🏈NFL commercials report highlights how to enhance your videos & ad-placements

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Mark the date and time. I just witnessed the first person to say they’re leaving social media and mean it. So successful they no longer need to please LinkedIn’s algo, apparently.

Alright. Today’s Feature Story gives you some smart ways to think about both your video content and ads. Comes from an NFL ad placement report.

After you bite down on that, have a taste of the following sections & today’s quick poll: 

• The Knowledge Base  

• Self Help (admirable) 

• Facts & Stats (mobile coupons boom)

• Get Hacking (use the seed) 

Now, let’s high-step into today’s Feature Story…

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Feature Story

What Makes People Like Ads (& take action)?

The full ad report from Ispot is here. The key thing it shows about what makes people like the ads is two-fold:

• The ad must resonate

• Has to be relatable

So, know your audience. In this case, the audience is NFL fans. And what do Cheeseheads and other pro football fans do during games? Eat! Then, eat some more.

That’s why food-focused ads resonate.

Then, you had everyday situations fans could relate to with ads from Taco Bell. No shiny Jeep driving up a remote mountain range. The simple ad just showed folks stuffing their face with nap-inducing Mexican food that hits the spot during the 1 PM NFL games.

Next. Ad visibility.

Where Should You Insert Ads So They Get Seen?

Put ads at the very top! 

Don’t worry about “bothering” people with ads. They can skip them if they want. 

Leave it to the audience. Don’t try to look “non-salesy” by sticking your ad at the end of a newsletter, end of a podcast, or end of a video.

Why? Because 90% of your audience may never see it. 

And it’s not necessarily because they don’t like your content. 

They could get distracted and have little free time, keeping them from coming back to finish digesting your content, thus never seeing the ad you inserted.

This Ispot report proves this by highlighting the dismal viewership late in NFL games that were not close. Viewers changed the channel during blowouts. Or mowed the lawn, like they shoulda been doing anyway.

Again, the advertisers who chose late-game ad insertions didn’t know a blowout was coming. But that risk is there, so it’s better to stick ads close to the beginning of any content when possible. 

Another Ad Placement Lesson

Viewers dropping off also shows it’s vital to check analytics on your video content. 

You want to be able to see….

• How long viewers watch

• Which content makes them leave the video

• What parts of your videos get replayed

That’s data you can use to improve your content to get better engagement. 

Track similar insights for your email campaigns. 

I’m not much on optimizing which day and hour to send emails. However, you could see engagement variation between campaigns sent two weeks before a holiday vs. waiting until one week to start the promotion. 

Next in the report is influencers in ads.

Save Your Money by Making Your Own Influencer

Most of us peons can’t hire Peyton Manning to be in our ads. 

(Travis Kelce either, but you shouldn’t even if you could hire him.)

The good news is you can create a spokesperson or influencer out of thin air. 

Two examples from this NFL ad report:

1. Jake from State Farm had 392 airings during games

2. The GEICO Gecko had 233 airings

The Jake character began as a real State Farm employee.

The Gecko was a simple idea that became a lovable hit and has had mad staying power. 

Both of those types of influencers are available to any sized business. Especially with all the AI video tools laying around.

Let me go back to Peyton Manning for a sec. 

He didn’t have the success Tom Brady had, but Manning is more relatable to the average Joe. And he’s certainly funnier than Brady or any NFL player I could name. 

Humor and likability win the day in the ad game (if not against Bill Belichick and a hidden camera).

Small Brands Sneak into Big Games

Finally, this Ispot report shows how new technology is making ad placements accessible for small companies. 

Many brands advertised during Amazon streaming broadcasts that could never have done so on Fox, CBS, or NBC.

As a bonus, these brands get the benefit of selling immediately with Amazon’s shoppable ads.

This is a good lesson for any small brand. Instead of tearing your hair out trying to drive shoppers to your website, just lean into shoppable ads inside TikTok and Instagram, maybe. 

One More Thing

No room to get into it deeply today. But there was ample evidence that plenty of meat’s left on the bone after the “Main Show” goes off the air. 

For example, news programs reaped the benefits of NFL viewers hanging around after games. News is unrelated content (and not very good content, most Americans agree), but people often leave a show on in the background.

Something to think about when you’re deciding where to place or promote your video content. And where to insert your ads (e.g., in newsletters very similar to your content or in podcasts loosely connected to your niche).

That’s all she wrote for that. Now, time for The Knowledge Base below.

Self-Help

Look for the good in folks. Or at least something unique about them that helps you forget they annoy you.

Case in point. I know of a person who can grate on people’s nerves. Check that… not “can,” does.

But she is really great at what she does. Which is admirable because lots of needy people benefit from what makes her unique.

Facts & Stats

Bonus: What’s the most obvious type of product that sees immediate impact from running ads during NFL broadcasts? Answer at end of email.

Get Hacking

A specific strategy to implement today

I’ve got a story coming in Friday’s edition of Inbox Hacking about how I’d improve a few recent TV ads.

Well, there’s value in TV commercials for you, even pitiful ones.

Most commercials on major channels are too “vanilla.” Aiming to please EVERYONE. That reduces quality. 

However, there’s usually value in the initial idea for the ad.

That’s your hack for today. Watch 10 or 15 TV commercials. Find the best part in each. Then, see how you can twist it into an ad campaign for whatever you’re pimpin’.

Thanks for reading Inbox Hacking. Please share it with your peeps - it’s sugar-free but stings a bit.

Shane McLendon - Copy Kingpin

Bonus answer from Facts & Stats section: Food delivery brands saw a nearly 30% brand lift after running ads during NFL games, which can mean immediate sales as many viewers use food delivery while watching games (Ispot NFL Report).

"Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion." ~Aristotle

P.S. Good stuff in the newsletter below. Not sponsored.