Sunday’s Super Bowl was one for the ages. Back and forth for 59 minutes. It was anybody’s game. With 11 seconds to go, former Georgia Tech kicker, Harrison Butker, ended the Eagles’ dream of winning the game. The Chiefs won a nail-biter 38-35.
There was a lot of other stuff going on the night as well. It’s called business. As a marketing guy, I like using the big game as a measuring stick for the economy. What’s hot and what’s not.
I look at the marketing, the branding and look to see what I can divine for future sales. All 3 wrapped up in a nice package with a bow on it.
OK, crypto was nowhere to be seen. Not surprising. After 2022, crypto is a bad 6 letter word. (On a side note, I’m a huge contrarian so I’m buying crypto because I see it as a can’t miss proposition. More on that later)
The ads used a bunch of old stars and flashbacks to movies of yesteryear. Sylvester Stallone reenacting scenes from his 1993 movie “Cliffhanger” and Michael O’Keefe reprising his role as Danny Noonan from “Caddyshack” saying “be the ball”. All in all not bad unless you weren’t old enough to get the inside jokes.
Then, we had the half-time show.
I can honestly say that I had no idea who Rihanna was prior to the show. Not a clue. In the commercials leading up to Sunday, her hairdo looked like something out of a Dr. Suess book.
My take is that the music wasn’t bad. I have ears made for talk radio and the only music I actually listen to is Southern Gospel. So for me to make it through the entire 29 minutes is noteworthy.
What she did do was make an impact.
The color combination was striking – it really popped. The fact that it was done in multiple dimensions was an act of genius. I don’t know what kind of insurance policy was necessary to get her that high in the air, but it will more than pay for itself in the long run.
Turning to Google, Rihanna’s appearance during halftime of Super Bowl LVII launched a reported 10 million Google searches.
My wife searched for whether or not she was pregnant (she is). I won the bet we had.
The singer’s act of putting on her own brand of make-up (Fenty) during the performance saw Google Searches for Fenty increase by 833 per cent.
Her overall streams on Spotify spiked more than 640% across the United States.
Social media traffic showed a 2.5 million increase in her social following.
Not a bad night for her first solo appearance in 7 years.
Rihanna’s performance is a case study for anyone looking to grow their brand. It’s all about ownership. You own your brand, your products, and you are accountable for the results you get.
A word I’ve seen bandied about is empowerment. If you want it, you have to go and get it. Rihanna did just that.
Bobby Christy
