Gary Vaynerchuk predicts a shift from top-down creative development to a bottom-up approach. Brands will identify their highest-performing organic social media posts throughout the year, and that winning content will become the brief—and perhaps the literal ad—for their Super Bowl spot.

Gary Vaynerchuk observes that brands are now treating major events like the Super Bowl as efficient production opportunities. Instead of just hosting parties, they leverage influencers and on-site activations to generate a high volume of social content, maximizing ROI on expensive experiential marketing.

A Super Bowl spot is not a standalone event. Vaynerchuk's team succeeded by executing a 10-day "surround sound" strategy before the game. This included seeding anonymous photos to the press and a heavy media tour to build buzz and ensure the ad landed with maximum impact.

The Super Bowl is most effective for brands facing a fundamental awareness problem—when the mass market simply doesn't know a product, feature, or solution exists. The platform's massive reach is ideal for closing this knowledge gap at scale.

Super Bowl advertising serves two distinct strategic purposes. For new or unknown companies, the goal is to achieve massive, instant brand awareness. For established, well-known brands like Raisin Bran, the ad serves to re-engage consumers and regain top-of-mind relevance in a crowded market.

An effective Super Bowl presence isn't just about the TV ad. Ramp's successful activation included on-the-ground events, PR placements in outlets like Adweek, influencer collaborations, and social media engagement. This holistic approach creates multiple flywheels that amplify the initial ad buy, ensuring the investment generates buzz and impact far beyond the 30-second spot.

Instead of treating the Super Bowl ad as the campaign's peak, Kellogg uses it as a high-impact "kickoff" for a year-long marketing push. The investment's momentum is immediately carried into subsequent major events like the Olympics to maximize ROI.

Despite the high price, GaryVee argues no other platform, including Meta or TikTok, can guarantee 100 million viewers for a 30-second spot at that cost. The media buy itself is an unparalleled deal for attention. However, the ultimate success or failure of the investment hinges entirely on the quality and impact of the ad's creative.

For new food brands with a great product, the highest ROI comes from getting people to taste it. Self-funded companies can leverage their longer timeline to build a loyal customer base through a robust sampling program, delaying expensive and less effective paid media buys.