Super Bowl XLV Social Media Takeaway Points

Super Bowl XLV clearly demonstrated the value of social media marketing.  There was significant social media buzz before, during, and after the big game.  In fact, compared to last year, online discussion increased 9% in the 12 hours following the game (Mashable article). 

When all is said and done, though, what can we learn about social media from Super Bowl XLV?  Here are my three takeaway points:

CONTENT- the commercial is still the foundation of Super Bowl marketing

At the end of the day, as with all marketing, content is king.  We saw this primarily with ads, where the most interesting commercials drove the social media conversation.  Brands that were lost in the social media conversation had the least memorable commercials. 

Volkwagen was arguably the biggest winner of the night with its pre-released Darth Vader YouTube video, but it was successful because it was a great video.  91% of online comments for the video were favorable (Mashable).

Would Volkwwagen have received as much attention if the commercial was less memorable?  Would the Brisk Iced Tea commerical, for example, have gone viral if released early?  I would guess no.  Ultimately, the quality of the commercial drove social media conversation.

INTEGRATION- unique use of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube is most effective

The most successful campaigns found ways to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in unique ways.  For example, the Audi Super Bowl campaign launched a unique Twitter hashtag [#ProgressIs], a Facebook ‘Estate Sale’ game, and then posted commercials on YouTube.  Audi did an amazing job of leveraging their ‘Re-think Luxury’ message with a multi-platform campaign.

CLARITY- a vague marketing campaign gets you nowhere

The final takeaway message is the need for clarity in a social media marketing campaign.  Many brands tried to launch innovative social media campaigns, yet only a few did so successfuly.

Mercedes, for example, did not effectively clarify its ‘Tweet Race’ campaign.  Those with knowledge of the Race were expecting to see the promotion incorporated into the Super Bowl commercial, but were instead left with a vague car commercial featuring P Diddy.  Mercedes had a creative concept and the campaign generated substantial conversation on Twitter, but I thought Mercedes missed an opportunity to incorporate this in their Super Bowl spot.

These were my takeaway points from the Super Bowl.  What are your thoughts?  What did you learn about social media from Super Bowl XLV?