"On a whim last week, we began looking into purchasing a Super Bowl ad for as little money as possible, by finding a local station willing to air our ad. We knew this was possible because in 2015, The Verge bought a Super Bowl ad that aired only in Helena, Montana, for a cost of $700. Inspired by them, we did the same this year."
"After googling "smallest TV markets in the United States," we came across KYOU, which serves the city of Ottumwa, Iowa: population ~25,000. There were other options, but we thought we would try Ottumwa and see if anyone responded or if this seemed like a fool's errand. We emailed KYOU to see if we could buy a Super Bowl ad, and we got an immediate answer: There was one slot left, and it would cost $2,550."
404 Media purchased a Super Bowl ad aired in Ottumwa, Iowa, on KYOU for $2,550 to promote its journalist-owned, human-focused media company without paying national rates. The purchase emulated The Verge's 2015 local-market strategy and targeted one of the country's smallest TV markets to minimize cost. KYOU offered additional lower-cost slots after the game and during Olympic programming. 404 Media produced a very simple ad describing who the company is and what it does, recording staff in their podcast spaces, and arranged for local filming in Ottumwa. The approach aimed to provide counterprogramming amid heavy AI and big-tech advertising.
Read at 404 Media
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