Strategy Guide for Tapping into Popular Culture: Super Bowl Version

Super Bowl LVIII: A fresh era unfolds with Las Vegas announcing its majestic presence: The Sphere. The 58th grand spectacle. Tickets soaring to $10k. Tay/Trav energizing the stage. Of course, it's not just about the 49ers versus the Chiefs. Understanding the overtime rules is important too.

And one more thing. The exhilaration of the first time.

Sunday marked a monumental first, not just for the Super Bowl, but for all significant cultural events. The debut of a completely autonomous Spanish-language broadcast alongside the original English-language show. We've witnessed Spanish Super Bowls before, but this one was exceptional. TelevisaUnivision stole the show, extending and enriching the original broadcast in remarkable ways, including better gender representation among on-screen talent. Hence, it's crucial to examine these milestones.

This broadcast is just the start of a new trend. The New Mainstream is making a significant impact on pop culture and marketing. Rather than a niche audience, it represents a new perspective on the 330 million of us. More diverse and more multicultural than ever before, we have a strong opinion on the world around us and are actively engaged with the brands we support.

Spanish Super Bowl: Who Took Center Stage?So this first time in history is a main stage moment that's more open to everyone than ever before. This means a new rulebook for mainstage moments full of new lessons and new habits to set up marketers for both creative and business success.

Here are a few insights and insights from the Big Game broadcast on TelevisaUnivision.

Address the New Mainstream, not just a new market

Moving ahead, all mainstage moments will be multilingual and multicultural moments. This might just be the first, but it definitely won't be the last.

A brand can win by focusing on telling its story to the New Mainstream, not a generic whole. We've entered an era where the former minorities are the majority.

In addition to lessons for advertisers, US news publications must also cover these major events with the same enthusiasm as they do the English-language Super Bowl. So all big marketing moments must speak to all as they want to be spoken to, not as part of a generic whole.

Embrace Risk and Innovation

Stepping onto a transformed stage makes every day feel like a first attempt. It might not come out perfectly, but we shouldn't shy away from trying.

In the immortal words of William Goldman, "Nobody knows anything." You don't know what will work until you give it a shot. The first attempt you make might not look victorious, but it's just as valuable. So go for it, learn, and try again. The only thing worse than failing with the New Mainstream is not trying to win with the New Mainstream.

Kudos to the brands who just stepped in and took a risk with a unique take on culture and language. I'm biased, but I adore how Verizon celebrated the Big Game with both Beyoncé on CBS and a clever ad featuring J Balvin on Univision. One message with two distinct interpretations. Also, we enjoyed helping Volkswagen take a prominent spot in both broadcasts.

Refine Your Voice in the Spanish Language

Many brands have spent years formulating their Big Game Voice (characters? jokes? cute animals?), but often, that voice has been in the English language. It takes time to learn a new language, especially when trying to find that perfect voice for a prestigious stage.

To those brands who simply aired their English-language spots on Univision, a big thank you for joining the party. This is just the beginning. It's now time to find your new voice as well. Keep progressing.

Fight for Your Advantage

Finding the right voice with the right audience is how brands should invest wisely. Find the injustices that you can turn to your advantage.

Maybe your brand has enough resources to build a platform that reaches all audiences. Excellent. Do that and succeed. Maybe your brand only has limited resources. Great. Focus on core audiences at the heart of cultural breakthrough to drive growth.

It could be a Spanish-language broadcast or a small creator community. The old model demanded broad reach. Today, the key to victory is finding communities to focus on and understanding how to build deep empathy with them.

Embracing a Multi-Hyphenate WorldThese days, there's more than one Big Game.

We've entered a new era where the Super Bowl is no longer the only big game in the spotlight. This Super Bowl (it took us LVII attempts to realize this) signals the beginning of a series of more diverse main stages that brands will need to pay attention to. Copa America 2024 looms large. And the World Cup isn't too far off.

You can find a main stage anywhere these days, so don't just cling to the old marketing calendar. Expand your horizons.

Ask yourself-how are you, your agency, or your brand going to prepare yourself for the next "Big Game?" To excel in the next? The New Mainstream is upon us, reshaping expectations of brands and marketing. The challenge, and the opportunity, is for us to be inventive, lead, and create something new.

The autonomous Spanish-language broadcast of the Super Bowl signifies the start of a new trend, where mainstage moments will be multilingual and multicultural, not just for a niche audience but for the New Mainstream.
Willing to take risks and innovate is crucial in this era, as seen with brands like Verizon and Volkswagen, who successfully created unique cultural interpretations for their ads in both English and Spanish.
Brands should now focus on refining their voice in the Spanish language, especially as events like Copa America 2024 and the World Cup approach, signaling a series of more diverse main stages.
The New Mainstream is reshaping expectations of brands and marketing, challenging us to be inventive, lead, and create something new on various main stages, not just the traditional ones like the Super Bowl.