Super Bowl Ads Without a Super-Sized Budget

Did you know that small businesses can advertise profitably on the Super Bowl? At a cost of $7 million for 30 seconds of airtime, the Super Bowl may seem out of reach and a poor investment for most of us marketers without deep pockets. But according to Statista, only the moon is bigger than the Super Bowl. The 2024 edition of the "big game" was watched by more than 123 million people, making it the second most-watched U.S. television broadcast ever, behind the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.

In this episode, Josh Wilson, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Whitefish Credit Union, demystifies the Super Bowl advertising challenge and shares how to leverage and exploit regional advertising against national players. Josh has made financial services marketing not only effective but fun. Big news: His company won a Regional Emmy Award for their 2023 commercial series. Ever heard of Hooky Bobbin? Take a listen.

Josh highlights three key areas for winning at regional marketing:

• Be authentic with your brand by using real people and real locations in your ads. Your customers and prospects will recognize and appreciate the familiar scenes, versus stock photographs.
• It's helpful to be a regional business. Broadcast can be cost effective in a hyper-local market where media owners are willing to negotiate fees, and viewership can be as high as 50%.
• Measure incremental awareness in addition to cost/impression. And don't discount Word of Mouth as a key metric.

Additionally, check out the ads Josh talks about!

• Hooky Bobbin' | 2023 | Whitefish Credit Union (youtube.com)
• Broken Check | 2023 | Whitefish Credit Union (youtube.com)
• Backflip Deposit | 2023 | Whitefish Credit Union (youtube.com)

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About our Guest

Josh Wilson
Senior Vice President of Marketing at Whitefish Credit Union

Josh Wilson is an award-winning marketing professional with more than 10 years of experience in financial institutions and government. He is passionate about combining data-driven marketing strategies with authentic content to provide measurable success.

He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Whitefish Credit Union, the largest credit union in Montana. Prior to that, he was Director of Advertising & Market Research for a regional financial institution based in Southern California. His positions have concentrated on crafting integrated multi-channel marketing campaigns with a focus on marketing attribution.

Wilson holds a master’s degree in Data Marketing Communications from West Virginia University and completed his undergraduate at Chapman University. Over the course of his career, he has held positions in marketing, finance, and government. His campaigns have received multiple awards, including the highest marketing honors from the Marketing Association of Credit Unions and the Credit Union National Association.

Wilson believes community engagement is essential to success. He has served on various volunteer boards, and he has also been elected to public office.

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Meet the Hosts

Cyndi W. Greenglass is a founding partner and president at Livingston Strategies, a data-informed, strategic consulting firm that helps clients develop, execute, and measure their customer communications with a close focus on results. Cyndi has razor-sharp strategic skills matched by impeccable on-the-ground savvy and tactical abilities. She is an Adjunct Instructor in the Data Marketing Communications online master's degree program from West Virginia University.

Greenglass has twice been named into the Top 100 Influential BTB Marketers by Crain’s BtoB Magazine and was the 2012 CADM Chicago Direct Marketer of the Year. She is a member of the Board of Advisors for BRAND United and has taught, trained and presented at over 50 conferences throughout the world.

Ruth P. Stevens consults on customer acquisition and retention, for business-to-business clients. Ruth serves on the boards of directors of the HIMMS Media Group, and the Business Information Industry Association. She is a trustee of Princeton-In-Asia, past chair of the Business-to-Business Council of the DMA, and past president of the Direct Marketing Club of New York.

Ruth was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Marketing by Crain’s BtoB magazine, and one of 20 Women to Watch by the Sales Lead Management Association. She serves as a mentor to fledgling companies at the ERA business accelerator in New York City.

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