What songs will she sing? What will she wear? What will you buy?
This year, there is one more question for fans to ponder going into the Super Bowl halftime show, featuring Katy Perry. That's because this year marks the first shoppable halftime show in Super Bowl history. Thanks to Delivery Agent's ShopTV platform, fans watching the Super Bowl on a smart TV will be able to purchase items related to Katy Perry's performance without getting up from their couch.
During Perry's show, using either ShopTV or shop-enabled tweets sent out through the game, fans will be able to check out a variety of products being sold during the performance. Upon finding something they want to buy, fans will complete the purchase from their couch by using Visa Checkout.
The innovation involved in the first-ever shoppable halftime show is one aspect that motivated companies like Visa to become involved in the history making event. "At Visa, we are always interested in bringing consumers innovative, easier ways to pay. We had this opportunity brought to us and specifically thought it would be perfect, given the wide appeal of the Super Bowl and the fact that people want to watch the Super Bowl -- not get off of their couches to make a payment," Visa's senior vice president of global research and marketing analytics, Lisa Balazs, said.
The creation of a shoppable halftime show signals the newest Super Bowl marketing trend. While much of the conversation related to Super Bowl marketing surrounds the ad space corporations buy, a shoppable halftime show presents sponsors a new opportunity to introduce their products and brands to the million of fans tuning in. "We are excited to try this shoppable halftime platform by presenting our innovative way to pay. There are over 20 million people with smart TVs. We are interested to see how this works out," Balazs remarked.
While the push of this year's shoppable halftime show will be made through smart TVs, fans who do not own one will still be able to participate. Throughout the show, Pepsi and ShopTV will tweet out product suggestions. Fans using Twitter can use Twitter's "buy" button to make seamless purchases during the show. "This is all about bringing the future of payments to the Super Bowl. What we are doing is allowing consumers to use Visa Checkout while watching the Super Bowl at home from their couch and giving them an opportunity to purchase items," Balazs said.
The advent of the smart TV may not necessarily signal the death of the traditional Super Bowl ad, but rather, the creation of a new means of Super Bowl marketing. Going forward, fans should expect to see the creation of more shoppable moments during heavily viewed televised events. Similarly, corporations looking to publicize their brand must look beyond the typical Super Bowl commercial. Rather, these companies must continue to seek innovative approaches to getting their message out to the over 110 million people that tune into the Super Bowl.