The Super Bowl is a high-stakes gamble for attention.<\/p>\n
For marketers, typical buy-in requires a media buy to the tune of at least $7 million, creative production costs, talent fees, and the faith that, in spite of the intense competition for 125 million viewers\u2019 attention, your ad will stand out to make it all worth it.<\/p>\n
Some, though, place their bets while circumventing the TV Super Bowl stage entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are always looking for a bargain, and marketers fall into that category, too,\u201d Allen Adamson, co-founder of brand consultancy Metaforce, told us. \u201c\u2018Isn\u2019t there a way to get the Super Bowl for less?\u2019 You can get a piece of it for less. How small that piece is, and is it any good, is the question.\u201d<\/p>\n
How brands go about getting that bargain varies. Some opt for a regional ad buy in the hopes that doing so could generate some buzz, which media companies TBPN and 404 Media did, as well as drink brands like Garage Beer and Bum Energy, which also hosted an activation in that same market that it bought a spot, St. Joseph, Missouri. Others sat out the broadcast entirely, but still worked with recognizable talent on social campaigns in the hope that they\u2019d stand out on consumers\u2019 smallest screens.<\/p>\n
DoorDash, for example, tapped entertainer, recent documentary producer, and famous troll 50 Cent, for a social campaign that leaned into his hater persona called \u201cBeef 101.\u201d The brand was building on a \u201ccore strategic insight from social,\u201d Zaria Parvez, head of social at DoorDash, told Marketing Brew; last fall, when Nicki Minaj and Cardi B were arguing on X, DoorDash tweeted, \u201cwe have beef\u2026 available on DoorDash.\u201d It went viral, and the idea for this year\u2019s campaign was born.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople responded really positively to it,\u201d Parvez told us. \u201cIt also was a good value prop, because it showed that [we] don\u2019t just have takeout. We have groceries and all these things. And so we were like, \u2018How do we build [on] this viral social moment?\u2019 We were thinking about a social-first Super Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n