Marketers advertising on the Super Bowl face two challenges. The main issue is breaking through the clutter during the game. The other challenge is getting PR attention in the days leading up to the event.
The PR battle isn’t easy. There are only so many news outlets and business writers. A newspaper has only one front page each day and can only fit a certain number of stories. There are dozens of Super Bowl advertisers fighting for coverage.
Soda Stream has deftly managed its PR this year and is getting enormous attention as a result. For a small advertiser, Soda Stream is getting disproportionate amount of coverage.
Soda Stream got off to a strong start when it announced in early January that it had signed Scarlett Johansson to be its spokesperson. This move provided a big boost for the brand. Johansson did a number of interviews discussing Soda Stream. Here is an example of the coverage:
Last weekend, Soda Stream was back in the news when it revealed that Fox had rejected its Super Bowl ad because it mentioned Coke and Pepsi by name. Daniel Birnbaum, CEO, announced the news and said he was shocked by the decision. He sputtered, “This is the kind of stuff that happens in China. I’m disappointed as an American.” You can read more about it here:
Soda Stream wasn’t surprised about the Fox rejection; it was just creating news.
The brand is again in the news today defending its factory in the West Bank. This is less favorable coverage but news nonetheless. Scarlett put out a statement about it:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/scarlett-johansson-addresses-criticism-sodastream-674051
The overall impact is quite impressive. Soda Stream is everywhere. As of today, its rejected commercial has 1,587,464 views. You can contribute to the totals by watching the spot here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxq4ziu-wrI
This is a great example of how a brand can get media attention by creating and managing the flow of news.
The only problem is that I think the basic strategy is off; saving the world is a nice concept but it won’t drive adoption of the Soda Stream. Product quality and image matter more.
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If you are in Chicago, join me the evening of February 5 for a review of the 2014 Super Bowl advertising. I’ll be showing many of the commercials and discussing which ones scored well with the Kellogg panel and which ones didn’t. It should be a fun event. You can sign up here:
https://kelloggalumni.northwestern.edu/events/eventview.asp?EventID=4890
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