7 Business Lessons from Super Bowl XLIX

[Dien Rice]

I enjoyed the game... for much of the game, it certainly had me on the edge of my seat!

Here are 7 business lessons I jotted down afterwards, that I learned from Super Bowl XLIX !

1. If you can succeed by picking low hanging fruit (like 1 yard to a touchdown standing between you and victory), don't risk your neck for the high, risky, hard to reach fruit - just pick the low hanging fruit! (Of course, I'm talking about the turnover right at the end of the game, which snatched defeat for the Seahawks from the hands of victory, because they arguably decided to play a "risky" play, rather than a "safer" one!)

2. Sometimes you can find good things in unexpected places, so keep your eyes open. The Seahawks' Chris Matthews was found working at a Foot Locker store, which is where he was recruited from - and he was responsible for a lot of their gains in the game!

3. "It ain't over till the fat lady sings" - or it ain't over till it's over. In this game, you first thought the Patriots had it in the bag, then you thought it was the Seahawks' game, then the Patriots were sure to win, then the Seahawks were about to win it, and finally, the Patriots came through!

3 (continued). Never give up, whether you are behind or ahead, since you never know what could happen around the corner. As was experienced by both the Patriots and the Seahawks in the game!

4. Overseas rights for the Super Bowl were separate for broadcast rights and for online streaming rights... The lesson is, monetize every channel!

5. If you make ads interesting, people will watch them and talk about them... However, they may not necessarily be effective. In my opinion, the Liam Neeson ad for the game "Clash of Clans" was both entertaining and effective. However, the Lexus ad - I had no idea what was going on there. Maybe it was just me.

More on the Super Bowl ads (graded from A to F) here...

And an earlier article (written last year), which claims to show that Super Bowl ads are mostly ineffective. In fact, some of the most-liked ads were among the least-effective at making sales. and some of the least-liked ads were among the most-effective at making sales!

Effective ads still need salesmanship...

6. There were rumors that Katy Perry would sing about the "feud" between her and Taylor Swift in her halftime show. But she didn't - which was good, I think. Why give your "rival" extra publicity?

7. You can still be successful and be "clean" - like Katy Perry's half-time show at the Super Bowl. That's in contrast to Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's "Nipplegate" show at the Super Bowl in 2004, or M.I.A.'s "middle finger gate" at Madonna's half-time show at the Super Bowl in 2012.

As well as a pretty close and intense game, those were some extra benefits that I got out of it...

Best wishes,

Dien