The Super Bowl is as much about the advertising as it is about the game.
That’s nothing groundbreaking but this year’s game will have a new wrinkle.
Facebook is planning to sell ads in real time during the game. According to a report from The Toronto Sun, the social media site will be selling ads on-the-spot to its customers.
Facebook Super Bowl ads that are sold will be based on what Facebook users share during the Super Bowl.
So, if you’re watching the game and feel inclined to post after the Patriots score a touchdown, you’re likely going to see ads on your feed related to that post.
That could be an offer for a Patriots jersey or some other piece of merchandise.
Post about a great beer commercial you just saw? It’s not out of the realm of possibility that your Facebook feed will start showing ads for that beer or others, based on which brands have chosen to advertise.
The Sun is reporting that Facebook will launch this effort during Sunday’s game and only on mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets.
Facebook Super Bowl ads will likely be video ads and they will play automatically when they appear on a News Feed.
The idea of instant gratification ads appearing on social media streams is new for Facebook. And this effort is a direct competition to Twitter, which has been taking advantage of real time advertising already.
Twitter keeps “war rooms” staffed with more than a dozen representatives from Super Bowl advertisers. Their job is to watch the game and the Twitter feed to monitor real time activity as it relates to the game and their product.
Facebook is answering that effort with its own similar push during this year’s game. And at least one advertiser is taking advantage of the opportunity. The Sun is reporting that Toyota Motor Corp. has created video ads specifically designed to run during the game exclusively on Facebook.
The social site also announced that it hopes to keep fans of the game glued to not only their televisions but the site, too.
Facebook is launching a “hub” for all Super Bowl-related activity on the site. To reach the hub, users only need to click on a friend’s post that indicates they’re “watching Super Bowl XLIX” and they’ll get directed to the special section of the site.
There will also be a quick link to the hub in the “Trending” section of the site. And any hashtag that’s Super Bowl related will also direct users to the hub.
There, users will find posts from their friends about the Super Bowl. They’ll also find photos and videos from the game and posts from other NFL teams, players, and analysts. The hub will also show a play-by-play account of the game and display the score.
Facebook says that last year, 50 million people interacted on the site during the game. That’s half of the expected worldwide television audience for this year’s Super Bowl.
Writing on Facebook’s official Newsroom blog, Alex Himel, Facebook’s engineering director, and Dan Reed, the site’s head of global sports partnerships, explain:
“From kickoff to the game’s final seconds, Super Bowl XLIX is likely to be one of the most talked-about moments on Facebook this year and we hope this new Super Bowl experience will bring people, athletes and journalists together in one ongoing conversation.”
Images: Budweiser, Facebook
Joshua: Could you do a screen dump of your Facebook page, so we could see it in real time? 😉
Alley
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