Case 4-1 Doritos Crashes the Super Bowl
Overview
Imagine a brand taking a risk so daring that Las Vegas set odds on whether it would pay off. That brand is Doritos. With a motto “go big or go home,” Doritos pioneered and proved the power of consumer-created content by boldly airing fan-made Super Bowl spots in 2007 and 2008. Both ads placed No. 4 in USA Today’s prestigious ad meter, which ranks Super Bowl ads from most to least favorite. But, this year, Doritos elevated the stakes, taking a chance on its consumers that could lead to unprecedented success or a significant letdown. Doritos put up $1 million for the fan whose home-made Doritos Super Bowl ad could trump Madison Avenue and become the first-ever user-generated commercial to take the top spot in USA Today’s ad meter. No brand, even with the backing of top-notch ad agencies, had been able to beat Budweiser for the No. 1 ranking for the past decade. Could a Doritos fan actually dethrone the king? With millions in broadcast advertising dollars and the brand’s reputation at stake, public relations served a lead role in driving high-quality submissions and strong ROI. The PR strategy turned what could have been only a one-week news cycle into six months of coverage that drove entries and overall awareness of the David vs. Goliath moments on Super Bowl Sunday and the next day, when USA Today revealed Doritos was No. 1, turning the unemployed winners into millionaires and media darlings overnight.
Research (answer one)
· How effective were the primary and secondary research for the campaign? List additional primary and secondary research initiatives that would have benefitted and informed the campaign.
· Was it a surprise to see that the research found that traditional media was still needed as a vital part of the campaign?
Objectives (answer one)
· What were the strengths of each of the goals and objectives for the campaign?
· Could there have been additional measurement parameters added to the objectives beyond media measurement?
Programming (answer two)
· Was the target audience too broad? What were the benefits of dividing the audience into “core” and “broader?”
· Was the decision to air user-generated content (UGR) risky for the biggest promotional moment of the year risky for Frito-Lay?
· Did the traditional media outreach aid in the success of the campaign?
· Did the university outreach surprise you considering how targeted an effort it was?
Evaluation (answer one)
· Is it effective to compare the earned media impressions with the cost of advertising?
· Should increased sales have been an objective?
· Was 600 million media impressions sufficient considering the $1 million cash prize?