Super Bowl

“Anyone who is popular is bound to be disliked”

Yogi Berra, a very disliked New York Yankee

Song: 20 Missed Calls by Branden Bales

Article: If it’s All in Bold by Seth Godin

Thought: The Super Bowl is the largest viewed event in US sports. This year 113 million people watched it. However, 119 million people watched Rihanna at halftime so it was more like a concert surrounded by a football game. An estimated 1.5 billion people watched the World Cup final just a few months ago. Those are staggering numbers to comprehed.

An ad in the Super Bowl costs around $7M. There are roughly 330 million Americans so 35% potentially saw the ad. It’s safe to assume 50% don’t need, don’t want, or like a competitor for your product; therefore, 56.5 million or 17% of Americans. Of the remaining half, 50% of those won’t do anything cause they are the slow majority or laggards (e.g., people who still don’t buy on Amazon or have multiple streaming services). That leaves 28 million people or 9% of all Americans. You spent, just on the ad time cost, $4 per person assume they convert to sales. For one thing, that’s a lot if your product isn’t at least $20. For another, you really aren’t that popular if 9% will actually buy, use and recommend your product. So why do it?

You do it to find your audience and let them know you exist and how you can help. You don’t have to matter to everyone – just 1 in 10 people. The market share of Apple iPhones worldwide is 25% (1 in 4 people) and the market share of Coke worldwide is 20% (1 in 5 people). 20% sounds pretty small when you can probably stumble into 9%; but that’s the difference between some of the biggest brands and the average ones.

You don’t need a message for everyone or even to be liked by very many. All you need is 1 in 4 people to think you’re amazing enough to be close to. A good reminder not just in product marketing but in your personal life too. Very few people are truly going to like you – even if you spend millions to be seen by them.