The Super Bowl is the biggest day of the year for America's favorite sport. It's also the most expensive day of the year for advertisers. According to data from ad-tracking research firm Kantar Media, the Super Bowl generated $2.19 billion in networking advertising sales from 2005 to 2014, reflecting a 75% increase in cost over the past decade.
The exorbitant cost is causing even some of the nation's largest brands to reconsidered shelling out the average cost of $4.5 million for a basic, 30-second ad that aired during the 2015 Super Bowl. To stand out from the competition and increase awareness of its product for dip-loving fans, Hidden Valley Ranch opted out of creating a Super Bowl commercial in favor of partnering with a leading media company to create an online branded content campaign. The campaign's objective was to the attention of women looking to prepare easy, delicious game day snacks for family and friends.
Hidden Valley partnered with SheKnows Media, a leading women's media company, which brought The Holderness Family on board. The Holderness Family is a Charlotte, NC-based four-some known for their viral video parodies including "XMas Jammies" and "All About That Baste." Together, Hidden Valley Ranch, SheKnows Media and The Holderness Family created "It's Sunday Night," an original music video for parents who understand the fundamental difference between partying with and without young kids. Hidden Valley Ranch was incorporated into the storyline as the family's ticket to the cool adult Super Bowl party at the house next door, and all content was shared with SheKnows Media's vast, predominantly female audience of more than 80 million unique visitors per month.
The music video was supported by:
In less than two weeks, the "It's Sunday Night" video drove nearly 277,000 views on YouTube, with a 68 percent end card completion rate – a 59 percent increase over the industry average of 40 percent. In terms of custom article performance, the campaign resulted in more than 51,000 total pageviews. One article, titled "Sunday Night," brought in 25,000 pageviews over a 10-day period – a 1,000 percent increase over the 500-2,000 average pageviews on SheKnows.com. Engagement also rose with the Super Bowl-themed giveaway, which more than tripled the company's giveaway entries benchmark of 16,000.
The social media component of the video campaign led to above-average engagement on both Facebook and Twitter, combining for nearly 4,000 direct social interactions in the form of likes and shares across all custom content pieces. In addition, social sharing across SheKnows.com's Facebook and Twitter reached a potential audience of more than 750,000 users, while SheKnows and BlogHer newsletter inclusion added 180,000 to the campaign reach.
Ultimately, the collaboration between SheKnows Media and The Holderness Family resulted in a win-win for Hidden Valley Ranch during one of the year's most popular days for chicken wings and vegetable dips.
