Five Second-Screen Plays For Super Sunday

Out of the 100-plus million people expected to watch Super Bowl XLVII, more than a third will follow the excitement of the game and the humor of the commercials on a second screen.

From social media to interactive smartphone and tablet apps, second screen is expected to play a big role for the biggest game of the year — not just for viewers, but also for the content providers.

CBS, which is broadcasting this year’s Super Bowl, expects to make between $10 million and $12 million in second screen revenue alone, according to AdWeek. “Because it’s such appointment TV, because people build their lives around the television [broadcast], it’s the best opportunity to build in a second screen experience,” said Jason Kint, SVP and GM of CBSSports.com.

So, what can we expect come Super Sunday? Here’s a rundown of the top second-screen experiences to watch and enjoy.

1. CBSSports.com

CBS Sports hopes to give Super Bowl viewers all of the action from every possible angle. By logging on to CBSSports.com/nfl/superbowl, on a PC or a tablet, viewers will be able to choose from multiple camera angles to watch the game.

Specifically, CBS is deploying what’s being called the “Fan Choice” camera, which will give the most compelling views of the game based on live voting from viewers and on the producer’s choice. One angle could be the “All-22,” which shows a full-field view from the 50-year line, for the fan who wants to study play formations.

If a viewer missed a play, the CBSSports.com dashboard acts like a DVR, allowing fans to pause, rewind and replay the biggest moments.

In addition to that live-viewing dashboard, viewers will be able to pull up their favorite commercials on-demand after they air on TV. Next to those ads will be social media boxes, allowing users to share their thoughts and comments about the new Budweiser or Coca-Cola ad.

And for the first time, CBS is offering a live stream of the halftime show featuring pop superstar Beyoncé.

2. Shazam

They’re calling it the first “Shazamable Super Bowl.”

The popular app, which started out as a way to identify the song title and artist of music heard on the radio, is taking its second-screen experience even further for this year’s Super Bowl.

By triggering the app during the game, Shazam will deliver live game stats, highlights and team information.

Its real potential comes when the game takes a break, however.

More than half of the commercials are going to be “Shazam-ified,” meaning viewers will see a little blue logo in the corner of the screen that prompts them to pull out their smartphone or tablet, click the Shazam app and unlock extra content.

Last year, Shazam partnered with Best Buy to take offer users a $50 gift card for consumers looking to buy and activate a new smartphone in 2012.

Some of the app’s partners this year include Pepsi Co., Disney and Anheuser-Busch.

3. Coca-Cola

The popular soft drink company is creating a game of its own for this year’s Super Bowl. Much like the “choose your own ending books” that are popular among grade school children, Coca-Cola is letting Super Bowl viewers decide the outcome of their commercial in real time.

The plot, though peculiar, is simple: A pack of Las Vegas showgirls, a band of cowboys and a gang of “badlanders” are chasing after an elusive bottle of Coca-Cola in the desert.

Following a ferocious race for the bottle of Coke, they see a sign that’s pointing left, reading “50 miles ahead.” Then the group viciously takes off again. Here’s the 30-second ad, which has been running online since Jan. 23 and will premier on TV at the Super Bowl:

How will it end? The viewers must vote for the showgirls, the cowboys or the badlanders at CokeChase.com.

During the game, viewers can visit that website and see real-time updates on who’s winning, and even interact with the fictitious characters via Facebook and Twitter. Once a winner is chosen, Coke will air one of the three commercials based on viewer votes.

Even if a viewer’s choice doesn’t win, Coke is trying to make everyone a winner: The first 50,000 people who participates  and signs up for MyCokeRewards — a customer loyalty program — will receive a coupon for a free bottle of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke or Coke Zero.

“We’re celebrating the liquid and reminding people that Coca-Cola is the ultimate refresher and engaging them in an unprecedented social experience,” says Stuart Kronauge, general manager of sparkling beverages for Coca-Cola North America.

4. Twitter and Facebook

The two behemoth social networks are hoping to break some records at this year’s Super Bowl.

For the 2012 event, Twitter broke two tweet-related records, the first being Madonna’s halftime performance, which generated 10,245 tweets per second. The Material Girl’s record, however, was crushed by the game itself. Following amazing plays down the stretch by the New York Giants, the number of Super Bowl-related tweets per second hit 12,233, according to PC Magazine.

Users can follow @SuperBowl on Twitter for the latest updates and join the conversation using the hashtag #SB47.

Facebook this year just won’t just be an outlet to hear your buddy raving about a top play or a terrible commercial. It will also give us an idea on which team is the most talked about. The popular social network published a map this week, showing which states were talking about which team the most. A majority of that map was red, representing the San Francisco 49ers, while the eastern side of the country was purple for the Baltimore Ravens.

Facebook published a blog post that said they have 35 million account holders who have “Liked” an NFL team’s Facebook page.

To follow all the action, users can peruse the Raven’s of 49ers Facebook page, in addition to “The Sports Feed by Getty Images” Facebook page to see professional photos in real-time.

5. The Puppy Bowl

The 12-hour Puppy Bowl marathon has become a Super Bowl tradition for the past eight years, drawing 8.7 million viewers last year to the cable network Animal Planet. Not bad for counterprogramming the Super Bowl.

There isn’t much to the production, which is essentially a cameraman filming a bunch of adorable puppies in a makeshift playing field. But non-football fans looking to enjoy some cute-overload are in luck, because even the Puppy Bowl is taking advantage of the second screen.

Animal Planet announced that it teamed up with IntoNow, Yahoo’s TV app, to give viewers “Puppy Bowl IX Plus.” The experience gives viewers even more cute photos of puppies, in addition to quizzes and video extras. The app syncs with what’s on TV, allowing the producers to show live stats from the quizzes and polls.

The Puppy Bowl kicks off at 3 p.m. Sunday, and I’m embarrassed to write (according to Ad Age) that a new element of this year’s show includes hedgehog cheerleaders.