Week Four: Going an extra mile on the SB50
Hi Alyssa,
Thanks for your interesting
leading week post. I totally agree with you in acknowledging the importance of
Superbowl for sports fans, but also to expand this excitement and expectation
beyond the specific target audience of people related to sports. I must confess
that since culturally and in general, I am not so a ‘sports-oriented’ person,
it is hard for me to grasp the importance of this type of events; however, at
the same time, this objective ‘distance’ with the magnitude of the event allows
me to think it or perceive it in a more broader sense, almost with a
sociological interest.
During the last weeks and readings, Scott (2015) emphasized the importance of a personal connection to succeed in the social media arena, acknowledging that there are still some niche products that may find their target audiences in conventional broadcasting messages: “Guys watching football on TV drink a lot of beer, so perhaps it makes sense for mass marketer Budweiser to advertise on NFL broadcasts.” (p. 18). In this case, it seems like Michelob ‘hit the nail on the head’ with its “Michelob’s Extra Mile” campaign, matching beer consumers, particularly young people, with those who like a healthy lifestyle (who also happened to be young people). The SB50 commercial break featured the spot “Breath”, from Michelob Ultra, a 95-calorie, 2.6 carbs beer, brewed “for those who go the extra mile” (FoxSports.com)
During the last weeks and readings, Scott (2015) emphasized the importance of a personal connection to succeed in the social media arena, acknowledging that there are still some niche products that may find their target audiences in conventional broadcasting messages: “Guys watching football on TV drink a lot of beer, so perhaps it makes sense for mass marketer Budweiser to advertise on NFL broadcasts.” (p. 18). In this case, it seems like Michelob ‘hit the nail on the head’ with its “Michelob’s Extra Mile” campaign, matching beer consumers, particularly young people, with those who like a healthy lifestyle (who also happened to be young people). The SB50 commercial break featured the spot “Breath”, from Michelob Ultra, a 95-calorie, 2.6 carbs beer, brewed “for those who go the extra mile” (FoxSports.com)
This campaign fits with many of
Kerpen (2015) points of his book, starting by his very own advise: “stop
thinking like a marketer and start thinking like your consumer.” (Loc.
702-703). Featuring a beer that could eventually not only fits but also
promotes a healthy lifestyle breaks many conventional product stereotypes and
actually transformed the brand into one that mobilized its current and
potential consumers to the online social media arena.
Partnering with MapMyFitness,
Michelob Ultra has developed the “Extra mile Challenge” to engage consumers
appealing to their interest in a healthy lifestyle: “Track your workouts, earn
points and enter for a chance to win exclusive rewards from Michelob ULTRA.” (MichelobUltra.com).
More that 1 million people are following the initiative on Facebook, fifty one
thousand followers on Twitter, and even the YouTube channel also features more
of a social media-style videos, featuring “what comes next” in the initiative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6hNR0wnIFg.
(YouTube.com), exactly as Kerpen (2015) proposes for successful online social
media interactions as opposed to traditional broadcasting messages: “Here, you
attempt to engage the users with a more personalized, friendly, and less
demanding message.” (Loc. 769-770). This project may proof that there is certainly
the possibility to cover both areas of media, social media and traditional
broadcast channels.
One final message and lesson I
take from the experience of analyzing this campaign is what Kerpen (2015)
states as a genuine focus in social media: “[I]t isn’t about the brand. It’s
about the consumers.” (Loc. 818-819).
Happy blogging!
Carlos
References:
About The Challenge. (2016,
February 9). Retrieved from http://www.michelobultra.com/theextramile.html
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable social
media, revised and expanded: How to delight your customers, create an
irresistible brand, and be amazing on facebook, twitter, linkedin. Kindle
version. Retrieved from amazon.com
Michelob ULTRA. (n.d.). Timeline
[Facebook page]. Retrieved February 9, 2016, from https://www.facebook.com/MichelobULTRA/?fref=nf
Michelob ULTRA: Go the Extra Mile.
(2016, February 9). Retrieved from http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/video/michelob-ultra-go-the-extra-mile-020716
Michelob ULTRA Commercial - What
Comes Next (Extended). (2016, February 9). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6hNR0wnIFg
Scott, D.M. (2015). The new rules
of marketing and pr: How to use social media, online video, mobile
applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers
directly. [Kindle version]. Retrieved from amazon.com
Carlos,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thank you for sharing your thoughts and analogy of the Michelob Ultra campaign!
I am an avid runner and go to the gym every weekday morning before work. Being 28, in the alcohol industry I still consider myself on the younger side of things. I see the message they are trying to send about targeting those who maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle however while viewing the ad my mind went to pounding a bottle of water, or even a Gatorade; not a low carb beer. I absolutely related to that sweaty breathe of pushing yourself and your body to do one more rep, or go one more mile but translating that to an alcoholic beverage did not speak to me personally.
