• by Jess Nelson , February 5, 2016

Email marketers should consider taking advantage of the multiscreen Super Bowl this Sunday -- as 82% of viewers plan to use their smartphones during the game, according to new research from Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

Indeed, mobile devices will be almost as popular as the television screen this weekend when the San Francisco Bay Area hosts Super Bowl 50.

A poll of over a thousand consumers by Salesforce revealed that TV just barely beats smartphones as the most popular device to watch the Super Bowl and 84% of viewers will watch Cam Newton’s Carolina Panthers take on Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos on television. In addition, almost three-quarters of viewers plan to use two devices during the Super Bowl, while an additional 7% of viewers plan to use three or more devices.

And what do consumers do when they use their phone? They check their email.

A third of those ages 35 or older will check their email during the game, according to Adobe’s Digital Index. 

Surprisingly, Millennials are the least likely age group to check their email during the Super Bowl, according to the report, but email marketers could still utilize the crucial marketing channel to reach out to the millions of Americans who will be checking their emails during Sunday’s kickoff.

This is an easy win for email marketers, considering the juxtaposition in advertising budgets between a Super Bowl commercial and an email message. 

The average Super Bowl television spot is selling for $4.8 million, according to the Ad Age Datacenter, and projected total ad spend is expected to hit $377 million this Sunday. Super Bowl ad spending has itself almost doubled in the past five years, according to Kantar Media, increasing from $205 million in 2010. 

Email, however, is still proven to have the highest ROI at an estimated $39 for every $1 invested per the Digital Marketing Association.