This year’s Super Bowl was a great game, and along with it came the usual slew of over-the-top, funny, heart-warming, and thought-provoking commercials. While most of us are not advertising in a Super Bowl time slot, we can still use the collection of commercials to gauge what might be effective marketing, and where trends are going. Big money, time and thinking is invested into these ads. How can we apply the lessons learned from this mega-scale advertising to our own businesses?
One thing that really stood out in ads this year is humor. Not just telling a good joke, but revealing your inner thoughts and making fun of your own shortcomings. For example, Tostitos and Tide got meta and joked about the very idea of running a Super Bowl ad with spots that challenged our expectations. Tostitos announced itself as a Super Bowl ad, running through a number of big-game ad clichés. Tide joked about using a narrative to pull you in, making the audience think the ad was something else at first, then making us wonder if every ad that features clean clothing is a “Tide” ad.
These commercials inspire us to not take ourselves too seriously, and to realize that our customers come across marketing all day, everyday. What are we doing to set ourselves apart? How can we become a crucial component of our clients’ financial security strategies and not lost in the noise? Perhaps it comes down to listening, educating ourselves and personalizing our approach for every client.
We are always thinking of new and improved products, but sometimes what customers really want is no change at all. Fast food is an old example of that, and in this year’s Amazon Alexa ad, they wondered what would happen if Alexa lost her voice and they were forced to find a new one. The question gave us some hilarious results, and left the characters wondering what happened to the old reliable Alexa voice. The final call-to-action reminded us that Alexa’s original voice is going nowhere, and is here to stay.
This is an important lesson in consumer expectations. When presenting Individual Disability Insurance to new clients, their heads may spin in the unfamiliar new territory. It is crucial that we understand their long-term goals and their current situations, so we can present IDI for what it truly is: a valuable tool that actually helps keep things consistent and reliable in times of difficulty. Use familiar analogies like our new Lottery Sales Script to help clients feel more comfortable.
Budweiser highlighted its efforts to help natural disaster areas by halting beer production and shipping clean water where needed. T-Mobile featured an ad that celebrated diversity, featuring babies and a xylophone cover of a Nirvana song. You’d be hard pressed to know what T-Mobile was even trying to sell if you didn’t already know. These ads highlight an important factor that shouldn’t be forgotten: Consumers expect companies and business people to operate with heart and soul. It’s okay have common interests, personal stories, and life experiences that fuel your pitch for the need of income protection. One of the most powerful sales tools is simply buying an insurance policy on yourself. It shows the client that you walk your talk, you trust the product, and you acknowledge that illness and injury can happen to anyone, including yourself.
If you didn’t see them all, check out some of the Super Bowl ads online. Remember these ads appeal to the broadest possible audience, whereas your business may be more specific, but all of us have universal wants and needs. We all want to laugh, be comfortable, and be ourselves.
