How Super Bowl can serve desi exporters

Tentpole events like the ongoing NFL Super Bowl in the US, or IPL that starts this season next month, weave an economic narrative through inclusions, exclusions and creatives. Prospects of pitching to a broad spectrum of consumers push spot rates to jaw-dropping levels. Price sets the entry barrier for only those companies in the pink of health. The sheer number of eyeballs are suited to raising brand awareness, rather than pushing products, which acquires traction in segmented marketing. New brands use these events as a coming-out party while older, more established ones can’t bypass them to reinforce their value proposition. In an era of atomised marketing, where individual marketing messages can be delivered on mobiles based on consumer behaviour, Super Bowl and IPL represent brand tournaments with a definitive set of winners.

Yet, like the tournaments they showcase, the set of brand winners is rarely constant. Entire industries being absent from such marketing extravaganzas signals stress points in the economy, be it automobiles, tech companies or consumer electronics. Sluggish sales, sustainability concerns, or layoffs make for sombre messaging that does not sit well with the celebration of sport. An economy downcast because of inflation or unemployment affects single-event marketing plans of consumer goods companies. Asset classes, too, have performance-based representation. Startups make an appearance when investor interest is high.

Creatives also have a varying storyline, reinforcing the economic mood. Brand messaging is usually more upbeat when economic uncertainty recedes. Deciphering the economic context in which these events are held is quite easy actually, and fairly accurate to boot. No high frequency economic indicator is spot on, and ad content offers its own unique perspective. Viewership of around 10 crore for a single event allows for periodic sampling of consumer and producer mood. Super Bowl helps reveal economic preferences that serve exporters in Asia. That is a fair amount of signalling.