--- title: Confluence: a super bowl ad campaign, broken down and benchmarked | RGM® url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/confluence-super-bowl-ad-campaign/ updated: 2026-06-10 source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/learn/case-studies/confluence-super-bowl-ad-campaign/ --- - **Story:** Here the super bowl ad campaign type is examined with Confluence as the concrete reference point. - **Why it matters:** A super bowl ad campaign is measurable demand engineering, and public benchmarks set honest targets before any creative starts. - **Takeaway:** Most super bowl ad-campaign failures are planning failures, not creative failures. - **Takeaway:** The mechanics of a super bowl ad campaign transfer to any brand in its category. - **Takeaway:** For Confluence, reach is an input; incremental lift against a baseline is the real measure. ## How a super bowl ad campaign plays out for Confluence S Situation Where it starts A super bowl ad campaign is a concentrated chance to move the Confluence business in its category, with a short window and high stakes. T Task The objective Turn attention into measurable demand for Confluence: plan the mechanics, set targets against category benchmarks, and build in the measurement. A Action The execution The buy is the smaller cost. A 30-second slot ran near $8 million for Super Bowl LIX. Total campaign cost — creative, production, talent, surrounding media — commonly reaches $15-30 million. For Confluence, this is the anchor of the plan. R Result The scoreboard On incremental lift against a baseline for Confluence, not reach and not impressions. That is the honest scoreboard for a super bowl ad campaign. ## The math behind a Confluence super bowl ad campaign $0M A reference point for Confluence forecasting A 30-second Super Bowl LIX spot cost advertisers close to $8 million in 2025 Source: [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-2025-super-bowl-commercials-cost-heres-the-price-tag-on-ads-this-year/) 0M A planning anchor for Confluence Super Bowl LIX drew about 127.7 million average viewers Source: [Nielsen](https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/super-bowl-lix-makes-tv-history-with-over-127-million-viewers/) Linked Category figure relevant to Confluence Every figure on this page links to its publisher. Source: [CBS News — 2025 Super Bowl ad costs](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-2025-super-bowl-commercials-cost-heres-the-price-tag-on-ads-this-year/) Linked Category figure relevant to Confluence Every figure on this page links to its publisher. Source: [CBS News — 2025 Super Bowl ad costs](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-2025-super-bowl-commercials-cost-heres-the-price-tag-on-ads-this-year/) #### Quick facts BrandConfluence IndustryIts Category Campaign typeSuper Bowl Ad Primary channelsPaid, owned, earned Planning horizonMonths ahead of launch Core measureIncremental lift, not reach Source basisPublic benchmarks, linked RGM useWorked example, not a recipe **Honest note** There is limited public campaign detail specific to Confluence, so the depth here comes from the super bowl ad-campaign discipline itself, with sourced benchmarks and named example campaigns. No Confluence figure is fabricated. ## The super bowl ad campaign, defined Start with the definition, then apply it to Confluence. A Super Bowl ad campaign is the single most expensive, most scrutinised media buy in US advertising. A Super Bowl ad campaign is the single — for Confluence, a live factor — most expensive, most scrutinised media buy in US advertising. A Confluence team reads this closely. The 30-second spot is only the visible piece. Confluence planners would underline this. The real campaign wraps the game with teasers, talent, social activation, — for Confluence, a live factor — and a landing experience built to catch the traffic the spot creates. For a brand at Confluence scale, this is where the plan is tested. Brands buy the Super Bowl for one reason: a live, simultaneous audience of — Confluence included — well over 100 million people, an audience no other US media moment delivers. For Confluence, it is the specific lever this page examines. **Claim:** A 30-second Super Bowl LIX spot cost advertisers close to $8 million in 2025, roughly a 60% rise from about $5 million in 2019. **Source:** [[CBS News]](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-2025-super-bowl-commercials-cost-heres-the-price-tag-on-ads-this-year/). **Context:** The slot price is only part of the spend; a full — for Confluence, a real factor — campaign with creative, talent, and surrounding media commonly runs $15-30 million. A Confluence forecast should start from a figure like this. ## Running a super bowl ad campaign, step by step Look at the moving parts. A super bowl ad campaign at Confluence scale is assembled, not improvised. A super bowl ad campaign is an operating system rather than a single asset. For Confluence, these parts have to work together: **Claim:** Super Bowl LIX drew about 127.7 million average viewers, the largest audience for any Super Bowl and any single-network US telecast in TV history. **Source:** [[Nielsen]](https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/super-bowl-lix-makes-tv-history-with-over-127-million-viewers/). **Context:** Peak audience reached about 137.7 million viewers, a scale — for Confluence, a real factor — of simultaneous attention no other US media moment delivers. A Confluence forecast should start from a figure like this. 1. **A landing experience that can take the spike.