Big Data Makes the Super Bowl a Personal Experience

Whether you’re going for the 49ers or the Ravens tomorrow, marketers have you covered. The Super Bowl attracts the biggest TV audience of the year, according to AdExchanger. Last year, a record 111.3 million people in the US watched the Super Bowl, the highest viewer count for a TV show ever. No wonder that this year, advertisers are paying $4 million for 30 seconds of airtime, another record.

Whether you’re going for the 49ers or the Ravens tomorrow, marketers have you covered. The Super Bowl attracts the biggest TV audience of the year, according to AdExchanger. Last year, a record 111.3 million people in the US watched the Super Bowl, the highest viewer count for a TV show ever. No wonder that this year, advertisers are paying $4 million for 30 seconds of airtime, another record.

Big data gives marketers new tools to get their Super Bowl ads working for them. Adotas lists some ways in which big data has changed the way ads are served:

• Marketers are going for penetration across media and screens — TV, mobile devices, social media, online contests — to get more than thirty seconds of mind share.
• Last year, only one quarter of brands didn’t use hashtags, QR codes, links or other online indicators in their TV spots. This year, that number will likely be lower.
• By mining user activity across media, advertisers are refining personas, demographics and behavior.
• Even cable and satellite TV providers are mining social media, website traffic, fantasy leagues and offline information in order to target the ads they show.
• Big data applications even scan the Web for indicators on a player’s brand equity and generate reports from that.

Even the teams themselves are immersed in big data analytics. The 49ers in particular have big data spread across their organization, according to the Wall Street Journal. Big data apps analyze not only how each of their players is performing, but how satisfied their fan base is, to the point of running analytics on tailgating parties.

In other words, big data has turned the Super Bowl, America’s annual communal event, into a personalized prospect. Will I be seeing the same ads as you this year? Will I see the same online content as you? Maybe not, unless we have similar online personas. Companies will be tailoring their content to my user profile, driving purchasing decisions and brand equity. Even NFL teams will be in on the game, showing me user profiles of the players that I like best.

While the Super Bowl will always remain the same at its core, big data is refining the experiences surrounding the event. It’s not just about winning teams anymore. It’s about winning brand equity and influence, across devices, before and after the game.

P.S. In case you were worried about it, Beyonce dispelled any rumors that she will be lip-syncing at Super Bowl XLVII. And, oh, go 49ers!!!!!

Authored by: Ana Andreescu, GoodData