Kantar: Top 10 Super Bowl ads returned 113% media investment and had a 267% increased viewership

Cristina Blanaru Creativity, Studies

Kantar Video – division of WPP’s insight, information, and consultancy network Kantar – released the results of a comprehensive study of online video viewership and social activity from Super Bowl XLVI advertisements.

According to the study, within the first 3 days, the top 10 ads created $862,000 on average in earned video impressions, a 12.7% return on the cost of a Super Bowl ad spot. Overall, the ads made this year created over $11 million in earned media and saw a 267% increase in viewership over 2011’s Super Bowl. The increase in online video viewership underlines the increasing trend for advertisers to use the Super Bowl as a launch-pad for multi-platform commercial campaigns.

The study acknowledged

– Return on Format – Longer ads create more value: Longer ads posted online offered much higher value to advertisers, as it extends the amount of time a consumer is exposed to their brand from a :30-:60 second commercial to upwards of two minutes or more, lowering estimated effective CPM. These ads also generated more viewership and discussion on average.

– Return on Strategy – Pre-game strategies help, but the Super Bowl “Bounce” rewards creative – Over $2 million worth of earned viewership was created before the game even began, spurred by early releasing strategies and bolstered by media outreach, seeding and paid advertising. However, the Super Bowl “bounce” truly benefited the ads with the most popular creative executions. Over four times as much earned media value was created after the game with the most buzzed about ads topping the list.

– Return on Creative –  Generic themes offered stronger brand association than celebrities: Looking specifically at the automotive category, which commanded the most pre- and post- game viewership, thematic use of vampires and dogs with Volkswagen and Audi generated more recall in discussion versus ads featuring celebrities. While celebrities help create buzz, a strong execution around an idea that is central to a brand drives engagement and may serve as a more sustainable concept as campaigns continue throughout the year.

The study, which began the week before the Super Bowl, seeks out patterns and trends that have impact on advertisers’ campaigns. These results are based on data through Thursday, February 9, 2012.

Kantar Video is the online and mobile video research and measurement unit of Kantar, WPP’s insight and consultancy network.  Kantar is one of the world’s largest insight, information and consultancy networks. By uniting the diverse talents of its 13 specialist companies, the group aims to become the pre-eminent provider of compelling and inspirational insights for the global business community. Its 26,500 employees work across 95 countries and across the whole spectrum of research and consultancy disciplines, enabling the group to offer clients business insights at each and every point of the consumer cycle.