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"From Mean Joe Greene\u2019s Coca-Cola spot, to the \"Bud Bowl,\" to last night\u2019s cameos by Kenny G, Joan Rivers, and Eminem, advertising has long been as big a part of Super Bowl Sunday as the game itself. Most years, we\u2019re treated to ads that one-up what we\u2019ve previously seen and contribute just as much to the Monday morning water cooler conversation as any big play or touchdown celebration.\nThis year, however, the major evolution didn\u2019t come in the form of ever-racier attention grabbers or production values that would make James Cameron nod with approval. It came in the form of social media tie-ins that advertisers designed to keep consumers engaged long after the Super Bowl hangover fades.\nThe Highlight Reel\nSuper Bowl XLV marked not only an end to the NFL season, but also the conclusion of weeks-long advertising efforts aimed at boosting consumers\u2019 online engagement with the brands they are partial to. The budgets and levels of sophistication employed in these campaigns ranged widely, but all had the same goal: to transform singular media impressions into the longer-term customer relationships that all businesses covet.\nPapa John\u2019s, for example, sponsored a campaign that promised a free large pizza to anyone registered on its website if game went into overtime. In coordination with its Super Bowl marketing strategy, Mercedes gave away two cars during its \u201CTweet Race to the Big Game,\u201D a Twitter-inspired race to Dallas.\nOthers took simpler steps to turn Super Bowl excitement into social media buzz. Volkswagen\u2019s \u201CThe Force\u201D commercial and the Motorola Xoom\u2019s Apple-inspired/parodying ad were both teased on YouTube and generated significant attention from bloggers, the mainstream media, and consumers before the game even kicked off.\nIt is also worth mentioning that some marketers even made social media integration a key selling point for their products and services. Amidst a sea of automobile commercials highlighting traditional features such as luxury, power, and value, Chevrolet plugged the real-time Facebook status update feature of its new Cruze.\nThe Passing Game: Social Media Integration Modernizes Traditional Advertising\nFor years now, there has been a clear incentive for marketers to utilize social media as a significant element of their advertising efforts. Those incentives are only amplified when considering the massive costs associated with generating an impression during the Super Bowl. The average cost of a 30-second spot for this year\u2019s game was reported to be anywhere from $2.5 to $2.8 million. While this is by no means a record, it is still a substantial sum that underscores the just how important it is for advertisers to access the Super Bowl\u2019s relatively captive audience.\nWhen making such a significant expenditure, companies naturally expect an equally significant return. And today, social media tie-ins are one of the most effective ways to maximize the positive impact of a Super Bowl commercial.\nJust as the invention of the forward pass changed football forever, the advent of social media has change the advertising game, and marketers must react accordingly. As such, Super Bowl spots, some of which fade into obscurity the moment the next ad dominates our attention, need to be seen as on-ramps toward continued consumer engagement in the digital space (which is where many consumers spend the time they once devoted to television).\nWhether the goal is increased registration on an e-commerce portal, more visits to a corporate YouTube profile, or growing the number of friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter, Super Bowl advertising \u2014 and all TV advertising for that matter \u2014 is now not just about the product or service itself; it\u2019s also about identifying ways to ensure that the audience remains attentive for the long haul. By using TV as a springboard to consumer engagement via social media, smart marketers are doing just that.\nPost-Game Breakdown: What\u2019s Next for Television Advertising\nAs DVRs, on-demand programming, and a la carte paid options (e.g., iTunes) continue to take hold, consumers are seeing fewer ads on a day-to-day basis. That means destination television \u2014 such as the Super Bowl \u2014 has become even more important turf for TV advertisers to dominate.\nTop dramas in prime time, season finales, and major sporting events \u2014 programming that draws people together to watch in real time \u2014 represent what are perhaps the last windows of uninterrupted and unavoidable ad viewing. As such, these limited opportunities need to be leveraged to their full potential; not just with witty one-liners and movie-quality CGI, but with the carefully orchestrated social media integration that keeps consumers coming back.\nMore Marketing Resources from Mashable:\n- Top 10 Most Shared Super Bowl Ads Of All Time [VIDEO]- Top 5 Social Media Game Plans for Super Bowl Advertisers- Why Permission Marketing Is the Future of Online Advertising- Why Influencer Marketing Needs to Go Beyond Follower Counts- HOW TO: Create a Facebook Engagement Policy\nImage courtesy of iStockphoto, spxChrome, CostinT, subjug"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/02/07/social-media-super-bowl-ads/>