How Data Is Rewriting the Super Bowl Marketing Playbook

Super Bowl 56 starts with a coin toss. But marketing strategy in advance of the Big Game can’t leave that kind of spending to chance. As privacy concerns diminish the value of third-party cookies, it’s increasingly difficult for brands to predict the return on Super Bowl ads by connecting online fan behavior to real-world engagement and shopping activity. Such spots cost roughly $6.5 million per 30 seconds. However, those ads may prove significantly more costly for companies that don’t know how to reach their consumers among more than 100 million viewers. Back in April, the National Football League brought in analytics company Genius Sports. The company pored over the league’s data to help figure out how its fans behave online. The resulting report offers companies some clues about how their Super Bowl 56 marketing plans should look and what platforms they should target. Super Bowl teams have game plans to ensure they aren’t lobbing passes into empty yardage (or their opponents’ hands). If marketers want their message to reach its intended receiver, they’ll need similar playbooks of data. “Sports fans’ attention is becoming increasingly fragmented, whether that’s across social media, streaming platforms or other digital channels,” said Josh Linforth, managing director of media and engagement at Genius Sports. “To engage them, brands must cater to every fan and their preferences.” NFL Legend Drew Brees Announces Super Bowl Return … of an Avocado Brand The pre-game show As a result, brands are making their Super Bowl preparations earlier than ever. Back in July, Super Bowl 56 broadcaster NBC claimed that 85% of Super Bowl ads were sold out. Just five months before the game, the network claimed there were only “a few” Super Bowl ad spots left. Fox saw that ad scarcity and opened up sales for Super Bowl 57 ads back in September. That game won’t be played until 2023. While that has Super Bowl sponsors, like Intuit, announcing their campaigns early, it also gives them time to do their homework. As Genius Sports and the NFL discovered, marketers can make the most of their Super Bowl spending the week before by pacing out ads on sports sites throughout the week ahead of the big game, then increasing their volume of personalized ads 48 hours before game day. Unique visits to sites like Disney’s ESPN and Warner’s Bleacher Report increase 28% between Thursday and Friday of Super Bowl week alone. On Super Bowl Sunday itself, fans hit their peak of checking news, odds, predictions and social media between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET. Once the Super Bowl starts, however, pinpointing fan behavior gets a little trickier. Back in April, Genius acquired video data and AI service Spirable to help it discern what viewers were doing while the game’s being played. “With privacy more important than ever, brands have to find new ways to create personalized advertising experiences without first-party cookies,” said Lauren Evans, CMO of Spirable. “Using Spirable technology, brands can dynamically tap into the live action as it happens, to create the most exciting and relevant content in a privacy-friendly way—resulting in better engagement and ROI.” Most Consumers Bemoan Brands That Release Their Super Bowl Ad Early Finding the home team During the pandemic, much of that NFL action and interaction was happening on social media. As Genius and Spirable discovered, NFL viewers trapped by Covid-19 in 2020 generated 6.1 billion video views for the NFL across social media. That led to a 93% increase in NFL Instagram content views and a 35 million increase to NFL player followers across that platform. Brands looking for the passionate fans yelling at multiple screens found them on Twitter. When fans watched a game with Twitter on another screen, engagement increased 31% while memorability—or the chance that someone’s going to actually remember your campaign once the game ends—increased 35%. Knowing your audience has never been more important—and yet more difficultJosh Linforth, managing director of media and engagement at Genius Sports Don’t be afraid to poke them, either: When a fan’s favorite team is losing or an opponent scores, Genius notes that they’re only going to check their device and rage-tweet even more. Does it work? Well, Genius points to former and current Super Bowl advertisers, including Pringles, Domino’s, DraftKings and Pizza Hut, as success stories. But Jimmy Hughes, head of social marketing for Heineken UK, notes that Genius Sports and Spirable data yielded “results far beyond our expectations” during a recent campaign abroad. Heineken saw a return 1.8 times its initial investment—and credits live data for the boost. “Knowing your audience has never been more important—and yet more difficult,” Genius Sports’ Linforth said. "Previously, third-party cookies enabled this to a limited degree. But as their viability decreases, marketers must adapt to find a new way to reach these audiences." Months Ahead of Super Bowl 56, Ads Are Nearly Sold Out. Here’s Why