Sunrise Advertising

By: Brian McHale

Brands are funny things. They have life. They can change over time. They can be hard to define. Some stay true to themselves while others veer wildly out of control.

Brands that are established or have history often “keep on keeping on” with whatever worked in the past, not taking into account the changing world around them. This can lead to the brand’s growth rate slowing or declining. It can also give the competition room to grow or out maneuver its once stronger competitor.

This doesn’t mean the established brand should just try to die gracefully or hang on for a little while longer. It most likely means the brand is, what I like to call, “stuck.”

So, is your brand “stuck”? Did you once dominate your category or hold a strong second position only to be out gunned by the competition? Do you feel like your brand has lost touch with its customer base?

It can be hard to pull the trigger to try something new. But the world around your brand is continuing to evolve, so if your brand isn’t also evolving and changing, you’re stuck. That doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel. On the contrary, it is a perfect time to innovate.

I have worked with a number of brands that were “stuck” over the course of my career. Most of them were still really good brands with a solid foundation but they just needed to adapt to the changing world.

If your brand is stuck, here are two areas you should consider.

One, is what you are communicating about your brand being done in a relevant way for today’s customer? People like to communicate in different ways today versus how you may have done it a few years ago. Even if you are using the most up to date communication channels, think about if what you are saying is still relevant to your customer? Like communication channels, peoples’ priorities have changed.

That brings us to the second area to consider. Is your product or service still relevant? Should you add something that leverages your current expertise but speaks more strongly to today’s customer or where your category is going?

Find the best parts of your brand’s heritage and make sure to make them relevant for your customer this year. That may mean change on your brand’s part but it also might once again lead to the success your brand used to enjoy.

By: Bill Brassine

Just 10 hours after the trophy presentation, it was announced that Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49er’s delivered a record high rating and viewership for CBS.  The announcement ended up being a bit premature.  The 35 minute delay due to the unexpected power outage also caused some confusion on how the overall game’s ratings should be reported.

After the final tabulation the game ended up being the 3^rd highest rated television event in history just behind Super Bowls XLVI in 2012 and XLV in 2011.

1) Super Bowl XLVI:  Sunday, February 5^th, 2012 in Indianapolis, IN

          – New York Giants 21 / New England Patriots 17

          – NBC: Al Michaels & Cris Collinsworth

          – 47.0 National Household Rating

          – 71% Share of TV’s in use

          – 111,300,000 total average viewers

2) Super Bowl XLV: Sunday, February 6^th, 2011 in Dallas, TX

          – Green Bay Packers 31 / Pittsburgh Steelers 25

          – FOX: Joe Buck & Troy Aikman

          – 46.0 National Household Rating

          – 69% Share of TV’s in use

          – 111,000,000 total average viewers

3) Super Bowl XLVII: Sunday, February 3^rd, 2013 in New Orleans, LA

          – Baltimore Ravens 34 / San Francisco 49er’s 31

          – CBS: Phil Sims & Jim Nantz

          – 46.3 National Household Rating

          – 69% Share of TV’s in use

          – 108,400,000 total average viewers

The NFL has seen a decline in regular season viewership during the 2012 season so they have to be pleased with the strong showing and interest in this year’s Super Bowl.

During the first half and after the second half kick-off it looked like it was going to be the NFL’s and CBS’s worst nightmare.  Baltimore was running away with the game and viewership was starting fall off.  Then came the mysterious power outage which created a social media firestorm and boosted viewership, and after play resumed San Francisco jumped right back in the game and took it down to the final play of the game.

In our local market of Cincinnati, WKRC saw ratings that out performed the before mentioned strong national numbers.

WKRC averaged a 51.6 rating and 70 share of TV’s in use.  This equates to nearly a ½ million homes in the Cincinnati market tuned into the Super Bowl. It was certainly an event that kept everyone- from fans to advertisers- on the edge of their seats.