• by Nick Martin , February 1, 2012

If you believe everything you read, you might think that with only a few days to go, the whole “Super Bowl” thing is a done deal where marketing is concerned. Prime television spots were snapped up back in September, and now they're sold out. Advertisers are already teasing their most-anticipated commercials online.

The Super Bowl is, after all, a singular opportunity for marketers: It's the only broadcast whose advertising attracts as many viewers as its football action, and the only one with ads that get tremendous press coverage. Viewers may be time- shifting, but in this case it's often to rewind the commercials.

However, you don't need to spend half your marketing budget on TV spots or be an official sponsor to get a branding boost from the biggest television event of the year -- far from it. Even brands without the time or resources for an all-out marketing blitz can move the ball down the field if they’re willing to make some unconventional digital-marketing plays.

The key? Keywords.

Massive media events like the Super Bowl bring keyword-targeting opportunities that extend far beyond game day. And yet even the savviest marketers often don't realize the potential of smart keyword strategies to capture heat (read: traffic) from big events like the Super Bowl.

Ready to win big this year? Here are a few tips:

Timing around a sporting event, holiday, or product launch can make all the difference in keyword performance. Publishers begin to see increasing traffic to Super Bowl-related content up to three or four weeks ahead of the event. That's not to say it's too late for those of you who have yet to suit up. There will always be overlooked keyword inventory, and unexpected ways to broaden the impact of a campaign.

Make it relevant. Focus on your users, their interests, and the context in which your ads are being displayed. These days, good ads deliver good content. And we've seen evidence that advertisers who provide users with informative content -- the ones who offer stuffing recipes the week before Thanksgiving, for instance -- are rewarded with 5-6x the usual CTR.

Another great example: When a technology brand wanted to show off its analytical prowess, it used a major tennis event to build a real-time interactive scoreboard, hosted in an ad unit that appeared alongside relevant content online. Users got more than the match score; they also got a reading on match “momentum,” which allowed users to experience one way the company extracts meaning from data.

Get creative. Marketers love the Super Bowl for one reason (mostly). For six hours on one day every single year, they know exactly where to find their customers: on the sofa, at a party, with friends. Ironically, that gives them enormous leeway in finding ways to reach those customers. Think about it: How many Super Bowl ads have anything to do with football? (Answer: Not so many.) Even if your target audience doesn't quite line up with the ones watching the big game, you can still ride its coattails to marketing success, with a smart keyword strategy that leverages the buzz without busting your budget.

Soon the Super Bowl will be a distant memory, and we'll all be off sharing, posting, and "liking" our favorite ads. So get off the bench, and get into the game. After all, the Olympics are just around the corner.