The following is a guest contributed post by Matthijs Keij, Co-founder and CEO of FlxOne.
Gone are the days of people just focusing on one thing at a time. We’re a society of multi-taskers who frequently have two screens on at the same time. With a television, smartphone, laptop, or tablet always powered up, we find ourselves constantly dividing our attention. Fortunately, that’s an encouraging trend for those of us who want to get more eyeballs on our ads.
On February 2nd, the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos will face off for Super Bowl XLVIII. The Big Game is a huge day for advertisers, with nearly 110 million TV viewers and the average 30-second commercial running a whopping $4 million. However, if you’re like most businesses, you simply don’t have that kind of money in the bank to capture the attention of this captive audience. Enter the magic of mobile.
Live sports can be a huge draw for advertisers who want to ensure viewers see their ads. Think about it. If you’re watching a live game, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll switch channels during the commercial breaks. However, whenever play on the field has stopped, viewers are extremely likely to start searching and sharing on their smartphones and tablets: the second screen. That’s where you need to be seen on Super Bowl Sunday.
According to a 2012 survey by Deloitte, 24% of people use a second screen while watching television. But that’s just on any ordinary day. According to a Harris Interactive survey of those who planned to watch Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, 36% indicated they would use a second screen to supplement their game day experience. That number is sure to increase this year as even more people embrace smartphones and smaller tablets become more popular.
Sports-related apps will enjoy a hefty surge in traffic during stoppages, so be sure to target non-premium, NFL-related apps (e.g. apps that list player stats, team facts, trivia, etc.) in your advertising plans.
Don’t forget about social apps, too. During last year’s game, according to Marketing Pilgrim, football fans posted more than 47.7 million updates to Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. A huge majority of those updates were via mobile devices. Even ESPN is encouraging viewers to tweet their analysts by including their handles during TV interview segments.
By targeting Super Bowl viewers through mobile ad exchanges in real time during the Big Game, you can capture attention at reasonable prices—especially compared to other forms of Super Bowl advertising. Whether it’s a promoted Tweet or a targeted in app mobile add, you don’t need to be a Fortune 500 company to be seen on game day. Just make sure to be savvy and get on the mobile football bandwagon ahead of time.