The Super Bowl is that rare TVevent where fans watch the commercials as intently as the programming, which also means that marketers are looking to gain traction not only on the big screen that friends and family are watching together, but on individual mobile devices through social and search channels.
Brands that paid millions of dollars for a single TV spot boosted their investment by leveraging cross-screen engagement, while other brands, even those who didn’t advertise during Super Bowl LVI, looked to take advantage of all the attention around a single event to redirect some of those eyeballs and clicks toward their product.
Why we care. Performance and brand success during the Super Bowl has broader implications for the rest of the year. Marketers use the occasion of the Super Bowl to introduce new strategies and messages.
As the relationship between linear TV, CTV and mobile-first social platforms evolves, marketers across the industry can learn lessons about these moving goalposts and how they apply to their particular brand game plan.
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Game Day or Game Week? Brands that show an ad during the game are looking to gain awareness during their big moment. But they also realize that the hype surrounding the game begins much sooner, and hopefully extends in the days and weeks following.
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A little further down, we’ll look at specific wins during the big game. But it’s worth noting that because there has been a lot of attention lately paid to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology (including the use of NFTs in marketing campaigns), that attention overall grew last week for NFTs and cryptocurrency.
This doesn’t mean that awareness didn’t spike to another level during the game. The most unlikely sign of advertising success during the Super Bowl was probably when Coinbase’s ad ran with a QR code and the Coinbase app crashed from all the traffic. Mission accomplished, I guess!
Game Week lifts or more of the same? Omnichannel marketing platform Zeta Global took the long view and found that awareness for crypto and NFTs was up week over week by 67.6% and 101%, respectively. It suggests not only that the public is interested, but that they are making some distinctions between two areas in the combined blockchain arena.
Image: Zeta Global.
Social media influence. AI-driven influencer platform Influential tracked 288 million social mentions during Super Bowl LVI. It’s also not surprising, given their interest in personalities, that they ranked celebrities featured in ads this year by the number of social mentions garnered during the game. In this way, Super Bowl ads can be seen as super-powered influencer efforts.
Here are the top celebrities and the brands that featured them in a Super Bowl ad, according to Influential:
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Zendaya (Squarespace)
Dolly Parton (T-Mobile)
Eugene Levy (Nissan)
Matthew McConaughey (Salesforce)
Larry David (FTX Crypto)
Intent. Influential also took a close look at user behavior on social to determine what ads drove the most purchase intent. Note here that Coinbase, although the ad crashed its app within seconds, didn’t even crack the Top 5.
Image: Influential
Discovery and search. Taking a step back from actionable intent, sometimes marketers are looking to connect with new customers who are still in the discovery phase. To this aim, Larry David worked very well, according to Google’s own analysis of trending topics on Google and YouTube.
Here’s their list of top celebs that were searched during the Super Bowl:
Larry David
Dr. Evil
Jim Carrey
Peyton Manning
Scarlett Johansson
One final point to note about Super Bowl ad traction and marketing success – views don’t always correlate to search and discovery. The five most searched advertisements during the game were Budweiser, Michelob ULTRA, Doritos, Coinbase and Chevy. None of these five brands cracked the global top 10 for ad views. And believe it or not, the third highest Gameday Views winner, according to Google, was Hyundai USA’s “History of Evolution” spot, which didn’t even run during the game.
In planning for the next Super Bowl, marketers should keep in mind that the game, and expensive ad placements during it, can be part of a winning plan. But there is a complex digital ecosphere where the real game is won or lost through discovery and purchase intent on search and social media.
About The Author
Chris Wood draws on over 15 years of reporting experience as a B2B editor and journalist. At DMN, he served as associate editor, offering original analysis on the evolving marketing tech landscape. He has interviewed leaders in tech and policy, from Canva CEO Melanie Perkins, to former Cisco CEO John Chambers, and Vivek Kundra, appointed by Barack Obama as the country’s first federal CIO. He is especially interested in how new technologies, including voice and blockchain, are disrupting the marketing world as we know it. In 2019, he moderated a panel on “innovation theater” at Fintech Inn, in Vilnius. In addition to his marketing-focused reporting in industry trades like Robotics Trends, Modern Brewery Age and AdNation News, Wood has also written for KIRKUS, and contributes fiction, criticism and poetry to several leading book blogs. He studied English at Fairfield University, and was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He lives in New York.