It’s very interesting that they are running a promotion around this campaign! Perhaps they should have mentioned the partnership with mapmyfitness to better connect the dots in their advertising spot? There was no call to action or endorsement to a social media platform either. Kerpen points out that “more than anything, you have to get your customers talking, or you have to get involved in their already ongoing conversations” (Kerpen, 2015, pg. 46). I’m unsure if this campaign is effectively capturing and utilizing that ideal.
As I mentioned in Sarah’s blog about Jeep’s #SB50 commercial (http://sdaubcomi610.blogspot.com/2016/02/comi-610-week-4-dicusssion-jeeps-super.html), according to Marketing Land, “hashtags in Super Bowl ads dropped slightly to 45% for 2016” (Third Door Media, n.d.). Why do you think Michelob Ultra decided not to incorporate a hashtag, social media mention or indication of their mapmyfitness promotion in this ad? Did you consider this commercial a success for the brand?
~Nicole
References
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable social media (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Education
Third Door Media, Inc. (n.d.). The Marketing Land #Hashtag Bowl. Retrieved from http://marketingland.com/hashtag-bowl
Nicole,
DeleteSorry for the delay in my reply. I moved from Baltimore to Toledo, Ohio, all day yesterday. I am still trying to recompose myself here, with meetings already waiting at my new job. But the most important, I am now here!
I totally agree with you in regards of your preference for drinking water. It has been one year since I did a huge change in my lifestyle and decided to quit on many foods that were not healthy. The results? I lost almost 50 pounds, to this day. Due to the moving, I had to be away from the gym, but I’m committed to go there at least three times a week, joining group classes, I like to be challenged by the group, in this case. With that being said, I also relate to the deep breathe in trying to go the extra mile. In my case, I do not like any beer, so it did not relate to me in that sense, neither. However, I think the campaign successfully accomplishes what Kerpen (2015) describes as part of these new opportunities in utilizing media (in this case, broadcasting TV): “You have an opportunity to rise to the top of the clutter, not by coming up with a more creative disruption but by producing content that people actually want to receive.” (Loc. 855-857). Regardless of our preferences not for beers, the brand was able to create an emotional connection with a broader audience. In your case (I’m certainly older than 28), the campaign appeals to the mindset of your generation, than to a beer consumers only. In other words, it is a new way to open their products to “social drinkers”, those who, in case they need to go out with friends, could have the alternative to have a beer that will not put themselves away from your fitness and healthy goals.
Regarding the hashtags, I realized there is one hashtag in Michelob’s web site (#michelobultra), as an entire tab showing the tags on twitter. After watching the SB50 commercial, I realized it is a clean, direct message, simple and eloquent. As the commercial tries to connect directly, it keeps the message clean from any “sales push”, relying more on the natural endorsement of the “like” rather than on the “follow” concept and trusting in the power of the product and the challenges that come with it, as Kerpen (2015) states: “Today, however, the like is more important than the ‘link’”. (Loc. 889-890)
Thanks for your comments!
Carlos
References:
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable social media, revised and expanded: How to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be amazing on facebook, twitter, linkedin. Kindle version. Retrieved from amazon.com
Carlos,
DeleteNo worries! Hope the move went okay and you enjoy your new job! : ) Great to hear about your healthy life style and developing gym routine!! For me, it’s totally a place where I can clear my head and prepare for the day ahead.
You are absolutely correct with your notion of not necessarily developing the most loudly and disruptive ad, but one that best clears through the noise and clutter. When I saw the start of this commercial I immediately could relate and became engulfed in what was going to happen next. Michelob actively addressed their target markets characteristics in this ad as Alyssa, Danielle, and Sarah have all touched on in their comments.
Great example for this discussion!
~Nicole
ReplyDeleteHi Carlos,
It is very clear that Michelob knows who their target audience, since they put together a very specific campaign to address this group’s wants and needs. The young and health-conscious adult would certainly be interested in learning about this product and what better time to promote it them during a game that’s capturing millions across the country?
The partnership with a fitness app was also a genius idea! Of course there’s tons of competition as the popularity of fitness apps has been on the rise (I myself am constantly looking for new fitness apps) but this will definitely have curious consumers looking into the app and hearing more about the brand.
In this week’s reading, Scott also compared social media to a cocktail party! It seems like Michelob is trying to do exactly that by creating a brand community of people who are interested in fitness and beer-drinkers alike! On social media Michelob is focusing most of the brand’s content on fitness rather than their actual products. Michelob also does a great job at responding to tweets but in every response they use a link to promote their contest. Do you think this is the best strategy to promote the campaign? How should Michelob be responding to consumers? Check it out here: https://twitter.com/MichelobULTRA/with_replies
Hi Alyssa,
DeleteSorry also for the delay, I was driving the entire day, yesterday. It is amazing to realize we are almost getting into the second half of our course!
