ORLANDO, Fla. - Super Bowl Sunday historically marks the most expensive night of the year for advertisers, and this year's game was no exception with 30-second commercial spots during Super Bowl XXXV averaging $2.3 million. This year's pairing of the Super Bowl and the premiere of the widely popular "Survivor: The Australian Outback" on the same night may have created the most profitable night in television history.
And for the second year in a row, Middleton Lawn and Pest Control, headquartered in Orlando, Fla., spent their advertising dollars on a commercial that was aired on the night known to draw more than 80-million viewers. The Orlando-based company aired a 30-second commercial during "Survivor II," which appeared on WKMG, Orlando's CBS affiliate.
"It costs a lot, but you get what you pay for," said Greg Clendenin, president, Middleton Lawn and Pest Control. "We give a lot of credit to our advertising campaign and their creative work for our record sales year."
The choice to move towards the television advertising avenue was simple for Middleton. "We were at a good stage in our growth and capabilities, we wanted to start generating more leads per day," Clendenin said. The company has been airing commercials since late 1999.
Last year, Middleton paid $38,000 for a spot during the first half of the Super Bowl. They've also had commercial spots during other peak programs such as "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" and "The West Wing."
The company couldn't buy a spot during Super Bowl XXXV because WKMG could only sell advertising time during the second half of the game due to an overabundance of national advertisers. "We didn't want to pay for a spot in the second half because if the game is a blow-out, no one would stay to watch the commercial," Clendenin said. "Besides, 'Survivor' has been rated almost as high as the Super Bowl."
Also, commercials aired during "Survivor" cost about a third less than those aired during the Super Bowl, said Clendenin.
In addition to their commercials, the company continues to use other advertising avenues such Yellow Page and newspaper ads, 60-second radio spots, a Web site (www.middletonpest.com) and direct mail. However, since they began airing commercials, the company's direct mail advertising no longer resembles the mass mailings they used to send. "It's now very targeted," Clendenin said. "We use direct mail for specific situations. For example, we'll send information to people who live along lakes and ponds to promote our trademarked Lake Friendly lawn care services," he said.
The Super Bowl Sunday commercials have been effective so far, and Clendenin said there's no reason the company won't do it again next year. "We've taken it on as one of our strategies for our business success," he said. "We think it's good for our image and it's the way we want to project ourselves to the public."
The author is a contributing writer to Lawn & Landscape Online and Internet Editor of PCT Online (www.pctonline.com).