The Superbowl has come and gone.
Leading up to the Superbowl there was a lot written about what the Second Screen approach would be (see here and here and here). I think alternative second screen approaches – second screen experiences designed by the rightsholder or the distribution network – can be especially effective when the digital platform competes as the primary screen. This is also true when users are turning to the digital platform for additional richness to the first screen experience.
But in my opinion, with live events like the Superbowl Twitter remains the winner of the Second Screen experience. I imagine in the next few days Twitter will announce a record number of tweets during #SuperBowl Sunday. During the game there was an extended delay caused by an unexpected power outage. CBS was caught flat-footed and had to scramble quickly. The Second Screen experience coming from rightsholders and distribution partners is still largely a highly choreographed experience. It doesn’t handle improv well. On the other hand, this article from Forbes highlights some of the ways advertisers effectively took advantage of the mishap using Twitter.
UPDATE: here’s how Oreo got their “Dunk in the Dark” ad up so quickly. I predict this approach – a “war” room staffed with the agency and the brand team during the live event – will soon become the norm for large, live events.
UPDATE #2: Twitter reports Super Bowl related hashtags were used 300K times – up nearly 300 percent.
