• by A.J. Vernet , January 30, 2014

Feb. 2, the big day advertisers and fans of great ads alike can’t wait for, is looming. Accordingly, Fox is seeking around $4 million for the privilege of running a 30-second spot in Super Bowl XLVIII, a slight uptick from the average price secured by CBS – between $3.7 million and $3.8 million – in 2013.
 
Every minute of the 2014 “Snow Bowl” ad space was sold by the time the turkey was baked on Thanksgiving Day. But doesn’t $4 million sound like an awful lot for 30-seconds of branding, big audience or not? Whether an advertiser snagged a spot or missed out, they should still be able to get a lot more than 30-seconds of fame from their Super Bowl marketing. In fact, they should be able to get 30 days of glory for their brand.
 
Pre-game, post-game and everything in between, the Super Bowl provides a myriad of ways to get creative in how you engage and excite fans, hype your brand, and tell your story long before (and after) the players hit the field at MetLife Stadium.
 
So here are 5 ways to ensure your brand stays top of mind every step of the way, on every channel and screen:
 
1. Marketers should develop a multichannel strategy across social and display that will enable them to respond instantly to  the action on and off the field. This will make your Super Bowl strategy a game changer. Full coverage is a strategy that will expand your media play. That’s why smart marketers start up to two weeks before the game when they can have their very own 14-day, non-stop pre-game show for their brand. Start your story now. Tease, preview and build interest in your in-game ad or digital campaign.
 
2. Leak your hot spot or launch your “making of” video and make sure the footage is interactive. These spots can then be launched via social media to give them some extra legs.
 
3. Launch an ever-changing creative optimization campaign that responds in an instant to team standings, player stats (or antics) and more. Game on! Game time is real-time and marketers should be embracing the opportunities and rewards that real-time marketing can bring — from the social-sphere right into the display sphere. And don’t forget special teams coverage — marketers can have a team on standby ready to help launch responsive social and display ads at a moment’s notice. Remember that reaction time to game events via social need to happen in four minutes or less.
 
4. Savvy advertisers should use contests and surveys, announcing winners and providing access to live updates which people always love. Between commercials, when fans are on their mobile and tablet devices, real-time social ads can come into play; “Will they punt or will they go for it?” This can be achieved cleverly using social, display and mobile. And halftime is a great time to use multiscreen to extend your halftime spot to all your digital channels; social, display, video, rich media and mobile.
 
5. Post-game wrap up. Marketers should keep the momentum going. Many viewers head online the days following the game to re-watch the ads that they loved and share them. Here’s a good opportunity to use that “behind-the-scenes” footage you’ve been saving to extend the life of the campaign.   
 
At the end of the day, what will consumers remember? Not only the brands with the funniest or sexiest ads anymore, that’s for sure. Those who can engage consumers on different screens with appropriately targeted messages will be the real winners in the 2014 Super Bowl .