Before the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers square off at Super Bowl XLVII this Sunday, industry analysts and market watchers are gearing up for what generally amounts to one of the most exciting days for advertisers all year.
It goes without saying that TV commercials have become a pop cultural phenomenon on Super Bowl Sunday. But the increasingly pervasive role of mobile has impacted the advertising landscape to a significant degree.
So what will mobile’s impact be during the Super Bowl this weekend? MMW recently caught up with Monik Sanghvi, Senior Vice President of Strategy at digital agency Organic to gain some insight.
Q: What are your predictions on how mobile will be used during the Super Bowl this year?
A: Marketers will primarily utilize mobile as an interaction device for TV viewers. Auto and CPG brands including Audi, Lincoln, Toyota, Coke, Pepsi and Doritos are leveraging mobile to enable pre-game fan interaction that will influence their in-game advertising content. We also expect to see more Shazam-ized ads leading to mobile experiences during the game. Finally more brands, like Viacom’s Paramount, will follow the trends set by Chevrolet’s 2012 Game Time app to interact with consumers during the game as well. This growing trend capitalizes on the growing propensity of TV viewers to leverage platforms like Twitter and GetGlue as an in-game communication medium.
Q: How will it differ from last year?
A: We hope to see some innovative interaction from more irreverent brands like GoDaddy.com and Axe. We’re also anticipating that marketers will begin to engage the Superbowl’s growing mobile viewership directly.
Q: Is second-screen the best approach for marketers’ who want to get in the game?
A: Marketers have typically leveraged the Superbowl as a splashy advertising platform to gain consumer ‘likeability’. Consumers expect it and have given brands the chance to throw caution to the wind and be funny, irreverent, thoughtful or inspiring. TV is a great medium for this and it doesn’t really require a second screen interaction. Given the need to be innovative, we’re not convinced that ‘tried and true’ methods are relevant for Superbowl marketers, and the only ‘best bet’ is to maximize the impact of that media spend by leveraging multiple channels. From there, the communication has to be so engaging that the promise of additional interaction is more compelling than the game itself. Be bold in engaging your fan base. Take risks. Have fun.
Q: Will mobile be used more for brand building or direct response purposes this year?
A: We think the goal of most marketers’ Super Bowl efforts is to engage consumers and build brand favorability. Mobile will be leveraged as an interaction device in brand engagement. Some of this will be for voting and other ‘direct response’ type actions, though not in the traditional sense of ‘direct response’ marketing.
