Case Studies

A valued I-ology client for 2.5 years!

The Super Bowl is widely known to generate excitement in football fans and non-football fans alike. It is no secret that Super Bowl Sunday boasts one of the highest TV ratings of the year as people across America gather to watch the game as well as the commercials.

What most people do not know is how much work goes into the Super Bowl before game time. In fact, planning starts years before the coin-toss. The 2008 Super Bowl XLII Host Committee had just over two years to create support for the NFL's biggest contest to be hosted in Glendale, Arizona. With the success of the game and the national perception of the entire Phoenix area hinging on sponsors, volunteers and effective information distribution, the AZ Super Bowl XLII Host Committee saw its Web site as the organization's primary communication vehicle.

The nation's eyes were on Arizona on February 3, 2008. One of the greatest Super Bowl games was played for the second time in Arizona and for the first time in the new Cardinal's Stadium. Exuding pride, the site had to be a showcase that reveals Arizona as exciting, supportive and ready to host this monster sporting event. The AZ Super Bowl XLII Web site was the destination that quickly provided information for sponsors, attendees, press and others, saving the host committee staff valuable time in answering routine questions. The Web site presented important information about the area while transitioning to the online source of relevant Super Bowl information as the game got closer. The goals of the web site included:

• Build the buzz about Arizona as a travel and business destination.
• Feature event information about the Super Bowl, boosting attendance.
• Provide comprehensive destination information for travel, lodging and sightseeing, boosting room and tourism sales.
• Promote the Super Bowl's sponsors.
• Develop a staff of 28.

I-ology knew that the AZ Super Bowl XLII Host Committee Web site would be a unique challenge since it had a fixed three-year lifespan. In addition, as game day approached the site had to evolve to meet the changing needs of its audiences. To solve these unique challenges, I-ology developed specific focal points for each phase of the site to be timed in concert with the activities of the Bowl and the events that surround it. Additionally, a content management system was created to allow the Host Committee to make quick edits and updates with minimal staff supervision. The four phases were designed to evolve as Super Bowl Sunday grew closer:

• Phase (I) -- The focus was on the local community, attracting new sponsors and promoting existing sponsors.
• Phase (II) - Both content and imagery transitioned to address more of a national focus, while continuing to promote sponsorship and volunteer/employment recruiting.
• Phase (III) - As the 2007-2008 football season kicked off; the site focused on events, advertising and co-operative marketing initiatives including online marketing, tracking and analysis including SEM, PPC, email campaigns and social media.
• Phase (IV) - Once the teams were announced in January 2008, fans flocked to the site for game day information and logistics and the countdown to game day began. This was the largest Web initiative in Super Bowl history.

Few events can create the buzz, excitement and fervor for a local community like the Super Bowl. The Web initiative was a huge success, and the following are just a few key results:

• In January the Super Bowl Web site statistics recorded a record breaking 1.7 million unique visitors and over 3 million total page views. The previous record for any Super Bowl Web site was recorded at 750,000.
• I-ology's hosting, planning and infrastructure exceeded its Service Level Agreement (SLA) in the 2008 Super Bowl Web site and was the first Super Bowl site to maintain 100% uptime.
• Web site assisted in tracking and securing Super Bowl sponsorships exceeding 12 million dollars.
• Helped build, maintain and market to an email list of over 16 thousand individuals.
• Recruited over 8 thousand volunteers.