Feb 01 Social Media Roundup: Super Bowls Past

You may have heard that there’s a football game this Sunday. Some might even say it’s a big game, or maybe The Big Game (if your brand isn’t legally in the clear to refer to the Super Bowl itself).  No matter what you call the game, it’s certainly a huge day for marketing, both in commercial spots during the game and on just about every social media channel. Before the Patriots and Eagles square off, let’s take a look back at some great social media Super Bowl content from previous years.

Esurance Sweepstakes

Back in 2015, insurance company Esurance didn’t purchase an in-game ad, but they captured the attention of millions with their Twitter sweepstakes. Before the game started, Esurance tweeted that every use of their hashtag #EsuranceSweepstakes was considered an entry to win part of the million Dollars they handed out that day. Sure, that’s expensive, but it was far less money than the average of five million for a 30-second commercial.

The trophy’s been awarded, but we still have $250K to give away. #EsuranceSweepstakes #SB50 pic.twitter.com/FdAfQ84q1O

— Esurance (@esurance) February 8, 2016

Not only did they save a substantial amount of money compared to buying an ad, but Esurance ended up with 835,000 tweets about their brand, nearly four times as much as any other brand during the game!

NFL Goes Live

For the 2017 Super Bowl, both the Patriots and the NFL took advantage of Facebook Live to capture fans’ interest during moments before and after the game. While there may have been some issues with the video layout (vertical vs. horizontal), the league’s pregame video was viewed more than 200,000 times before kickoff of last year’s big game.

JC Penney Trolls Everyone

Prior to kickoff in 2014, JC Penney sent the below tweet, causing a lot of confusion and questions about the sobriety of their social team.

Who kkmew theis was ghiong tob e a baweball ghamle. #lowsscorinh 5_0

— JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 2, 2014

Then there was another tweet riddled with typos and nonsensical words, and as a community manager, I was both hoping and fearing that their team had already kicked back a few too many beverages. Turns out this was all a stunt, and they were “tweeting with mittens.”

Oops…Sorry for the typos. We were #TweetingWithMittens. Wasn't it supposed to be colder? Enjoy the game! #GoTeamUSA pic.twitter.com/e8GvnTiEGl

— JCPenney (@jcpenney) February 3, 2014

For all the hype and anticipation that was built, this was a pretty weak payoff in my opinion. Rule of building excitement: the longer the buildup is, the better the payoff needs to be.

Oreo Dunk In The Dark

Because I believe it’s federal law to mention Oreo in any discussion of Super Bowl social media content, I’m going to do so here. It truly was a great example of a brand reacting in real-time to an event with content that’s relevant to their audience while tying in brand equity. Heck, there’s even a whole story behind how the tweet happened! Because this tweet got so much traction and engagement, other brands set up “war rooms” for big events like the Super Bowl in preparation to be the next Oreo.

Power out? No problem. pic.twitter.com/dnQ7pOgC

— Oreo Cookie (@Oreo) February 4, 2013

So there are four memorable social media moments from Super Bowls past. Who will steal the stage this year? Let’s all wait and see!