Small Screen, Big Impact: 3 Creative Ways to Engage Niche Audiences Watching The Super Bowl On Digital

Second screen experiences can drive major business outcomes.

Whether you’re a football fan or not, you are bound to get big game updates blaring across your screens when the Super Bowl kicks off.

Now, regardless of which teams are playing in the Big Game, 76 percent of Super Bowl viewers assert they tune in for the larger-than-life TV commercials.

While some of us will be at in-house Super Bowl parties or sports bars to watch the big game, most will engage in a multiplatform experience by tuning into updates on their phones in addition to the big screen. 

This, my friends, leaves a plethora of creative marketing opportunities to reach niche audiences beyond the mass consumer football fan watching the Super Bowl.

After all, with this year's half-time headliner marking Rhianna’s return to music, we expect savvy brands to market to the myriad of audiences that she resonates with.

Here are three ways to drive brand impact via second screen experiences during the Super Bowl. 

1. Advanced Connected TV Using QR Codes

Viewers being able to see your brand’s ad streamed on CTV apps during the Super Bowl is one thing, being able to captivate audiences with a dual impact viewing experience is another.

Advanced CTV ad formats such as inputting QR codes on screen allows viewers to indulge in a multisensory reaction to the ad. Rather than just watching a brand’s product be promoted via video, implementing a QR code that highlights a new product launch or initiative encourages viewers to pull out their phones (as if they were not on them already) to engage with the highlighted call to action. 

Take this 2023 Super Bowl Downy Unstoppable commercial for example. Downy has done what we encourage every modern brand to do. It has made use of the super bowl in a brand-centric way by using it as a promotional asset to argue that its product’s fresh smells will last until the big game. This in return allows Downy to connect with the niche market of super bowl viewers and sports fans. 

On top of that, Downy also hyper focuses on key scents that it is promoting which is a great effort. However, it could have been accented one step further by  adding in an on-screen QR code that drove viewers to purchase the product directly from Down.

2. Interactive Video Using VVital

Implementing interactive video ad formats is one of the most ideal ways to reach the thumb scrollers of the world that may not tune into a physical TV to watch the Super Bowl. The niche demographic of thumb scrollers may watch the game on a mobile-streaming app or will casually get updates on the score and trending topics through social media.

That said, this mobile-centric demographic is keen to engage with video advertisements that are interactive, the same way that the world’s favorite social networks are. One way to implement interactivity into a brand’s ad format is by using PadSquad’s VVital feature, which transforms traditional vertical video by adding interactive overlays to encourage interaction. 

This format is delivered by auto-playing on mute when scrolled into full view. The Interactive elements are often timed as the viewer watches the ad, which invites them to interact to discover and learn more.

Take this Super Bowl commercial for the upcoming movie Flash for example. While the commercial serves as the perfect ad to be viewed on TV or mobile devices, one way to spruce it up using VVital would be to add a persistent and swipable carousel of the character for viewer interaction. Also specific scenes could be highlighted with lightning bolt animation overlays to reiterate Flash’s speed/power 

Applying interactive assets specifically at key moments that will be of importance to the overall film is a great way to to reach the niche audience of superhero fanatics while not taking away from the general excitement that the ad can bring to all super bowl viewers. 

3. Second Screen Mobile

We would be remiss to not reimagine a commercial curated by Rihanna herself. 

Not only is the entertainer turned entrepreneur performing at the Super Bowl, she has also made sure that her brand Savage X Fenty is making an appearance as well. The lingerie and loungewear company created a Super Bowl collection for fans to wear as they watch the performance.

As seen in the ad here, the cozy and comfy Game Day collection seems to feature a few products including a hat, jersey and sweatpants. What is left missing from the commercial however is a tech-savvy way for viewers to add the showcased pieces to their carts for purchase.

This is where Second Screen Mobile experiences can thrive. 

If the Fenty team implemented second screen mobile shopping on the ad, viewers would be able to bring the experience to their phone enabling viewers to drag and drop pieces from the Game Day collection with the added benefit of curating their own personal shopping list that can be downloaded to your camera roll, like this ad for Nike. 

This act alone would allow shoppers to keep taps on the pieces they want to purchase, ultimately driving sales and showcasing Savage X Fenty as a tech-forward brand.

Moving the goalposts

Brands that want to thrive in a digital-era will soon enough understand that second screen experiences can drive major business outcomes. It takes a lot of understanding and unique creativity to drive these marketing opportunities. But, that’s what we’re here for.

At PadSquad, we are masters at curating remarkable creative ad designs for Humankind. Brands that work with us are able to tap into the power of sight, sound, motion, touch, and interactivity to connect human emotions to digitally innovate advertisements.

If you’re interested in connecting with nice-audiences year-round and using some of the above listed ad features to do so, give us a shout here.