It’s The Social Bowl
Get ready for the most interactive Super Bowl in history, folks.
Millions will tune in in record numbers to see Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots Patriots, but it will be the digital battles waged, the social media engaged, and brands activating which may make this year’s game the one to remember from a tech standpoint.
For perhaps the first time, no brand will activate, no partner will engage, no commercial will be seen without social and digital media entering into the equation. From Coca-Cola’s social TV platform, that will embedding content across Facebook, Twitter and second screens to Chevrolet’s Game Time iTunes app involving a second screen with prizes, to Honda and their Ferris Bueller reprise, social media will be there each step of the way with brands.
The NFL itself has built a full social media command center that has begun measuring not just effective but viral campaigns throughout the week, while NBC will stream the Super Bowl free, with additional camera angles, in-game highlight, live stats, commercial replays and other elements brought in by added value partners.
The teams have also gotten into the act, with the New York Giants taking the early lead in the social space over the New England Patriots, using twitter and their own site to pull in fans for a series of chats and all access periods during a time late in the week which used to be off-limits for fans. New York’s Social Media Night used the #NYGsocial to get players chatting in real time with fans on Google+, Facebook and twitter, and tied in partners for online giveaways and special access programs for fans.
And it’s not just the players in the game who are using the social space to grow partnerships and business relationships while engaging with their fans. From last week’s Pro Bowl, where players were allowed and encouraged to tweet and post messages to fans during the game, to players like Greg Jennings of the Packers using their influential Klout Scores and followings to drive interest for Coke Zero at the Maxim party, the marriage of sport and social for brand building is in full force. Even the old standby game appearances have eclipsed the conventional borders in and around the game, as the Buffalo Bills Steve Johnson and the St. Louis Rams’ Steven Jackson will host “Hang Out” rooms for free and online through the work of the sports and social mobile company PlayUp. The “Hang Out” rooms will give Johnson and Jackson the ability to interact with fans not just in one location, but around the world in real time as the game goes on and the plays are made, providing unique access to an audience who in previous years could have only gotten that close by being in the city or at an exclusive party. Now through mobile, the party is global and available to all.
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