As one of the most watched television events of the year, the Super Bowl is a pivotal opportunity for brands looking to expand brand awareness and purchases within the United States marketplace. As Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024 approaches, it's essential for marketers to take a closer look at insights from last year’s gametime event to strategize effectively. In this guide, we'll dive into key data points from Super Bowl LVII and provide quick tips on how to leverage this information for a high-performing mobile marketing strategy in 2024.
Key Data Points from Super Bowl LVII
According to CNBC, 2023’s Super Bowl LVII was the third most-watched television event in history, with a record-breaking 113 million viewers tuning in to watch Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Prior to 2023, the 2015 Super Bowl between New England and Seattle held the viewership record with 114,442,000 viewers tuning in. Moreover, last year’s Super Bowl numbers showed a slight increase over the 112.3 million viewers who tuned in to watch 2022’s Super Bowl event between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Isolating just for streaming viewers of the Super Bowl LVII: last year’s digital feed averaged of the Super Bowl boasted a record 7 million viewers per minute. This was an 18% increase over 2022 (6 million).
Along with these records, Super Bowl LVII, clocked significant gains in the mobile marketplace according to data from Adjust.
Mobile app installs increased on Super Bowl Sunday
Last year’s Super Bowl Sunday saw an 17% increase in overall app installs year-over-year across shopping, food delivery and sports-related categories. Notably, shopping apps saw the highest increase in installs at 41%. This indicates the high market potential for all brands during Super Bowl Sunday, not just those related to sports or streaming.
Source: Adjust
In the streaming app category specifically, there was a 3% increase in installs. This reflects the ongoing rise of streaming channels like CTV with CTV seeing 10.9% growth in 2023 and expecting 13.8% growth in 2024. It also reflects the continued rise of sports programming on CTV channels. In a bid to acquire highly engaged sports viewers and boost retention rates, major streaming platforms are cornering the live sports media market. Today, most major streaming platforms have invested in sports programming.
- Amazon Prime Video: Thursday Night Football
- YouTube: Sunday Night Football
- Max: Added a live sports tier in October featuring MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA and US soccer games.
- Peacock: offers an eclectic array of sport programming from WWE matches to IndyCar racing to the 2024 Olympics.
Food delivery apps scored big
As noted above, various app categories saw a boost during last year’s Super Bowl Sunday, not just streaming and sports-related apps. According to Adjust, food delivery app installs climbed 18% during the Super Bowl. What’s more, food delivery app sessions increased by 17%. Finally, users spent more time using food delivery apps. The user clocked 22.7 minutes using food delivery apps. This was 1.66 minutes longer than the average session length last year.
What does this indicate? That Super Bowl Sunday is a pivotal opportunity for food delivery apps to launch Super Bowl-specific campaigns, discounts and promotions to leverage an already-engaged audience looking for gametime meals and snacks.
Shopping app installs and sessions saw wins
With shopping apps seeing a remarkable 41% increase in installs, there’s no doubt that retailers should plan to go big on Super Bowl Sunday. Along with shopping app increases, Americans spent an average of 9.49 minutes on shopping apps, 0.66 minutes longer than average time spent the previous year. There is a likelihood that this extended shopping time could be related to the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday. With this in mind, as retailers prepare their campaigns, they should align their Valentine’s Day campaigns to take advantage of the increased organic engagement of Super Bowl LVIII.
Sports betting and news apps made gains
According to CNBC, during Super Bowl weekend last year, over 100 million sports-betting transactions were made. This represented a 25% year-over-year increase in sports bets from the year prior. Sports betting app, FanDuel, in particular, handled more than 17 million Super Bowl bets. At its peak, FanDuel accepted 50,000 bets per minute and averaged 2 million active users on its platform throughout the game.
Furthermore, according to Adjust, installs of sports betting apps increased by 2% YoY on Super Bowl Sunday. App sessions also grew 3% YoY with gamblers spending an average of 29.48 minutes in app. This was 4.75 minutes more than the prior year.
Sports news app usage also spiked on game day. Installs for sports news apps increased by 19% YoY. Sessions grew by a remarkable 88% YoY. Finally, Sports news apps sessions also grew, with an average session length of 10.4 minutes, up by 1.64 minutes from the previous year.
Crafting a Winning Mobile Retargeting Strategy
Now that you have insights from Super Bowl LVII, it's time to create a high-performing mobile retargeting strategy for the upcoming Super Bowl. Here's how:
- Preparation is Key: Start planning your mobile retargeting campaigns well in advance of the event. Identify your goals and the specific Super Bowl Sunday events to align with.
- Audience Segmentation: Segment your audience based on their preferences and behaviors during Super Bowl LVII. Personalization is crucial for effective retargeting.
- Timing Optimization: Send out personalized retargeting messages at the right time. Consider offering exclusive promotions or discounts related to Super Bowl LVIII to entice app re-engagement.
- Multi-Channel Alignment: Align your mobile retargeting strategy with your omnichannel marketing efforts. Ensure that your retargeting messages are consistent across all channels, reinforcing your brand identity.
- Measurement and Analytics: Continuously monitor the performance of your retargeting campaigns before, during, and after Super Bowl LVIII. Utilize analytics to evaluate the success of your efforts and make data-driven adjustments.
Super Bowl LVIII promises to be another incredible marketing opportunity, and by leveraging the insights from Super Bowl LVII, you can create a winning mobile retargeting strategy. Stay ahead of the game, engage your audience effectively, and maximize the potential of major sporting events.
Ready to score wins in Q1? Reach out to our team to discuss how to craft a winning mobile retargeting strategy for Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day to meet your Q1 revenue goals.
