70% of the US population (180.8 million people) report using the internet while watching TV.
During Super Bowl LII last year, there were 170.7 million social media interactions across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in the US.
62% of Facebook interactions during Super Bowl LII were by female users and 32% were by people aged 34 and under.
Mobile usage during the Super Bowl peaked during the halftime performance, while the fourth quarter of the game saw the lowest mobile engagement.
According to a July 2018 survey, 46% of advertisers feel that the success of TV ad campaigns are limited in success due to consumers being distracted by their second screens.4 The second-screen should no longer be the second priority for advertisers. The mobile-first lifestyle of most US consumers means that mobile and in-app advertising is an increasingly effective way to reach users efficiently and at scale.
Super Bowl viewers are in a uniquely receptive mode for advertising. “I’m only watching for the ads” continues to be a common phrase leading up to game day, with 24% of US Super Bowl viewers claiming that the commercials are the most important part of the Super Bowl.5 But with sky-high ad space prices and declining attention from viewers, brands both big and small should turn their focus to the second screen.
Advertisers can take advantage of the second screen to engage a huge and diverse audience during the Super Bowl. According to Fiksu, targeting Super Bowl audiences via mobile costs 77% less per view than the prime time ads. With the right mix of creativity and technology, advertisers can find campaign success on gameday without spending seven figures.
Last year, Super Bowl viewers were active in a wide variety of mobile apps during the big game. The top app categories by the average number of launches per user included social, sports, games, music, health & fitness, and news.6 By using the granular targeting criteria available in-app, advertisers can leverage this second-screen behavior to reach their ideal consumers during the game.
Mobile publishers are also set to win big this Super Bowl. On the Smaato platform, both ad spending and eCPMs in sports apps spiked 120% above the monthly average on the day of Super Bowl LII. And with mobile ad spending forecasted to grow 22% this year, we expect this trend will be even more pronounced for Super Bowl LIII. This includes sports apps as well as other top app categories such as gaming, social, and news.
To attract these increased Super Bowl budgets from top brands, mobile publishers should offer premium placements for highly-creative ad formats such as interactive and rewarded video.
With the 2019 Super Bowl around the corner, now is the time to get ready for kick-off. Whether you're a publisher looking to optimize ad spaces and formats in time to profit from rising eCPMs or an advertiser looking to reach a highly-engaged audience, the Super Bowl offers an unparalleled mobile advertising opportunity. Don’t delay and hope for a last-second Hail Mary — get started now to ensure your in-app advertising and monetization campaigns score a touchdown.