Phi-3-Mini is the first in a family of small language models Microsoft plans to release over the coming weeks. Phi-3-Small and Phi-3-Medium are in the works. In contrast to large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, small language models are trained on much smaller datasets and are said to be much more affordable for users.
We are excited to introduce Phi-3, a family of open AI models developed by Microsoft. Phi-3 models are the most capable and cost-effective small language models (SLMs) available, outperforming models of the same size and next size up across a variety of language, reasoning, coding and math benchmarks.
What are they for? For one thing, the reduced size of this language model may make it suitable to run locally, for example as an app on a smartphone. Something the size of ChatGPT lives in the cloud and requires an internet connection for access.
While ChatGPT is said to have over a trillion parameters, Phi-3-Mini has only 3.8 billion. Sanjeev Bora, who works with genAI in the healthcare space, writes: “The number of parameters in a model usually dictates its size and complexity. Larger models with more parameters are generally more capable but come at the cost of increased computational requirements. The choice of size often depends on the specific problem being addressed.”
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Phi-3-Mini was trained on a relatively small dataset of 3.3 trillion tokens — instances of human language expressed numerically. But that’s still a lot of tokens.
Why we care. While it is generally reported, and confirmed by Microsoft, that these SLMs will be much more affordable than the big LLMs, it’s hard to find exact details on the pricing. Nevertheless, taking the promise at face-value, one can imagine a democratization of genAI, making it available to very small businesses and sole proprietors.
We need to see what these models can do in practice, but it’s plausible that use cases like writing a marketing newsletter, coming up with email subject lines or drafting social media posts just don’t require the gigantic power of a LLM.
Are you torn between using long-form or short-form videos for your small business marketing campaign? Well, you are not alone. Despite 89% of consumers wanting to see more brand videos, there is no one-size-fits-all answer about the ideal video length.
However, this should not deter you from creating an effective video strategy. In 2023, people watched an average of 17 videos per day, highlighting the influence of video content in today’s digital landscape.
Both short-form and long-form videos offer unique advantages and come with their set of challenges. Join me as I uncover the benefits and limitations of each video format to help you make informed marketing decisions.
What are Short-Form Videos?
Short videos typically range from 30 seconds to less than 10 minutes long. They are popular on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.
Short-form videos deliver brief yet engaging messages that quickly capture the viewer’s attention. Here are some popular types of short-form video content.
TikTok Challenges
Instagram Reels
Snapchat Stories
YouTube Shorts
Twitter Video Ads
Benefits of Short-Form Videos
A previously cited report shows that 39% of marketers find short-form videos, ranging from 30-60 seconds long, more successful. The same study reports that 44% of customers prefer watching a short video to learn about a brand’s offerings.
So, it is evident that short-form videos have their benefits. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.
Attention-Grabbing
Short-form videos capture attention quickly, making them ideal for the fast-scrolling nature of social media platforms. Your audience is more likely to watch them in their entirety compared to longer content.
Cost-Effective Production
Creating short-form videos requires less time and resources compared to longer videos. As a small business owner with a limited budget, using short-form videos can be cost-effective.
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Increased Engagement
Short-form videos engage viewers due to their crisp and concise nature. This results in more likes, comments, and shares that boost your content’s visibility and increase brand awareness.
Integrating short-form videos into your influencer marketing campaigns can further amplify your reach to new and diverse audiences.
Highly Shareable
Short videos are highly shareable. This makes it more likely for your viewers to share them, increasing their virality.
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While short-form videos offer many advantages in content marketing, they also present some challenges.
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Limited Message Depth
Due to their brief duration, short-form videos may struggle to convey complex or detailed messages. Longer videos might be more suitable if you need to communicate intricate information.
Competition for Attention
Standing out on platforms flooded with short-form video content can be challenging. You must create content that stands out to avoid becoming lost in the sea of other videos.
