Last February, many marketers learned the hard way that including mobile and social into their brand’s Super Bowl marketing mix would be a game changer.

This year, marketers got it right—well, at least some.

Each year on Super Bowl Sunday, marketers have access to the eyes and ears of about 100 million people who are watching the game and anxiously waiting for the next jaw-dropping commercial. But for $3.5 million, they better make that 30-second time slot count.

InMobi released its Super Bowl XLVI Mobile Consumption Survey, which reinforced why marketers should have included some mobile component into their marketing mix.

  • Nearly 40% of respondents used mobile devices in response to TV ads.
  • 45% estimated that they spent 30 minutes or more on their mobile devices during the game.
  • Twice as many respondents used their mobile devices during the first half of the game than the second half.

In addition, Altimeter noted several trends regarding how brands integrated mobile and social in this year’s Super Bowl advertisements:

  • 11% of Super Bowl ads included emerging media technology (Shazam, Text Messages, Mobile Apps, QR Codes)
  • 16% included social media calls-to-actions (Facebook, Twitter, Hashtags)
  • 32% did not include ANY online references.

So which brands got the bang for their buck?
Several brands created successful interactive apps to accompany their commercials, including Best Buy, Toyota, Pepsi and Bud Light. The brands partnered with Shazam, an audio tagging application, and were able to link the Super Bowl ads with songs, giveaways and other content.

In addition, Chevrolet’s Chevy Game Time app gave users the opportunity to win prizes by answering trivia questions and polls.

Aside from mobile, many brands included social calls-to-action in their Super Bowl ads. In 2011, Nielsen found that Super Bowl ads that included social media tags that directed viewers to a link on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube were more 33 percent more memorable for viewers.

This year, hashtags were a common theme in many of the commercials. For example Audi’s anti-vampire ad included #solongvampires at the end, Bud Light Platinum included #makeitplatinum, and Hulu included #mushymush. The hashtags were used to get people tweeting about the brands, and it worked.

Links to Facebook were also included in the ads, of which many replaced traditional web links. Pepsi Max and General Electric among others included the URL of their Facebook Page at the end of their ad to drive consumers to the social networking site.

Also, GoDaddy experimented with a QR code at the end of one of their advertisements, which generated the best mobile website traffic ever for the company.

Each of these calls-to-actions was intended to drive consumers to a place where they can interact with the brand and create a dialogue. Some marketers really hit the mark this year and developed well-executed mobile marketing campaigns. Others, however, fell short.

Marketers and brands must understand the power of mobile and social in this day and age. We are a more technologically engaged, connected group of fans. People aren’t just rooting for their favorite teams while sitting on the couch eating chicken wings—they’re tweeting, conversing on other social networking sites and interacting with apps.

Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest television advertising event of the year. So marketers, don’t just throw a Hail Mary pass at developing a successful Super Bowl ad. Check the playbook, and create worthwhile ads by incorporating mobile and social—elements that are known to enhance the user experience.

Have a thought?