USA Today to Rebrand its Super Bowl Ad Meter with Facebook
USA Today and Facebook will join forces in 2012 to launch the 24th annual Super Bowl Ad Meter. For the first time, consumers everywhere can help in deciding the winner for the Ad Meter.
USA Today first created the Super Bowl Ad Meter in 1989 after noticing an increasing trend in consumer interest in Super Bowl ads. The Ad Meter tracks the second-by-second responses of a panel of viewers to ads during the Super Bowl and ranks them from best to worst. Ad Meter results have long been the industry-leading tool used to measure public opinion surrounding Super Bowl ads.
Stressing their role for the Ad Meter, Mike Hoefflinger, director of global business marketing at Facebook, said:
“The creation of the USA Today – Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter is going to give millions of people the ability to not only interact with the various Super Bowl commercials, but to rate the ads and share with their friends on Facebook. Making the Ad Meter social brings it to an entirely new level and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
David Payne, senior vice president and chief digital officer of Gannett Co., Inc., said about the Ad Meter:
“The impact and influence of Ad Meter over the years has been astounding. Through this partnership with Facebook we’re giving consumers a voice with the opportunity to rate and share the ads with their friends. Social media is changing the face of consumer engagement and this partnership more than ever, puts the consumer at the center of the conversation around advertising’s biggest annual event.”
So, starting next year, the Ad Meter will be rebranded as USA Today – Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter. Rating the ads will also take place through an app that will be hosted on Facebook and USAToday.com. The app will allow consumers to view the ads both online and via mobile, rate the ads and share them with their friends.
With Facebook’s involvement, it would be safe to say that the Ad Meter will be truly representative of a wider audience’s sentiment.