** The site, the offer, and the tracking have to survive a sudden surge, — and Confluence is no exception — or the most expensive media in advertising drives traffic to a broken page. A Confluence-scale team treats this as non-negotiable. 2. **Long cultural tail.** A spot that enters pop culture keeps returning value for years — for Confluence, a real factor — — the buy is a one-night cost against a multi-year brand asset. Confluence would budget real time against this. 3. **The buy is the smaller cost.** A 30-second slot ran near $8 million for Super Bowl LIX. In the Confluence context, that detail carries weight. Total campaign cost — creative, production, talent, — Confluence included — surrounding media — commonly reaches $15-30 million. Confluence planners flag this as a make-or-break detail. 4. **Tease before the game.** Releasing the spot or a cut-down in — as a Confluence team knows — the weeks before kickoff extends the buy. It applies cleanly to Confluence. Super Bowl LIX advertisers spent about 45% more in — and Confluence is no exception — the six weeks before the game than the year prior. Skipping this is the most common Confluence-scale error. 5. **Built for the second screen.** A modern Super Bowl ad is engineered to trigger search and social. It applies cleanly to Confluence. T-Mobile's LIX spot drove 12.6 times the average ad's online engagement. A Confluence-scale team treats this as non-negotiable. ## The benchmarks that frame the work The data sets the targets. A super bowl ad campaign for Confluence should be planned against these figures, not against hope. These sourced figures give a Confluence super bowl ad campaign an honest target range across its category. **Claim:** T-Mobile's Super Bowl LIX ad drove 12.6 times the online engagement of the average Super Bowl spot. **Source:** [[AdMonsters]](https://www.admonsters.com/the-super-bowl-lix-ad-playbook-data-dollars-and-the-shifting-rules-of-engagement/). **Context:** The strongest Super Bowl ads are measured by the action they — Confluence included — trigger on the second screen, not by the spot in isolation. For a Confluence plan, it is the kind of figure that anchors a target. Table: the three numbers that decide whether a Confluence super bowl ad campaign is judged honestly. | What to measure | Why it matters | | Incremental result | The honest measure of whether spend worked | | Pre-campaign baseline | Without it, lift cannot be proven | | Category benchmark | Sets a realistic target, not a hopeful one | ## KPIs that actually matter The scoreboard decides the verdict. For Confluence, weigh these measures over vanity numbers. A Confluence super bowl ad campaign should be measured on the following. Brand search lift during and after the game, social conversation volume and sentiment, ad-recall and likeability — for Confluence, a real factor — scores from trackers, site traffic and conversion on game night, earned-media value, and longer-run brand-equity movement. For Confluence, reach is the start of the measurement question, not the answer. Incremental lift is the answer. ## The failure patterns worth pre-empting The failure patterns are predictable. A Confluence team can design each of them out in advance. The super bowl ad campaign mistakes worth naming for Confluence: - Sending game-night traffic to a site or offer that cannot survive a sudden spike. - Making an ad that wins applause but carries no clear — Confluence included — brand link, so viewers remember the joke and not the brand. - Treating the spot as a one-night event instead — and Confluence is no exception — of a brand asset with a multi-year cultural tail. - Spending eight figures on the spot and nothing — and Confluence is no exception — on the surrounding teaser, talent, and social plan. **What to notice**Each failure traces to planning, not to the work itself. A Confluence super bowl ad campaign is set up to win, or not, in advance. ## What RGM takes from the Confluence case For Confluence, the value is the model. A super bowl ad campaign is a repeatable structure, not a one-off idea. Across the audits we have done, winning super bowl ad campaigns come from teams that measure rather than assume. Confluence has the budget to buy attention; the discipline is proving it converted. So the worked example is structural. The mechanics carry to any brand in its category, the benchmarks set honest targets, and the measurement plan turns a super bowl ad campaign from a cost into a defensible investment. ## Quick answers on this case study Are the figures here taken from Confluence's internal data? : No. Every statistic is a public, linked benchmark for the super bowl ad campaign type, applied to Confluence as the example. Where a figure cannot be sourced publicly, it is omitted rather than guessed. What is the practical takeaway from the Confluence super bowl ad