Shorter Lifespan
Short videos may lose their relevance with time. They can quickly get buried in users’ feeds, leading to a shorter visibility and engagement period than longer, evergreen content.
This means you must consistently create short-form videos to maintain audience interest over time.
Limited SEO Impact
Short-form videos may be more challenging to optimize for search engines than longer, more keyword-rich content. This can affect the discoverability of your content outside the social media scene.
What are Long-Form Videos?
Long-form videos are typically longer, ranging from a few minutes to several hours. They extend beyond a few minutes to several hours, providing ample time for in-depth topic exploration and detailed content.
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These videos are particularly suitable for educational content, product demonstrations, and narrative-driven storytelling. Long-form videos are common on platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. Common types of long-form video content include:
YouTube Series
Webinars
Educational Tutorials and Courses:
Behind-the-Scenes Content
Interviews and Conversations
Advantages of Long-Form Videos
Long-form video content is the fastest-growing segment, with videos above 30 minutes experiencing tremendous growth over the years. Let’s explore some of the benefits behind this growth.
Establishes Expertise and Credibility
Long-form videos allow you to provide in-depth information about various subjects, establishing your brand as an authority. Potential customers will likely trust and rely on your insights when you consistently deliver valuable content.
Builds Strong Audience Connections
The more your audience watches your videos, the more they become familiar with your content and brand. This consistent engagement promotes trust and loyalty, helping you create deeper connections with your audience.
Provide SEO Optimization Opportunities
Long-form videos keep your audience engaged for a longer duration than short ones. This signals search engines that your content provides value, resulting in higher rankings and increased visibility.
Besides, these videos provide opportunities to optimize for relevant keywords. This Attrock guide offers more insights into the value of SEO for your small business.
They Are Sustainable
Unlike short videos, well-produced and valuable long-form videos have an extended shelf life. They can continue to attract views and engagement over an extended period, contributing to a sustainable content strategy.
Instagram reels are also a part of short videos and you can get benefits from this platform by integrating it with your website. You can learn how to embed Instagram Reels on websites and get extra benefits from your Reels.
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Drawbacks of Long-Form Videos
Despite their benefits, long-form videos also have certain limitations, including:
Attention Span Challenges
Between distractions, juggling tasks, and information overload, user attention span quickly diminishes. Viewers may lose interest and disengage from your long video before its conclusion.
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Creating high-quality long-form videos requires more resources, including time, equipment, and skilled personnel. This can be disadvantageous, especially for small businesses with limited budgets.
Platform Limitations
Some social media platforms and video hosting sites may limit video length, making it challenging to distribute long-form video content. You may then be forced to repurpose your content to suit various platforms.
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Short-Form or Long-Form Videos: Which Are Better?
Now that you know the benefits and limitations of each format, which one should you choose? Short-form or long-form videos?
Well, it all boils down to considering several factors, such as:
Content Objectives
What do you want to achieve from your video marketing campaign? Short-form videos are highly effective for quick brand exposure and generating buzz. Long-form videos, on the other hand, contribute to a more in-depth understanding of the brand.
Target Audience Preferences
Audiences with short attention spans likely prefer short-form videos, while long-form videos appeal to those seeking a more immersive experience.
Similarly, short-form videos may appeal more to younger audiences, while older demographics may prefer the depth of long-form content.
Platform Dynamics
Various platforms support different content formats. Short-form videos are well-suited for platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. On the other hand, platforms like YouTube and Vimeo are better for hosting longer videos.
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Industry Type
Short-form videos would be ideal if your industry thrives on trends, entertainment, and quick messages. However, long-form videos are effective for industries requiring in-depth explanations or educational content.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, choosing short-form or long-form videos depends on your business’s specific needs and goals. Since both formats have advantages and limitations, making a choice may prove difficult.
However, it doesn’t have to be an uphill task. The key lies in recognizing when to incorporate each video format into your marketing strategy. Understanding your audience and its needs allows you to combine both formats strategically, maximizing the benefits of each.
Continuously analyze performance metrics and adapt your video marketing strategy accordingly to ensure optimal engagement and conversion rates.
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