Super Bowl Represents Super Selling Opportunity
By George Anderson
Super Bowl XL is less than a month away and the big game in Detroit means big sales for a number of retailers, especially those selling big screen televisions.
Last year, according to NPD Group, sales of the top 10 television models were higher in January than eight of 11 months preceding it. While other consumer electronics see sales
tail off after Christmas, televisions continue selling well in the period right after the holiday.
Randy Baumberger, the president and chief operating officer of Ultimate Electronics, told The Associated Press, “The NFL and the college bowl season is the gift that keeps
on giving for us.”
Many analysts say that declining prices and an emphasis on high definition program viewing and game playing should only add to the television shopping frenzy this year.
Paul Semenza, vice president of display and consumer research at iSuppli Corp., said television sales are further indication of the channel blurring effect. “You can now buy
TVs at supermarkets and office superstores, not to mention Costco and Wal-Mart,” he said.
Moderator’s Comment: What marketing and sales opportunities do you see for retailers (consumer electronics and otherwise) around the Super Bowl? What
outside-the-box recommendations do you have for retailers looking to win big this year and in the future? –
George Anderson – Moderator
The Super Bowl is the third biggest home entertainment occasion of the year behind Christmas and Thanksgiving. Grocers seem to understand the need to emphasize the two holidays, but grossly under merchandise the Super Bowl. I’m continually amazed that grocers don’t do more around the pseudo holidays of Super Bowl, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Columbus Day.
Keep in mind, the idea of selling beer around Halloween was anathema to retailers, until Coors seized the holiday years ago in an effort to have something on the calendar that they could own vs. Anheuser-Busch. Today Halloween is a major beer selling and home entertainment event for adults, both on and off premise.
My feeling is that some bright grocer is going to figure out that they can create a lot of excitement that Wal-Mart’s not going to have, around the pseudo holidays. The rest of the herd will follow their lead. Until then these dates will remain largely underdeveloped.
Wouldn’t it be great if the NFL required every Super Bowl ad campaign to include an anti-drug element? Especially athlete-delivered messages regarding steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs? I, for one, would stay tuned just to see how each advertiser handled the challenge of inserting this type of message into their already-planned marketing promotions.
The giant Super Bowl irony: it’s supposed to be about great athletes, but the advertised themes are frequently the reverse. Beer, snacks, and fast food restaurants don’t help build strong bodies. The spectators’ fantasy: they’d like to be athletes. So the advertising should have health, nutrition, and exercise/activity themes instead of middle-age spread devices. And athletes have sexy bodies. When will fashion retailers use them prominently in their advertising?
Something just shy of about a hundred years ago, Frito Lay determined that the Super Bowl could be our “fifth major holiday.” That promotional effort, incorporating Miller Brewing as a partner in later years, is still one of the peak periods for snack sales. Super Bowl is great for more than just CE retailers. It is fabulous for consumables as well.