This year’s 30 second Super Bowl slots were up for grabs at a discounted price: $2.5-3 million dollars, down from last year when they averaged $3 million per slot on NBC. As General Motors and Pepsi bowed out of the 2010 ad extravaganza, other Super Bowl brand staples pressed on in pursuit of consumer-reaching communication.

And the results? Traditional media isn’t what it used to be.

Super Bowl ads are one of the largest scale attempts at commercializing a product or service — but in terms of innovation, that’s only one third of the story. Innovation is the synchronized intersection where an unmet consumer need meets a product, service or business model that fulfills that need, and the communication that connects the two. So, in that light, let’s take the hype out of the Super Bowl ads to examine the brand as an innovative entity, not just a communicative one.

Because let’s face it, consumers are no longer content to just be entertained or to be tempted to buy a novel product that doesn’t fill any real need in their lives — and communication can’t be viewed as the main event.

How did the 2010 Super Bowl Brands do with regards to innovation?

According to our 2010 Super Bowl study, just so-so. Brands either correctly identified the unmet need, but then failed with communication, or the product. Or they hit and missed on a variety of the three components of innovation.

Let’s look at Skechers to demonstrate one of these innovation blunders.



Seven in ten respondents expressed a desire to add exercise into their day — a strong “need” score. And a similar number of consumers wanted to be doing more for their health while going about their daily routine — again a confirmation of a real need in the marketplace. This in and of itself is a great accomplishment and should be commended. The lack of finding of real needs and tensions in the marketplace is often where companies and brands fail first when attempting innovation.

How did Skechers do in terms of coming up with a solution or idea to meet that need: A $90-$120 sneaker that features a soft wedge insert and rolling bottom to help you get in shape while you walk. When tested, 21% indicated that they might purchase this sneaker — a fairly respectable trial score given the price-point and the fact that this was tested among general consumers. But certainly there is room for improvement.

What about the third element of innovation: the communication? An even stronger deterioration: A few days after the game, only 4% of the respondents remembered the Skechers Super Bowl ad. And it never had the added effect of making it on the viral video charts — a secondary goal of any brand attempting to reach consumers on a large scale today.

Thus, our recommendation: Always measure, analyze and score your innovation efforts across  three elements — the need, the idea and the communication that links the two. Getting all three right is critical to innovation - and securing long term growth.

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