Super Bowl 2025: More than a game for app growth

Super Bowl LIX kicks off on February 9 🏈, bringing along one of the biggest advertising opportunities of the year. As with any mobile marketing strategy, preparation is key—and in this article, we’ll break down the game plan to turn this event into a big win for your app.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

1️⃣ Why is the Super Bowl more than a sports event?

2️⃣ How does the Super Bowl impact each mobile app vertical?

3️⃣ Building the perfect app growth strategy for the Super Bowl

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Super Bowl: More than just football

Super Bowl Sunday isn’t just one of the biggest sports events of the year—it’s a massive opportunity for brands to connect with millions of highly engaged consumers. Last year’s Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched US-based broadcast of all time, with a record-breaking 200 million viewers tuning in to see the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the San Francisco 49ers 📺 [1].

With so many eyes on the game, it’s no surprise that Super Sunday also sparks high consumer engagement. In 2024, consumer spending for the Super Bowl weekend was estimated to reach $17.3 billion, averaging $86.0 per person 💰[2].

The Super Bowl effect on mobile apps

From Food Delivery to Streaming services, here’s how different verticals can benefit from this massive event:

🍔 Food Delivery and QSR: Food Delivery & QSR apps can capitalize on the Super Bowl by catering to the high demand for meal options before, during, and after the event. In 2024, Food & Beverage app installs grew by 29% above the yearly average during Super Bowl Sunday, accounting for a 42% year-over-year increase [3]. Additionally, 80% of planned purchases focused on food and beverages, with 48% of users stating that food is the highlight of their Super Sunday [4].

📺 Streaming and Entertainment: For Streaming & Entertainment apps, it’s not just about February 9—it’s also about the weeks leading up to the Big Game, when football fans dive into highlights from past Super Bowls, interviews with players, and expert commentary. During the event, Streaming apps have a unique opportunity to engage users by offering exclusive content, behind-the-scenes access, and enhanced viewing features. In fact, in 2024, Paramount+ reported an impressive Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 8.5 million, surpassing Fox Sports' 7.0 million in 2023 [5], highlighting the growing opportunity for Streaming platforms to capture a larger, highly engaged audience.

🛍️ Shopping and E-commerce: The Super Bowl attracts shoppers looking for event-related products, with 51% planning to make purchases specifically for the Big Game [6]—whether it's team apparel, decorations, or streaming equipment such as TVs. In 2024, e-commerce apps that tapped into this opportunity saw an average 25% YoY increase in app sessions [3], as well as higher user investment, with consumer spending rising from $74.55 in 2021 to $86.04 in 2024 [2].

🎰 Sports Betting and Gambling: Since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling opened the door for regulated sports gambling, Sports Betting and Gambling apps have gained significant momentum in the US, making the Big Game an ideal opportunity to drive installs and boost in-app engagement. Last year, the American Gaming Association (AGA) anticipated that 26% of US adults would bet on the Super Bowl, with a combined total of $23 billion in wagers [7], 46% of which were expected to be placed online [4].

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Building the perfect strategy for the Super Bowl

🟠 Before: Test & Learn

Saturday 1 - Tuesday 4

Kick off your creative strategy: Test a variety of ad formats and channels to understand which creatives resonate the most with your audience. 

• Key ad formats you can test for sporting events:
  ➡️ Countdown ads: Featuring a countdown to the start of the game or half-time. 
  ➡️ Carousels & Multiproduct ads: Dynamic Product Ads (DPA) such as Carousel, and Multiproduct ads allow you to showcase different items, services, or subscription plans in a single ad unit.
  ➡️ CTV-to-mobile ads: Tap into the fast-growing CTV channel, where users spend significant time—especially during the Super Bowl—to drive mobile installs and conversions.

• Visual elements to feature in your ads:
  ➡️ Football-related visuals: stadiums, trophies, helmets, cheerleaders, footballs, confetti, football goals, fan gloves, crowds.
  ➡️ Super Bowl-themed visuals: jerseys, team logos, footage from previous years.

Focus on budget allocation: Use this period to identify which dates and times perform best for your app. This insight will help you distribute your budget strategically across the time slots with the highest conversion potential.

‍Collect campaign learnings: Use this time to gather key insights that will help optimize your Super Sunday strategy—whether it’s identifying top-performing segments, traffic bundles, creatives, CTAs, etc.

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Wednesday 5 -Saturday 8

Highlight special promos and perks: This is the perfect moment to give users a sneak peek of your Super Bowl offers. Showcase exclusive benefits like discounts, free shipping, or early access to limited-time deals to build up hype.

Maximize user retention: Pair your User Acquisition efforts with App Retargeting to reduce churn while driving users further down the funnel through re-engagement campaigns.

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🟢 Game Day: Scale & Optimize

During the game & half-time

Increase your budget spend: Key event days like the Super Bowl trigger a massive spike in user activity, so allocate a larger portion of your budget for February 9, maximizing your campaign’s reach and capitalizing on the surge in demand.

Keep your promos relevant in real-time: Use Dynamic Product Ads (DPAs) directly connected to your product feed to seamlessly match supply and demand. This is especially effective for Food Delivery and E-commerce apps offering same-day or immediate delivery.

Leverage deep links to drive more conversions: Whether you create universal links or rely on your MMP’s solution, deep links are essential for guiding users to the most relevant app screens. For instance, send users with items in their cart directly to checkout or lead users interested in a specific promo to the corresponding in-app section for an engaging experience.

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🔵 Post-Game: Re-engage & Retain

Refresh your ads: No one wants to click on an ad that leads to an expired discount or an out-of-stock item. Prepare your follow-up ads in advance to keep them relevant after the Super Bowl is over.

Incorporate new learnings: Work with your growth partners to conduct a post-mortem on your Super Bowl campaigns and identify what worked and what didn’t. The insights you gain will help optimize and drive success in your evergreen campaigns.

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Get your app ready for the Super Bowl! 

Major events like the Super Bowl work for multiple app verticals, drawing in new users and boosting conversions with highly relevant offers that prompt more orders, purchases, bets, or subscription renewals. Starting ahead of the event gives app marketers the advantage of showcasing fresh deals and engaging users when their intent is at its peak. Following up with the right strategy ensures maximum user retention, keeping the momentum going even after the Super Bowl has ended.

Ready to build the perfect Super Sunday strategy for your mobile business? Talk to one of our experts or explore our case studies to see how we're helping leading apps across the world drive incremental revenue.

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References

[1] NFL, 2024.

[2] NRF, 2024.

[3] Adjust, 2024.

[4] Statista, 2024.

[5] ForestVPN, 2025. 

[6] Specialty Retailer, 2024. 

[7] AGA, 2024. 

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