl Sunday.

1) Cross Promotion.  Although many of the big name companies (Budweiser, Go-Daddy, E-trade etc…) have the financial resources and where with all to focus on spendy television spots, they obviously also cross promote.  Using multiple advertising venues (and even multiple people within the same venue) is important.  I would argue it is as important for the viral aspect as for the sheer market penetration or getting you message or product out to as many as possible.  Why?

2) Social Media.  2010 may become known as the social media year.  I’m already predicting the decade will be labeled as such.  Social media defines viral.  This may be one area where the small marketer or business person actually is ahead of the big corporations.  They have experienced the power of social media whereas many of the big dogs are just starting to sniff around the concept.  You tube, Twitter, Facebook etc…. have a place in Superbowl Sunday.  Be ready, be alert, and pounce when the opportunity presents itself today.  I guarantee, a social media episode will be huge news tomorrow and long after the millionaires participating in Superbowl Sunday are dreaming of the money they made today, some kid somewhere in media land will be riding a wave to riches by capturing a moment, idea or something that everybody else missed unable to get outside the conventional mindset. Speaking of which….

3) Outside the box.  We remember things that are different.  How many times does a stupid concept or ad stick in your mind because it’s so outside the norm?  Lots.  Watch today how the big companies try to capitalize on the “dumb and dumber” philosophy of business marketing.  I’m not saying you have to dumb down your stuff, but at least think differently.  Be unique.  It works….

4) Targeting.  Although this may seem 101 ish as well, I think we too often forget our market penetration audience.  Take the time today and consider those who are viewing, listening, or reading  your advertising campaigns.  Who are they?  If you cannot answer this, your campaign(s) is/are dead before they even get off the ground.  How does one target effectively?

5) Research.  You must know your audience.  In order to do this, you better research it.  Obviously with the nature of viral advertising today, it may seem counter intuitive to research your target demographic.  It is not.  The beauty of viral is the unexpected success that comes with it.  It is the intended, or targeted approach marketers and advertisers should be considering.  Don’t get me wrong.  At all times, you must consider where your advertising may end up, but with social media today, it really is a hard thing to control.  Again, this is where we must carefully balance our “out of the box” thought processes with the realization that the advert itself, in the wrong hands or directed to the wrong demographic, may in fact not only damage your business and brand’s reputation, but could financially ruin them as well.  One need only look at last year’s Superbowl to see how costly this can be.  AT&T was sued by Metlife as a result of a tease campaign AT&T promoted called m-life.  The product was obviously not similar, not even in the same niche, but the proximity of the name recognition alone bought AT&T a lawsuit.

So today have fun, be alert, be prepared, and be smart.  If you want to play with the big boys, go ahead and play, but know the rules of the game.  My prediction for Superbowl 44……..

Colts 41  Saints 21

P.S….Another reason I don’t bet on professional sports….Nice game Drew.  The Saints deserved it.

This is a fun concept for you sports freaks out there.  I have started a group over at ESPN entitled what else, onequartlow.  Here are the particulars.

This game challenges you to build the longest streak of correct picks from our daily list of match ups. You can win weekly and monthly prizes, and by building the longest winning streak each month you could win $100,000.

Get in the action now:

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

Group: Onequartlow

Our group is mostly hackers but it is fun and a daily “pick em” event.  And this tends to be the low time in my opinion as far as sports are concerned, so this fills a bit of a void.  Once you get in post a little something to announce you’re here.  We don’t take it too seriously but I also won’t tolerate ‘haters’ or those who want to spew venom etc….Just having fun.

Invariably it seems I trek back to the SEO world and nearly as predictable I end up feeling a need to discuss SEO as it relates to Key Word strategies.  I have long believed critical key words make or break one’s search engine Karma.  Lest you think “oh another boring key word lecture,” I’m turning this topic over to Lynn Terry.  I know I speak highly of those in the field who clearly are a cut above when it comes to knowledge and experience, but the article I read today from Lynn flat may be the best I’ve ever encountered on ANY SEO subject, let alone the specific one of key word strategies.  So instead of “borrowing” or outright stealing this content, I’m going to simply provide the link to this brilliant article.  Nothing in it for me (cuz I’ve already digested it twice now), but plenty in it for those looking to increase their search engine “cred.”  Without further adieu, here’s the link.