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Every year, the Big Game brings in millions of viewers, creating an unmatched advertising opportunity for brands. The allure of the Big Game commercials lies in their ability to captivate an audience of over 100 million people for a brief, yet incredibly impactful, moment. However, while the buzz of the game is electric, relying on that single event to justify the investment in an ad leaves much-untapped potential. In today’s digital landscape, brands must think beyond the traditional confines of Game Day and create an ongoing engagement strategy that continues long after the final whistle blows.
So, how can you maximize engagement and extend the life of your ad beyond the Big Game? In this guide, we'll explore strategies to help your brand make a splash during the Big Game and sustain that momentum for weeks and months after.
Big Game ads are legendary for creating buzz, driving brand awareness, and generating conversation. In fact, nearly 50% of Big Game viewers are just as excited about the commercials as they are about the game itself. But while that excitement is real, so is the cost: a 30-second spot in the Big Game can cost upwards of $7 million. Given the enormous investment, brands need to plan ways to maximize the value of their ads beyond Big Game Sunday.
To truly maximize your return on investment (ROI), you need to create an engagement strategy that extends far beyond the single day of the game.
Before your Big Game ad ever hits the screen, you can start generating excitement with teaser campaigns. Just like movie trailers build anticipation for blockbuster releases, a teaser campaign can create buzz around your ad and pique viewer interest.
Start by releasing short snippets or still images from your ad across social media, email campaigns, and YouTube. You can even create a series of teaser videos that slowly reveal elements of the full commercial, encouraging viewers to follow along and share their predictions.
Including a Flowcode in these initial touch points will set you up to track your entire audience journey.
When they scan your teaser, a FlowID—a unique digital identity associated with each user—is created to track every unique interaction from there on out. This allows you to monitor user behavior over time, gaining valuable insights into how they engage with your brand across multiple touchpoints, enabling more effective personalization and retargeting strategies.
Social media is a powerful tool for creating early engagement. Use platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to build anticipation. Collaborate with influencers who can generate conversation around your ad. Influencers can offer their followers exclusive content, behind-the-scenes footage, or even competitions tied to your Big Game campaign.
The key is to make the ad feel like an event before it even airs. Engaging early helps plant the seeds for longer-term conversations.
Encouraging users to create content tied to your ad is a powerful way to drive pre-game engagement. Launch a contest where fans submit creative ideas about your ad’s theme or brand message. Reward the most creative entries with Big Game tickets, merchandise, or exclusive experiences. UGC campaigns have the added benefit of creating a personal connection between your brand and its audience, ensuring that the conversation continues well beyond Game Day.
While millions are glued to their TV sets during the Big Game, many are also using their phones, tablets, or laptops. This presents a golden opportunity to capture real-time engagement through second-screen experiences.
Use a branded hashtag to encourage viewers to share their thoughts, reactions, and even questions about your ad as it airs. Using our mobile-optimized templates, you can create interactive polls, live giveaways, or quizzes that engage viewers and deepen their connection to your brand during the game.
Live social media engagement is essential on Game Day. Brands that actively interact with fans in real-time see higher engagement levels. This can involve replying to comments, reposting UGC, or even interacting with other brands to build friendly rivalries or collaborations.
Incorporating Flowcode QR codes into your Big Game ad is a powerful way to connect with viewers beyond Game Day. Invite them to scan the code for exclusive offers, behind-the-scenes content, or early access to new products. Flowcode's smart QR technology allows for customized branding, deep analytics, and seamless connectivity, making it easier for viewers to instantly engage with your brand.
What sets Flowcode apart is its AI-optimized platform that continuously adapts in real-time to maximize conversions, directing traffic to the most effective landing pages based on user behavior. This ensures that your campaign is always performing at its best, delivering the right content to the right audience. Make sure your ad’s CTA is clear and enticing—drive viewers to your website or a custom landing page where they can continue to engage with your brand long after the game.
Once you’ve captured viewer attention, retargeting can help nurture them down the marketing funnel. By leveraging FlowID, you can identify and retarget consumers who engaged with your ad during the Big Game, whether through Flowcode scans, social media interactions, website visits, or promo code redemptions. This data can be used to build highly personalized retargeting social or email drip campaigns.
Flowcode’s deep data analytics combined with FlowID gives you a granular view of who engaged with your campaign, making it easier to segment your audience and create more effective marketing strategies for future efforts. This allows you to keep the conversation going with your most engaged viewers and drive conversions even after Game Day.
Once the Big Game ends, your strategy shouldn’t. Continue the conversation by sharing extended versions of the ad, bloopers, or behind-the-scenes footage. A post-game recap can serve as a way to re-engage viewers who may have missed the ad or want to see more.
Collaborate with media outlets, influencers, and bloggers to publish articles and content about your ad. Leverage platforms like YouTube and TikTok to release new content that ties into the original ad’s story.
Evergreen content is a type of content that remains relevant and valuable over time. Turn the story or characters from your ad into a longer narrative that can live on social media, blogs, or video platforms. Create a campaign that ties into your brand’s larger goals and objectives, so that the Big Game ad serves as a launching point for a longer journey.
Another strategy for extending engagement is to collaborate with influencers after the game. Influencers can create follow-up content around your ad, offering commentary, challenges, or even parodies that drive engagement. This keeps your brand in the conversation and ensures that you reach new audiences through influencer partnerships.
1. Wendy’s Twitter Roast (2017) In 2017, Wendy’s took to Twitter to engage viewers with a series of playful roasts during the Big Game. This humor-based engagement extended long after the game, helping the brand increase its social media following and improve its reputation as a fun, engaging brand.
2. Old Spice "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" (2010) Old Spice’s iconic ad was followed by an interactive campaign where the brand responded to fans' social media questions in real-time. The campaign was a massive success, turning a one-time ad into a viral, long-term marketing effort.
3. Tide’s Ad Takeover (2018) Tide’s "It’s a Tide Ad" campaign dominated the Big Game in 2018 by taking over multiple ad slots. The brand's clever messaging kept people talking long after the game, and Tide continued the momentum with follow-up ads and social media campaigns that parodied other commercials.
Once your Big Game ad campaign has fully rolled out, the final step is to measure success and adjust future strategies accordingly. Analytics are essential in understanding your campaign's performance and identifying improvement areas.
Key engagement metrics to track include:
Flowcode’s analytics platform offers real-time data on engagement metrics, allowing you to fine-tune your campaign and track the success of your post-game efforts.
Use insights from your Big Game campaign to inform future advertising efforts. A/B testing allows you to experiment with different versions of follow-up ads to see which formats and messages resonate most with your audience. By analyzing what worked and what didn’t, you can optimize your strategy for future campaigns.
The Big Game is an advertising spectacle like no other, but the true value of a Big Game ad lies in the ability to extend engagement beyond Game Day. By incorporating pre-game hype, real-time interactions, and post-game follow-ups, brands can create campaigns that not only maximize ROI but also build long-lasting relationships with their audience.
Flowcode’s seamless QR technology provides a direct, measurable way to drive engagement across each phase of your Big Game campaign. Whether through user-generated content, second-screen experiences, or influencer collaborations, there are countless ways to keep your Big Game ad relevant long after the game ends.
With the right approach, your Big Game ad can become more than a one-time event—it can be the foundation of a long-lasting, impactful brand engagement strategy.