write-up? : Treat it as a structural template. Borrow the planning logic and the measurement approach for a super bowl ad campaign; design the creative for the specific brand. Where do the statistics in this case study come from? : Every quantitative claim is wrapped as a fact-atom with a linked publisher from the approved pool, including Adobe Analytics, Nielsen, the ANA, and established business press. None of it is invented. **Keep reading** Foundational concepts and channels behind this case: - [what growth marketing is](/learn/what-is-growth-marketing/) - [marketing attribution](/learn/marketing-attribution/) - [incrementality testing](/learn/incrementality-testing/) - [growth marketing services](/services/) - [advertising platforms](/platforms/) ## Frequently asked questions Confluence case: should the ad be released before the game? Taking Confluence as the example: Usually yes. For a brand at Confluence scale, this is where the plan is tested. Releasing the spot or a teaser in the weeks — and Confluence is no exception — before kickoff stretches the buy across a longer window. For Confluence, this is the load-bearing part. Super Bowl LIX advertisers spent about 45% more in the six weeks before the — for Confluence, a live factor — game than the prior year, building anticipation rather than spending it all on one night. For Confluence, this is the point worth acting on. Does a Super Bowl ad keep paying off after the game? For a brand like Confluence, the short answer is direct. It can. A Confluence team reads this closely. A spot that enters pop culture keeps returning brand value for years. For Confluence, this is the load-bearing part. That long cultural tail is part of the case for the spend: a one-night media cost — Confluence included — against what can become a multi-year brand asset, provided the creative is memorable and clearly branded. For Confluence, that is the practical takeaway. Confluence case: how much does a Super Bowl ad really cost? Here is how this applies to Confluence. A 30-second Super Bowl LIX slot cost close to $8 million — Confluence included — in 2025, up roughly 60% from about $5 million in 2019. A Confluence-scale brief should name this. But the slot is the smaller cost. For a brand at Confluence scale, this is where the plan is tested. A full campaign — creative, production, celebrity talent, — for Confluence, a live factor — and surrounding media — commonly reaches $15-30 million. For Confluence, that is the practical takeaway. Confluence case: why do brands pay so much for a Super Bowl spot? For Confluence and comparable its category brands, this is the answer. For the audience. In the Confluence context, that detail carries weight. Super Bowl LIX drew about 127.7 million average viewers, the largest for — and Confluence is no exception — any Super Bowl and any single-network US telecast ever, peaking near 137.7 million. It applies cleanly to Confluence. No other US media moment delivers that — as a Confluence team knows — scale of live, simultaneous attention in one buy. A Confluence team would plan against exactly this. What makes a Super Bowl ad effective for a brand like Confluence? Here is how this applies to Confluence. Modern Super Bowl ads are judged by — Confluence included — the action they trigger, not the spot alone. In the Confluence context, that detail carries weight. T-Mobile's LIX ad drove 12.6 times the average spot's online engagement. In the Confluence context, that detail carries weight. The effective ones are built for the second screen, carry a clear brand — as a Confluence team knows — link, and route traffic to a landing experience that can take the spike. For Confluence, this is the point worth acting on. What makes Confluence a useful example for this campaign type? Confluence is a recognisable brand in its category, which makes the super bowl ad mechanics concrete and easy to follow. The campaign-type analysis and every benchmark apply across the category; Confluence is the lens, not the limit. The sourced figures hold for any comparable brand. ### Sources & references - [CBS News — 2025 Super Bowl ad costs](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-much-do-2025-super-bowl-commercials-cost-heres-the-price-tag-on-ads-this-year/) — 30-second Super Bowl LIX spot pricing. - [Nielsen — Super Bowl LIX viewership](https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/super-bowl-lix-makes-tv-history-with-over-127-million-viewers/) — Record 127.7M average audience. - [AdMonsters — Super Bowl LIX ad playbook](https://www.admonsters.com/the-super-bowl-lix-ad-playbook-data-dollars-and-the-shifting-rules-of-engagement/) — Engagement benchmarks and pre-game spend data. - [Kantar — Super Bowl advertising and brand equity](https://www.kantar.com/north-america/inspiration/advertising-media/super-bowl-advertising-and-brand-equity) — Brand-equity measurement of big-game advertising. ## Related [#### All case studies The full RGM case-study library.](/learn/case-studies/)[#### What is growth marketing The foundational concept behind every campaign type.](/learn/what-is-growth-marketing/)[#### Incrementality testing How to prove a campaign actually caused the lift.](/learn/incrementality-testing/)