I bet you didn’t know Robin Hood had a commercial for the Super Bowl. Because by the time that commercial aired you were already tuned out. Unfortunately, similar nightmares have panned out this way for many entrepreneurs. Imagine being at the precipice of taking your company to the next level. Finally ready to make it into the big league’s after struggling and striving to build your business, and become the entrepreneur you know you were born to be. When you finally get there, you take your biggest step yet and purchase a Super bowl commercial. Then the game is over before halftime, and the halftime show is a total wash.

This had happened to many entrepreneurs throughout the years. The truth is, there are more boring Super Bowls than exciting ones. This means most people that put commercials in the Super bowl after halftime did not see a return on investment for their ad spend. But what about the companies that made it in before halftime.

What many outside of the commercial making business do not know is many of the bigger companies purchase their ad space up front. Up front is a big deal. Up front is when the networks gather together the largest companies and sell their ad space in bulk at the beginning of September. These up front sales are why car companies actually sell their new cars in September. Popular brands like Bens, Bentley, Honda, Toyota etc. all determine when their cars are coming out based around television.

Cliffhangers from season finales, and new series are when the most people tune in, and therefore when the most companies want to have their commercials aired. That upfront purchase is conducted for time slots throughout the year till the next September including the Super bowl. This benefits networks because they can use this to determine which time slots are deemed most desirable, and adjust prices accordingly throughout the rest of the year.

The big companies know better than to buy Super bowl real estate after halftime, because you’re not likely to make back what you spent. If you’re gambling that it is going to be a good game and keep the audiences attention, you’re gambling far harder than the people choosing a team. This is just one of the many tricks that experts in companies like Enlightened Vision Entertainment bring to the table, and with a Nielsen Ratings partnership, ad spend dollars can be spent with the most confidence in seeing return on investment.