Super Bowl commercials are now nearly as important as the game itself - in fact, this past January research firm Lab42 surveyed 500 people and found that 39% of respondents said the commercials were their favorite part of the game, versus the 28% who said they were more interested in football than ads. Now more than ever, people watch the game specifically so they can see these commercials, and flock to YouTube to watch their favorites over and over again. But with that captive, engaged audience comes a major price tag - a 30 second spot, in some cases, can cost $4 Million. Corporate America tends to dominate Super Bowl advertising, but Intuit wants to change that for one lucky small business. The software company recently launched Small Business, Big Game, a contest where small businesses with fewer than 50 employees can enter their story to be voted on and shared. The winner gets a commercial spot on Super Bowl Sunday and advice from Intuit on how to handle all of that newfound attention for your business.
This promotion intrigued me because I'm always looking for new ways to help small businesses advertise. Advertising can cost a lot of money, and only a handful of small businesses are able to afford something as simple a local television spot. However, the internet has made great strides in breaking down a lot of marketing barriers including, at least for one lucky business, the multi-million dollar barrier that bars most businesses from Super Bowl commercial glory. But whether you're the winner of Intuit's contest or not, there are still plenty of resources available online to cheaply advertise your business.
I'm always surprised when a small business doesn't take advantage of pay-per-click advertising. Usually they reason it out of their budget by saying that it's only useful for big companies with a widespread brand - that couldn't be more wrong. Google AdWords, for example, is one of the most targeted forms of advertising you can buy into. They even recently launched Google AdWords Express
Rene Nezhoda on A&E
Keith Leventhal
MSE