Voice of the Box recently interviewed University of Washington athletic department nutritionist Emily Edison about her role and how she got her start in the industry. Emily also shared her insight on what it takes to break into a career within the sports industry.

About Matt Crevin

If you are passionate about pursuing a career in the sports industry and want to discover how top level insiders got their start, connect with Matt today. Matt provides a unique look into the careers of many sports industry executives, revealing their success stories, advice and techniques you can put to use as part of your search strategy. Collaborate with Matt and start listening, learning, creating and executing your own action plan! Equipped with business background and sports insider’s knowledge, Matt is ready to share his passion and knowledge with you! He delivers to his individual clients a unique process and format which gives sports industry hopefuls a unique look into the numerous career opportunities available in the sports industry and more importantly how to position yourself to break in.

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Super Bowl advertisements have long been one of the best ways to get your brand exposure and eyeballs. Take Go Daddy for example. The company, known for its racy advertising, began airing 30-second commercial spots during the Super Bowl in 2005. Since then, Go Daddy has become the largest certified domain registrar in the world, with more than 36 million domains under its management.

The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched television events on a yearly basis, with somewhere between 40 – 43% of households watching (98 million viewers in 2009). Two days ago, Nielsen released survey results that stated just over half of the audience that tunes into the Super Bowl enjoys the commercials more than the actual game. “This survey reinforces the value of the Super Bowl as a marketing bonanza, featuring one of the most receptive TV audiences in the world,” said Randall Beard, executive vice president of Nielsen IAG. “With so many viewers waiting for the pitch, the pressure is on advertisers to create and place ads that will have a lasting impact.”

The big kicker is that Super Bowl ads are not cheap! Last year, a 30-second spot cost $3 million. With a lot of advertising turning towards social media in the past year, a very low-cost initiative, companies are becoming a little more hesitant to spend the money on one Super Bowl ad. Suddenly they can get far more “bang for their buck” online.

Some Companies Have Had Enough

In mid-December, PepsiCo Inc. announced that they would not advertise in the 2010 Super Bowl, ending a 23-year run. Instead, the company has decided to put the money into a new, online marketing effort. Last year, between advertisements for Pepsi, Gatorade, and Cheetos, PepsiCo Inc. spent $33 million. They admit that the Super Bowl still brings incredible value to their brands. However, it is making less and less sense for them to put that kind of money into one event, when they can spread it out online. Pepsi spokeswoman, Nicole Bradley, said “In 2010, each of our beverage brands has a strategy and marketing platform that will be less about a singular event and more about a movement.”

Other companies have backed out of the Super Bowl as well. FedEx has decided not to advertise in 2010, for the second year in a row, citing cost issues. General Motors has also decided not to advertise in the Super Bowl. So, while the Super Bowl still possesses great value for brands, it simply isn’t making as much sense as it used to to spend that kind of money.

Other Brands Are Getting Creative

While some major companies are pulling out of the Super Bowl, others are finding ways to be innovative. This year, the Doritos brand has launched its fourth annual Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” challenge, inviting regular people to create self-made advertisements to be aired during the big game. For the past few years Doritos has been getting interactive with its fans and consumers by allowing them this opportunity. This year there is an added incentive. According to a press release, contestants this year “are shooting to make history by beating the ad pros and garnering the top three spots in USA TODAY’s annual Ad Meter. If they can do it, Doritos will award the winners a shared $5 million cash prize.” Online consumers will decide which of the six finalists (chosen by Doritos) will have their ads run in the Super Bowl. Fans in the U.S. can vote once per day between January 5 and 31, 2010.

Doritos has done a nice job with this campaign. By creating an interactive and engaging process for their fans, they have created an “out of the box” Super Bowl campaign. For them, it’s worth it to spend the rumored $2.5-2.8 million per commercial, because they are building their brand and engaging with customers along the way. They created a captivating campaign that will build up to the Super Bowl that has a lot of people invested. You can bet all of those fans who voted will tune in to see which commercial made it.

One note I would point out is that, while they are promoting the campaign through Twitter and Facebook, their Twitter account (@DoritosUSA) has around 700 followers. While their Facebook page has about 750,000 fans, there is no real community there. Fans post infrequently, and their status updates don’t get a lot of interaction. It seems Doritos doesn’t focus too much on their social media accounts. I think the campaign could have been a real home run had the brand found a way to incorporate social media a bit more.

A Tough Decision

So what do you think? Is it still worth it for advertisers to spend the money on Super Bowl commercials when they can spread that amount of money over a much larger campaign through social media and probably see more meaningful results? In my opinion, it’s really a case-by-case basis. The Super Bowl is heavily watched, and there is solid proof that about half of the audience is just watching for the commercials. The Super Bowl has always been known for its great commercials, and I don’t think that will change just yet. Each year, we will see 30-second commercial spots continue to drop in price as brands see less of a reason to spend the money. Pepsi, FedEx, and GM have already bailed, and more companies will follow their lead. We now live in a world where brands have to engage. With that shifting mentality, it will be interesting to see if and when Super Bowl commercials will really become obsolete.

Truth be told, I love Super Bowl commercials, and I’m looking forward to watching them this year. Obviously, the game comes first.

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About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

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RotoHog.com is the next generation of online fantasy sports.  This combines a traditional points scoring system with an innovative stock market-style trading to make an exciting fantasy sports game.

Currently, Rotohog is partnered with and powering major sports leagues, leading international brands and global media companies.  Receive 50% Off any purchase of Premium Service, Platinum Service, Championship Service, Draft Kit or Pricing Guide with this code: RHSEP3.

Kelly Perdew is the CEO of Rotohog. You may recognize him from winning the Apprentice 2, the popular business focused reality show with Donald Trump. If you are interested in connecting with Kelly or learning more about Rotohog click here

About Lewis Howes

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Tim Hayden is the CEO of Vivid Sky, and creator of the in-stadium wireless initiative where fans can access unlimited content through a cell phone or through Vivid Sky’s rugged handheld devices.  His product is perfect for venues, stadiums, and arenas to provide more for fans including  instant replays, stats, and stadium services directly from their seat.

Tim also serves on the board of many non-profit organizations in St. Louis and is an adjunct professor at St. Louis University where he teaches several Entrepreneurship classes. Tim is a prime example of someone who creates innovative products that improve the sports industry.  If you are interested in connecting with Tim and learning more about his various ventures, please connect with him on LinkedIn and check out his Vivid Sky Web site.

About Lewis Howes

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