This year’s Super Bowl drew 95.4 million viewers – a gold mine for any marketer who had the budget for a prime time commercial. With the average commercial spot estimated at $2.6 million, it is safe to say that it’s not a ‘drop in the bucket.’ Why is it, then, that these highly anticipated, widely viewed, and eagerly watched ads were slightly disappointing this year? I recently came across an article in Business Week regarding this year’s commercials pointing out that such a high amount of focus was placed on younger generations, particularly younger males, leaving other consumers standing out in the cold. What’s ironic, is that the individuals who were left out of the mix (50+ age group) are the ones with the highest amount of disposable income. They were not given anywhere near the amount of consideration as their younger counterparts when these ads were being formulated.

Almost all companies have more than one target audience – and segmenting is a key ingredient to marketing success. Your target audiences are diverse and will perceive things differently, so when the same message goes out to everyone your marketing efforts may fall short of their full potential.

Segmentation is especially applicable in direct marketing and is proving to be quite a successful method. People respond to direct mail, email, and advertisements that are relevant to them. They are not going to be relevant unless marketers segment their prospects and tailor their message accordingly. Proper segmentation is one of the most, if not the most, important factors in determining the success of a direct marketing campaign. When you are able to deliver the right message to the right people you can increase your response rate and increase ROI dramatically.

How could this have been done in the Super Bowl ads then? I’ve chosen a couple advertisements and discussed how they could have been more properly segmented to reach all target audiences.

Flo TV’s “Spineless Man” Commercial:

What they did:

-Featured a young unmarried couple (probably in their mid-upper twenties)

What they could have done:

-Flo TV could have featured a more mature married couple alongside the younger couple or even just as a visual in the background to expand the relevance of their ad to all possible audiences. So in this particular example it would be the same message but the visual could have been segmented to give the ad more of a diverse appeal.

Audi “Green Police” Commercial:

What they did:

-Made an extreme ad appealing to extremely green lifestyles

What they could have done:

-Audi could have made a less extreme ad as well to appeal to people just starting to take on a more green lifestyle demonstrating the car as a catalyst to a more deeply committed eco-friendly lifestyle

Factors to consider when segmenting as learned from the Super Bowl ads:

1. Age and generational differences
2. Gender
3. Familiarity with company/product and your industry in general
4. Brand loyalty to your brand or another brand
5. How different audiences may benefit differently from your product/service
6. How different audiences may have different objections
7. Stage in buying cycle
8. Purchase behavior
9. Income

Any other suggestions for the Super Bowl ads on how they could have been better? Comment below and let us know your thoughts!