How Taylor Swift could impact Super Bowl advertising

Editor’s note: This story was published before the Kansas City Chiefs punched their ticket to the Super Bowl. A Taylor Swift Super Bowl has become a distinct possibility, and brands are getting ready just in case the NFL’s favorite anti-hero decides she belongs with beau Travis Kelce during the game. But it will take some good karma, including the Kansas City Chiefs beating the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday during the AFC Championship, and Swift making it from Tokyo, where she is touring the day before the Super Bowl, to the Big Game on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas. Advertisers are hoping for a Super Bowl appearance from the pop star because she has been a TV ratings juggernaut since she started attending Kansas City Chiefs games in September. “If the Chiefs win on Sunday we are going to see some crazy [stuff] happen around Taylor Swift conversations on game day that’s for sure,” said John “JT” Terrana, executive VP of media solutions at VaynerMedia. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Swift has been among the most solid ratings draws over the last year, even for the NFL, which is the most-watched TV property in the U.S. The most recent Chiefs playoff game on Sunday reached 50.4 million people, a 10% increase versus the comparable divisional playoff game a year earlier. Earlier this year, NBC credited Swift with increasing viewership by two million among women for a Sunday night Chiefs-Jets game. Last year, 113 million people watched the Super Bowl, and it is believed that Swifties (her fans) could help push those numbers up as they have during the season. The NFL and CBS, which will air the Super Bowl, did not return a request for comment on what Swift could bring to the game if she attended, but marketers are paying attention to any hint of her presence. “The elephant in the room of course is if the Chiefs are in and Taylor Swift’s involved,” said Matt Higgins VP of strategy at Blue Hour Studios, the social media arm of Horizon Media, “It just adds another dimension to that opportunity, just in the fact that more people will be talking about what’s going on outside the game than the game itself.” Also read: The NFL is in its Taylor Swift era Swift has an undeniable halo effect on marketing and entertainment. Last year, she earned a shoutout from the Federal Reserve for boosting the coffers of Philadelphia when her Eras Tour came to town. Last week, the BBC said Swifties could be the catalyst for widespread VR adoption because they are watching her concert movie on mixed-reality headsets. And at NFL games, fans scrutinize her every fashion choice—she often wears New Balance sneakers and bespoke luxury Chiefs jackets. At last week’s game, Bud Light, the official beer sponsor of the NFL, tallied a marketing win when the NFL on CBS broadcast showed a shirtless Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce’s brother, chugging a beer behind Swift at Buffalo Bills’ stadium. Travis Kelce's suite is LIT pic.twitter.com/sZQ6MGaiI6— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 22, 2024 Also read: Bud Light gets Super Bowl ad Super Bowl brands are planning their social media strategies, and they could try to appeal to Swift’s fanbase, according to marketers. Super Bowl commercials cost about $7 million for 30 seconds, but some brands simply comment around the game on TikTok, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter. Social media is a playground for real-time reactions—in 2013, Oreo scored with a tweet during the blackout in New Orleans. In 2016, Katy Perry’s halftime dancer “Left Shark” stole the show. Last year, Rihanna’s pregnancy was revealed while she performed on a beam 60 feet in the air, sending social media into a tizzy. @kristinjuszczyk Can’t thank you both enough!! 🥹 @Taylor Swift ♬ original sound - Kristin Juszczyk This year, Swift is just one possible marketing moment. The game is in Las Vegas, home to the new Sphere, which sells buzz-worthy 3D billboards and dominates the cityscape. Also, the Detroit Lions could make the game, giving that city its first Super Bowl appearance. Rapper Eminem has been at Lions games this year, and Detroit is the U.S. auto heartland. Only three automakers have confirmed commercials in the game—BMW, Volkswagen and Kia—but none are Detroit-based. Also read: Will Detroit automakers miss major Super Bowl opportunity? “This year, going forward, there are going to be opportunities that might not have anything to do with the game,” Higgins said. “It might be something a player says the week before. It might be something that a player wore to the game. It might be someone who is at the game.” If Swift appears in Vegas, advertisers could find ways to connect with her audience, which is not the typical NFL fanbase, according to Courtney Bagby Lupulin, a social media marketing and brand partnerships expert. “Marketers might have influencers who are Swifties attend the Super Bowl on their behalf and create buzz for their brand,” Bagby Lupilin said. “Marketers might do Taylor Swift pop-ups around the stadium and activations that will get the attention of Taylor’s fans,” Bagby Lupilin said. “Super Bowl ads could also include her music in their commercials, friendship bracelets and anything Taylor related to catch the fans’ attention.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Marketers, however, have to be careful about using Swift’s fame, and have to be subtle, according to Ryan Detert, CEO of creator agency Influential. There are rules about associating a brand with Swift’s image without a formal deal, so that means no overt promotions, Detert said. Brands can’t even post a picture or video of Swift without permission, according to Detert. CBS, the broadcaster, does have rights to post TV footage, and networks have been liberal with their use of Swift clips throughout the season. For example, the CBS broadcast showed Jason Kelce chugging a Bud Light behind Taylor Swift. Bud Light did not post the video, but the brand commented on an X post from the NFL on CBS showing the video. Swift also has some detractors, mostly found trolling on social media or shouting on niche football podcasts, with some sports fans decrying the attention she gets during the game. Early in the season, the NFL even changed its bio on X and Instagram with sly references to Swift, but it quickly took those down amid some social media pushback. Advertisers won’t be cowed, though. Agencies are coming up with contingency plans to be part of the Swift hype, should it arrive, according to a BBDO representative. Swift’s name is in the strategy briefs, the agency’s rep said by email. “We will not be shouting about her for the sake of it, but if something pops up that feels right for the brand, and we feel we can add value in a timely fashion, we will be ready,” the rep said. “We’re collecting data and doing social listening to keep up with trends and watch how the internet reacts so we can give brands our recommendation on how to respond or get ahead of trends.”

How Taylor Swift could impact Super Bowl advertising

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