Doritos Utilizes UGC to Create Community Engagement

Photo Shannon Crawford

In the 48 years of its existence, the Super Bowl has grown to become an international event where the game itself is almost of secondary importance. Each year more people tune in just to watch the creative television spots and half time entertainment. This year, approximately 111.5 million people tuned in worldwide; with 111.3 million of them watching the half time show.  Good news for Bruno Mars!

Good news for advertisers who paid $4 million for 30 seconds of ad time? Here’s the question – does $4 million actually generate sales? According to Cummunicus, 1 in 5 companies will generate sales directly from the event. But immediate sales may not be the goal it once was.

Enter the Millennials. Being the first generation to grow up on multiple sources of technology and communication, reaching this generation takes a lot more than an overpriced TV commercial. Unless the TV commercial can be liked and shared. While $4 million is astronomical for 30 seconds, making it sharable, can make it well worth the investment.

Let’s take Doritos for example. Their User Generated Content (UGC) 30-second spot was one of the top five popular Super Bowl commercials this year. Doritos selected and aired their UGC commercial at the Super Bowl! Is this just the beginning of engaging your consumer deeply with the brand? And add hours of sharing on social media after the game? Success is measured by the number of times a 30 second slot is replicated globally. Not that long ago this was a non-issue.  Now it’s critical. Repeated exposure generates sales. But the key is creating an authentic commercial, make it relatable and sharing among people who know each other.

The Center for Media Research has detailed statistics demonstrating that Millennials are more apt to make decisions based on how their friends and family feel. Frankly, all demographics enjoy a good referral. Because Millennials are bombarded with ads from multiple sources, peer reviews play a large role in decision-making. Being part of a trusted community, especially UGC can guide decisions as small as which cola to drink or which brand of beer to chug.

UGC creates communities. Even if people don’t meet physically, the ease of conversation and image or video sharing can nourish friendship, and even a sense of family. These relationships, in turn have the ability to hike or torpedo sales in record time.

While the Super Bowl provides huge and expensive exposure, the post game contest of ad sharing is the winning factor of just how far the $4 million can be stretched.