Super Bowl ad buy can be a good investment, marketing expert says | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Super Bowl ad buy can be a good investment, marketing expert says Super Bowl ad buy can be a good investment, marketing expert says Published: February 01, 2016 Author: William G. Gilroy Frank Germann As the Super Bowl marks its 50th anniversary, deciding whether to spring for an ad is tougher than ever for companies. According to Ad Age, CBS is asking $5 million for a 30-second spot this year, an increase of 76 percent in a decade. Despite the high cost of the spots, Frank Germann, an assistant professor of marketing in the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, believes a Super Bowl ad can be a good investment for companies under certain circumstances. “Advertisers often look at how much it will cost them to reach 1,000 people with an ad — the cost of a thousand impressions — as they assess different media types,” Germann said. “Considering that about 100 million or more people will watch the Super Bowl, reaching 1,000 people with a Super Bowl ad will cost about $50. In comparison, running an ad in Bloomberg Businessweek costs an estimated $200,000 and the audience size is an estimated 1 million. Hence, the cost per thousand impressions is about $200. Also, a USA Today ad costs an estimated $250,000 and reaches an estimated 2 million. Thus, cost per thousand impressions is about $125. “Bottom line: When one looks at the cost of a Super Bowl ad based on cost per thousand impressions, it’s actually not bad at all. On top of that, people actually pay attention to Super Bowl ads and there is a lot of hype about them before and after the game. There are a few caveats, of course. Importantly, most of the 100 million plus people who watch the Super Bowl should be part of the company’s target customer segment — if not, the ad is probably not going to be effective from a return on investment point of view. In other words, if only 10 million of the folks who watch the Super Bowl would be interested in buying your advertised product, Super Bowl ads are likely not worth it. But if you make Coke or beer or something that most people who watch the Super Bowl would be interested in, and if you have the resources to pay for the ads, putting together a Super Bowl ad might be a great idea.” Contact: Frank Germann, 574-631-4858, fgermann@nd.edu Posted In: Research Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 05, 2022 Astrophysicists find evidence for the presence of the first stars October 04, 2022 NIH awards $4 million grant to psychologists researching suicide prevention September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 22, 2022 Climate-prepared countries are losing ground, latest ND-GAIN index shows For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn