• by Erik Shani , Op-Ed Contributor, February 11, 2016

This past weekend, advertisers and brands geared up for what some would call their most important 30 to 60 seconds of fame. The Super Bowl is one of the largest advertising platforms of the year, and one of the most-watched events in the US.

In fact, the 2016 game, which saw the Denver Broncos win a defensive battle over the Carolina Panthers 24-10, averaged 111.9 million TV viewers making it the third largest in TV history.

Of course, this kind of visibility comes with a hefty price tag, having increased about 75% during the past decade to reach almost $5MM for a 30 second spot at the 2016 game. As one of the most watched events in the world, the Super Bowl presents an incredible opportunity for brands; but at this cost, only an estimated 48 brands participated in Super Bowl TV spend this year. 

Can a brand achieve greater Super Bowl impact by spending after the broadcast?

Don’t win the day, win the week. Digital advertising has fundamentally changed how the Super Bowl is executed. A few years ago, TV was king; now, digital strategy is an essential piece of a successful campaign. Brands have an enormous opportunity to get access to audience and insights that brands pay $5MM for — for a fraction of the cost. 

Savvy advertisers can utilize an enormous amount of data after campaigns have run during the Super Bowl, simply because the audience size and their digital wake of activity in the days after the game is greater. By leveraging post game data in a timely manner, brands can use Super Bowl audience insights and targeting without paying game day prices. 

The Internet has made advertising at the Super Bowl fair play for all brands. Now, every brand has an opportunity to be part of the phenomenon without buying a TV spot during the game. Esurance, for example, generated more digital engagement than any other brand during the 2016 game by running only pre and postgame advertisements, coupled with a strong social media campaign.

By creatively leveraging their ad spots in a different way, they were able to capture the digital spillover- a huge opportunity that could have been missed.

By capitalizing on post-game success, brands can also realize viral trends that bubbled up during game time.  2015’s Big Game breakout star, #leftshark, was gradually trending until reached its viral peak almost a week after the game. 

Brands that have the financial means for Super Bowl advertising used to have a monopoly on share of voice until now. With innovative use of data, cross-channel advertising packages can put into play advantageous audience insights from the Game, to help brands extend what could be achieved on TV and break through all the noise while filling the post-game void.

What data and insights provide is an alternative roadmap to spending $160,000 per second on a feeling TV ad, and drive the conversation with consumers and football fans long after the MVP has been named.