What Making the Super Bowl Commercial for CCO Taught me about our Business
February 08, 2021
I will not start by telling you how in-depth or how well planned out the process was because it wasn’t. It was one week from buying the 30-second time-slot to submitting the final piece that plays in front of the largest regional audience you can get. Oh, it’s also the first TV commercial for the company.
Yeah, no pressure. At all.
Taking on this task has been a “want” for a long time because I knew that Getting the name and what we do in front of more people can do nothing but help grow our brand in delivering the best Chevron oils and fuels.
Sure, the spot turned out great but, In the end, I walked away with more than just a 30 second TV ad; I learned some valuable lessons at the core of CCO’s own success.
– 30 seconds, an epically long short amount of time –
With a blank slate of 30 seconds, you have no idea how to pack it all in there and, at the same time, no idea how to fill it all effectively. It comes down to split-second decisions, which rings true with every minute of each business day. The decisions you make daily dictate what happens going forward. Making the right decision often takes a few seconds longer, and that is more than okay, so long as you stay within the allotted time.
– The filler content can make the most significant difference –
I needed a particular segment of time filled with a missing shot made me realize that the things we decide to do during the in-between time can make a dramatic difference. From talking to a customer and asking how they are personally doing to grabbing a broom and cleaning up the drive, these “filler” things add up to a recognizable difference in others’ eyes.
– People that love their job leave the best impression on everyone –
It is no secret in the advertising world that people like to see smiling people in ads. The caveat to that is the smile has to be genuine. Luckily, CCO invests a great deal of time in the hiring process to ensure everyone is an excellent fit for the job and its culture. An Agricultural Business owner, who helped me get the key “filler” footage for the commercial, told me that his CCO fuel delivery guy needed to, “…pick up farming so he wouldn’t smile so dang much.” I couldn’t be prouder to work alongside people leaving that kind of impression on our loyal customers.
– The pace is key to a smooth and wanted outcome –
A commercial isn’t a race. Neither is getting the job done right and helping out where and when needed. The old saying of the teamwork makes the dream work fits justly, but it goes beyond that, and even beyond CCO, into our everyday lives. From pivoting at what is seemingly a dead-end to taking a minute (30 seconds?) out of your day to help out where you can, take the time to make a difference in another’s day.
An ad spot for the big game does cost real money, but in life lessons, this quick-turn project became much more valuable to me as a person, and I hope, in sharing this, with you as well.