- 5th February 2024 |
- 4 minutes
Home >> Insights >> Content Hub >> 2024 Super Bowl: Advertisers Orbit the Vegas Sphere for Out-of-Home Ad Brilliance.
2024 Super Bowl
Advertisers Orbit Las Vegas Sphere for Out-of-Home Ad Brilliance
The Sphere's Advertising Odyssey
The Las Vegas Sphere, characterized by a colossal dome adorned with 1.2 million programmable LED lights, has emerged as a transformative platform for advertisers in search of unparalleled Out-of-Home (OOH) exposure. Since its grand opening in September, the Sphere has evolved into a dynamic canvas, playing host to immersive 360-degree Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) ads that have successfully captivated major brands such as Coca-Cola, Xbox, and Meta. Its monumental size and distinctive shape set it apart, positioning the venue not just as a conventional venue but as a revolutionary platform that amplifies brand presence in the advertising landscape.
The unique features of the Sphere, from its captivating digital exterior to its distinctive architectural design, make it more than just a location; it becomes a powerful tool for advertisers to convey messages in innovative ways. Its ability to offer a transformative and memorable space has made it a focal point for brands aiming to break through the clutter of traditional OOH advertising formats, providing an opportunity to create a lasting connection with their target audience.
OOH Ad Pricing and Value Proposition Unveiled
While the price tag for advertising on the Sphere is undeniably substantial, ranging from $450,000 a day to $650,000 a week, advertisers swiftly recognize the unparalleled value proposition embedded in Sphere-based advertising. Esteemed industry experts highlight the notable advantages of the Vegas Sphere, specifically emphasizing its uncluttered canvas in contrast to busier out-of-home (OOH) locations such as Times Square. This creates an ideal environment for advertisers, allowing their campaigns to stand out and shine without being overshadowed by distractions.
The allure of the Vegas Sphere lies not only in its grandeur but also in its ability to provide advertisers with an exclusive and attention-capturing space. Despite the hefty financial investment, the uncluttered environment and enhanced visibility position the Sphere as a premium platform for advertisers looking to make a substantial ad impact. As emphasized by industry leaders, the Vegas Sphere’s value proposition extends beyond its monumental size, offering advertisers a unique opportunity to reach audiences in an environment that ensures their campaigns receive the attention they deserve.
Measuring Triumphs on the Sphere
While leveraging the unique advantages offered by the Sphere, advertisers and agencies face a significant obstacle—the absence of a standardized audience measurement method for OOH/DOOH campaigns of this magnitude, that can also include video ads (TV, CTV, OLV) as part of their media mix. Despite the conducive, uncluttered environment and visually captivating displays contributing to campaign success, the current lack of standardized measurement has compelled advertisers to rely on alternative metrics like press coverage and social amplification. As advertisers deal with this intricate topography, an increasing demand arises for a holistic and unified cross-media audience and ad effectiveness measurement approach specifically tailored for measuring Sphere OOH-like advertising campaigns.
This demand extends beyond the confines of the Sphere, urging the need to compare the performance of such DOOH campaigns with other complementary street furniture used during OOH advertising initiatives, as well as the combination of OOH + AV ads in these endeavors. In today’s advertising landscape, marketers can no longer afford to measure their advertising in isolation, solely relying on DSP/platform data, especially considering the substantial investments required for locations like the Las Vegas Sphere. Brands must now strive for accurate cross-channel comparisons, establishing “apples with apples” assessments when evaluating the incremental reach and brand lift of such campaigns.
The Technical Ballet of the Exosphere
The Sphere's exterior, known as the Exosphere, becomes a canvas for advertisers to master.
The Exosphere, adorned with a staggering 1.2 million programmable LED lights, demands strategic planning and cloud-based rendering for impactful campaigns. A prime illustration of this is Xbox’s “Power Your Dreams” OOH ad takeover, showcasing the need for meticulous planning to navigate the intricacies of this unique spherical canvas. Brands are positioned at the intersection of creativity and technology, pushing the boundaries to unlock the full potential of this revolutionary platform and successfully impact their audiences’ mind metrics.
Brands as Artists on the Las Vegas Sphere
Since YouTube's groundbreaking ad buy on the Exosphere, the Las Vegas Sphere has undergone a remarkable creative metamorphosis.
The Las Vegas Sphere has evolved into a dynamic canvas for a diverse range of visuals, capturing the imagination of audiences and advertisers alike. This prime piece of DOOH ad inventory possesses the remarkable ability to metamorphose into a spectacle of ice blocks, seamlessly morph into the shape of a tennis ball, or transform into a captivating concert stage. This departure from conventional Out-of-Home advertising constraints liberates brands, offering audiences innovative and unexpected experiences. Notably, this approach caters to the harder-to-reach Gen Z cohorts, who have proven to be highly responsive to Out-of-Home exposure. The creative possibilities appear boundless as marketers explore the unique features of the Sphere, elevating it into an iconic platform for out-of-home advertising.
The Future Horizon of Sphere Advertising
As Super Bowl LVIII approaches, the Las Vegas Sphere emerges as a dynamic canvas, providing advertisers with an unparalleled opportunity to redefine the landscape of Out-of-Home advertising.
The Super Bowl 2024 acts as a catalyst, setting the stage for a continuous and dynamic role for the Sphere within the advertising arena. Beyond the expectation of unprecedented revenue during the Super Bowl, brand marketers are urged to view the Sphere not merely as a momentary spectacle but as an enduring platform for their creative expressions.
This contemplation goes beyond the high-octane moments, prompting brands to strategically position the Sphere as more than a venue limited to Super Bowl halftime advertising. An exceptional opportunity arises for advertisers to adopt a long-term perspective, leveraging the Sphere’s unique features for a transformative and sustained impact on brand visibility – pre- and post the championship game of the NFL. The significance of sustained engagement is underscored, urging advertisers to seamlessly integrate the Sphere into their broader advertising strategies for either local or even national campaigns.
While it’s evident that the Super Bowl won’t always be hosted in Las Vegas, limiting the possibilities of using this DOOH platform for such a unique American football event, it serves as a valuable learning experience for brands and agencies. The grand start of accessing this combination of top-tier OOH and video campaigns, in Las Vegas, and during the Super Bowl, becomes a test-bed for future events in the city, positioning advertisers to navigate and capitalize on similar opportunities in the coming months and years. This establishes a strategic foundation for the convergence of high-profile events and innovative (OOH + AV) advertising approaches in Las Vegas.
A Spherical Symphony for Out-of-Home Brilliance
As Super Bowl LVIII approaches, advertisers confront the challenge of navigating intricate measurement issues in today’s hyper-fragmented media landscape, where concrete cross-platform audience and ad effectiveness measurement solutions appear elusive. The Las Vegas Sphere takes centre stage in reshaping the advertising landscape, transcending its physicality to become a symbol of innovation and creativity in the advertising domain. This dynamic canvas offers brands an opportunity to reshape narratives and leave a lasting impact on the ever-evolving realm of out-of-home brilliance. As Super Bowl LVIII looms, the Sphere is poised to usher in a new era in advertising, underscoring the need for advertisers to engage in a transformative journey that extends beyond singular events. The imperative lies in comprehensively measuring OOH campaigns, avoiding isolation, to enabling accurate comparisons across channels concerning incremental reach and brand lift effects.
By Ian Alastair Hobkirk
Digital Marketing Manager
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