Local and national companies alike bank on 30-second spots.

30 January 2008
How Allegory makes the most out of Superbowl Advertising space.

Local and national companies alike bank on 30-second spots
By DEBBIE KELLEY
THE GAZETTE
January 30, 2008 - 6:12AM

Many Colorado Springs residents are expected to declare Sunday a day of rest in front of the television.

That’s exactly what local advertisers who are shelling out extra bucks to promote their company during the Patriots and Giants Super Bowl XLII matchup are counting on.

Though a 30-second commercial that airs during the Super Bowl is more expensive than a slot during other programs, the large number of viewers makes the investment worthwhile, said Katy Koppenhaver, marketing manager for the Colorado Springs and Pueblo campuses of Colorado Technical University.

“We thought with the large audience, we’d like to put the word out there about CTU and specifically our accounting program that’s been revamped around a business model,” she said of the school’s decision to advertise during the Super Bowl.

About 404,000 viewers in the Nielsen ratings market area, primarily in El Paso, Teller and Pueblo counties, watched last year’s Super Bowl on CBS, said Steve Dant, vice president and general manager of the local Fox affiliate, KXRM-TV Channel 21.

Fox is televising the game this year, and Dant said he expects at least the same draw in the local market and possibly more because of the New England Patriots’ undefeated season.

“Reaching upwards of half of the homes in the marketplace on that Sunday afternoon is huge,” he said.

No other television show attracts as many viewers in the 321,900 households in the region, Dant said, though several episodes of “American Idol have come close.”

Dant would not disclose the cost of a local 30-second spot during the Super Bowl. “In terms of unit rate it is more expensive, but if you measure it by how many people you reach, in terms of cost per thousands it’s really not that expensive,” he said.

Fox reported this year’s national rate for a 30-second Super Bowl commercial at $2.7 million, up from $1.3 million a decade ago and $645,000 two decades ago.

Allegory Marketing Solutions grabbed 10 of the 11 local advertising spots for clients during this year’s game because “people will get what they pay for,” said Tom De-Nardin, owner and president. “It’s the best value any client is going to get out of anything they do.”

DeNardin knows what kind of results the Super Bowl pulls. Last year’s commercial promoting his local advertising, marketing and public relations company attracted two new international clients, he said. He plans to run another commercial for his company this year, based on the tag line, “We see things differently.”

“There’s a great percentage that watch the games because they want to see the commercials. They don’t switch or TiVo the commercials as much as when they watch other shows,” he said. “The Super Bowl has changed from a football game to an event that people don’t want to miss.”

Todays Homes, a local home builder, is trying Super Bowl advertising this year to gear up for the launch of two new residential developments in northern Colorado Springs this year.

“The cost is more, however, the visibility you’re going to get is unmatched,” said Victoria Stone, marketing director. The commercial features a 7-yearold boy and a 10-year-old girl selling the home to the viewer, with a surprise element.

Many of the local ads, which range from automotive to banking to restaurants, will deliver messages to build their brand — “their promise of what they’re all about,” DeNardin said, rather than issue a call to action: “Hurry and give me money.”

Local advertisers often follow the lead of national companies, such as Anheuser-Busch, General Motors Corp. and Coca-Cola, by investing in creating new, slick ads specifically for the Super Bowl.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0235 or debbie.kelley@gazette.com

NATIONAL AD RATES

All prices are for a 30-second commercial.
1967: $42,000
1972: $86,000
1977: $125,000
1982: $324,000
1987: $600,000
1992: $850,000
1997: $1.2 million
2002: $1.9 million
2007: $2.6 million
2008: $2.7 million

LOCAL AD

Allegory Marketing Solutions, a local advertising, marketing and public relations firm, bought one spot during the Super Bowl; it will feature the firm’s tag line: “We see things differently.” A clip of the commercial is shown to the left.