I agree with your connection on Scott (2015) analogy of the web as a city, in which social media is like a cocktail party. The specific case of Michelob’s Ultra campaign advertising on SB50 was a one big single shot for a huge corporation to use a valuable time reaching perhaps the biggest audience in the entire year, in order to justify an extremely high financial investment.
I think they used all these circumstances to position in two directions: first, positioning the brand with a clean, corporate message, and second, driving people to social media, with a smart message that can engage millions in a consistent multi-platform effort. Michelob utilized broadcasting TV –as Scott (2015) explains- to stay away from “those skilled at interrupting people to talk up products and using coercion techniques to make a sale.” (pp. 57-58).
There could be a couple of reasons why Twitter carries more of a direct sale conversation for this campaign. First, it could be because of the way Twitter is structured, and how it plays a role in terms of sales leads. The social media platform determines the language usage and the ‘culture’ used to communicate, like in Twitter, which Kerpen (2015) defines as “a flashy, trippy sort of place where you can talk to anyone about anything at any time, connected through a series of 140-character exchanges.” (Loc. 3565-3566). Twitter keeps more of a “Google Ads” structure, in which the three tree more typical types of messages (general updates, replies and direct messages) (Kerpen, 2015) are more public than on Facebook. This difference puts Twitter as a platform of basically public conversations, as Kerpen (2015) explains: “Because of this, marketers are able to search conversation on Twitter and see all the conversations currently taking place. Twitter search is like the Google of conversation and provides insight to countless companies.” (Loc. 3585-3586).
Maybe because of this, it is important for Michelob Ultra to conduct a more aggressive, direct conversation through Twitter, in order to continue building a trend in conversations.
Thanks again for your comments.
Carlos
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable social media, revised and expanded: How to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be amazing on facebook, twitter, linkedin. Kindle version. Retrieved from amazon.com
Hi Carlos-
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and both Nicole and Alyssa's comments. I agree with Nicole that in watching this ad, my mind didn’t go right to an alcoholic beverage. My mind definitely went to something more thirst quenching and replenishing like water or Gatorade- so there was a bit of a gap there. However I also agree with Alyssa’s comment that it is clear that Michelob knows their target audience. Michelob is known for being a lower calorie beverage choice. Many consider it to be a refreshing and light beer and Michelob did a good job positioning their product in the health and fitness conscious community. I also think the closing line “brewed for those who go the extra mile” ties the idea together. The fact that it aired during a sporting event helped too.
I too noticed Michelob did not redirect the campaign to any social media platforms in their commercial. I see on Twitter they hastagged #MichelobULTRA & #SB50 but the commercial didn’t do much to drive that. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think this campaign was overall successful?
Danielle
Danielle,
DeleteThanks for your message, I totally agree with you that for some of us there is no connection between the sweaty efforts to live a healthy lifestyle and actually drinking a beer, and the good creativity in this case goes in trying to establish a connection with those who actually do not have any intention to drink a beer to connect with those who do drink, expanding the product audience and relating a healthy and balanced life, with friends and a concept of enjoying life, with a sort of purpose.
As we had the opportunity to share throughout this post, First, I think the Michelob Ultra campaign was intentionally created to expand the consumer base, with a clean, ‘holistic’ message; second, I think the disruptive, one-way message broadcasted in SB50 was heavily based on the concept Kerpen (2015) developed from the very title of his book, the concept of the Like. A Like on Facebook is more than buying a product, is an endorsement that spreads quickly, through one of the most effective word-of mouth networks, as Kerpen (2015) explains: “The Like button allows Facebook’s more than 1 billion users, with one click, to express approval of companies, organizations, articles, or ideas.” (Loc. 205-206).
In my opinion, this is a campaign that can be considered successful, from a branding, creativity and marketing perspectives, because it provides with a long-term opportunity to expand the product consumer base, incorporating an entire lifestyle and positioning a brand in a broader perspective. Marketers and creative people at Michelob used the advertisement time during the SB50, keeping in mind what Kerpen (2015) explains us in regards of where the people (consumers) are today: “The loudest, costliest advertising formats, such as TV commercials, don’t dominate the conversation anymore because, in fact, they no longer own the conversation. The conversation exists on social networks.” (Loc. 1106-1107).
Thanks for your comments.
Carlos
References:
Kerpen, D. (2015). Likeable social media, revised and expanded: How to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be amazing on facebook, twitter, linkedin. Kindle version. Retrieved from amazon.com