Experiment to find the right flavor of bravery
Stepping onto a transformed stage makes every day like a first pancake. It may not come out perfectly, but we shouldn’t fear stepping in.
In the immortal words of William Goldman, “Nobody knows anything.” You don’t know what’s going to work until you do it. The first pancake you make might not look pretty, but it’s just as delicious. So do it, measure and try again. The only thing worse than failing with the New Mainstream is not trying to win with the New Mainstream.
Kudos to the brands who just stepped in and tried something new with a distinct take on culture and language. I’m biased, but I love Verizon celebrating the Big Game with both Beyoncé on CBS and our ad with J Balvin on Univision. One theme with two very different manifestations. Also, we enjoyed helping Volkswagen take its spot in both broadcasts and more.
Big Game voices must be relearned
Many brands have had years to learn their Big Game Voice (characters? jokes? cute animals?) but often, that voice has been in the English language. It takes time to learn a new language, more so when you’re searching for that epic voice for a big stage.
To those brands who just ran their English language spots on Univision, a big thank you for showing up to the party. Next and now is the time for you to find a new voice as well. Keep pushing.
Find unfair fights to win
Finding the right voice with the right audience is how brands should invest wisely. Find the unfair fights you can win.
Maybe your brand has sufficient resources to build a platform that reaches all audiences. Great. Do that and win. Maybe your brand only has limited resources. Great. Focus on key audiences at the point of cultural breakthrough to lead growth.
It could be a Spanish-language broadcast or a niche creator community. The old model asked for broad reach. The key to victory today, more than ever before, is finding communities to focus on and understanding how to build deep empathy with them.
These days there’s more than one Big Game
We’ve entered a new era where the Super Bowl is not the only big game in town. This Super Bowl (it only took us LXVII times) is just the beginning of a new series of more diverse main stages that brands will have to pay attention to. Copa America 2024 will be massive. And the World Cup is not too long after that.
