The most bang for their Super Bowl bucks should come from advertisers' post-game efforts.

So far, in the post-game analysis that is flying around the advertising world, two things appear to be true: 1) Super Bowl advertisers seem pleased that the game remained competitive ‘til the closing second, and 2) they are thrilled that the fruits of their labor weren’t eclipsed by a fading star’s bosom. 

But there’s one more major truth for the 2005 Super Bowl: While the internet played a growing role in Super Bowl advertising over the past few years, 2005 marks the first Super Bowl where “multi-task” viewing went mainstream. Given the massive explosion in the number of consumer, fan, shareholder and “everyone is a journalist” blogs, now not only do the uber-fans check out live game stats as they are happening, but millions of viewers share their views of “best and worst” Super Bowl ads in online communities and live blogs in real-time. 

In Super Bowls past, advertising efforts related to the big game were pretty much over with the last whistle. But as a growing number of savvy advertisers realize today, that last game whistle is becoming more of a starter’s pistol in the race for mindshare and consumer recall.

Today, the broadcast itself is just the beginning. Many advertisers now realize how short-sighted it is to spend millions to produce and broadcast a 30-second Super Bowl spot without investing in a detailed plan to capitalize on post-game efforts online and offline. Simply posting an ad online and hoping to draw eyeballs to your corporate site in an “if you build it, they will come” strategy is yesterday’s news. 

Today, smart brands and advertisers understand the importance of taking ads and messages directly to where millions of people live and breathe online. In the blogosphere, online chat rooms, message boards and communities, you can measure how much and how broadly consumers, activists, investors and others are talking about your ad and even virally passing it around.

Let’s face it. Super Bowl ads are a high-risk business gamble in which not only consumers, but also critics and peers in the ad industry decide the winners and the losers for both the brands and the agencies behind the ads. That is why Super Bowl advertisers also need to know if their ad or discussion about their ad is showing up on blogs and online communities. And that’s why it is more critical than ever to harness the power of blogs and internet communities to listen to and engage these consumers, critics in the media, and other stakeholders.

Measurement is important because it lets brands quantify and qualify the effects of their ads -- what kind of online buzz is being generated, how their ad stacks up against its competition, and whether it reaches the target demographic. But as a former pollster, I can say with authority that simply measuring results or opinions isn’t enough -- you need to be able to learn from your intelligence, and then, good or bad, take action and do something with it!  Research has never done anything by itself. Blogs, forums and communities are so useful today because they contain the details of an advertiser’s buzz. They’ll tell you if people like an ad, why they like it, and exactly who likes it -- and who doesn’t.

Used effectively, there is nothing quite like the web for maximizing and getting “legs” out of an advertising investment. Case in point: Reebok, whose “Terrible Terry Tate” ad achieved near-cult status online, seized the opportunity to engage online fans of its Tate ad, and find more about them -- and ultimately created subsequent online-only ads starring the Tate character. These tactics cultivated the popularity of the ad, and extended Reebok’s buzz lifetime by months, and better yet, helped to sell Reebok products.

Unfortunately, as we all know too well, not all Super Bowl ads are received so enthusiastically. What does an advertiser do when an ad completely tanks? Well, the internet also can provide a solution when an ad falls flat, when critics don’t seem to get it, or when the advertising industry intelligentsia give it the “thumbs down.” Although Public Relations 101 tells us, “Don’t swing at every pitch,” and many believe it’s best to duck and cover in the wake of a Super Bowl dud, not addressing a problem may be worse than leaving it to die. 

In today’s online world, where consumers, stakeholders and advertising peers can all gather together to voice their concerns about a particular ad, a simple explanation of the rationale or motives for creating an ad (and making such a huge expenditure) can go a long way. In some cases, it makes the most sense for an advertiser to use the internet -- as well as other media -- to engage these audiences on the issue, particularly if the ad was based on a sound goal, such as reaching a new demographic or creating a new level of awareness.

In the end, analysis of ROI is the heart and soul of any buzz marketing effort -- especially post-ad analysis of a multimillion-dollar Super Bowl campaign. When a company has spent several million dollars to air a 30-second spot, not investing in the ability to measure and track the ad’s total effectiveness, in conjunction with an online strategy to capitalize on the attention garnered from such a massive audience, squanders a huge opportunity. It is the football equivalent of playing a strong first half, but not going back on the field after halftime to finish the game -- but enough about my Eagles. For a drop in the bucket in comparison to the prices of buys and production, an advertiser can now get an accurate assessment of an ad’s impact, and use that information to get 10-times more bang for the buck by keeping its momentum going.

That is why the Super Bowl will continue to be the biggest show not only in sports, but also in the advertising industry for years to come.

Pete Snyder is Founder and CEO of New Media Strategies, an Online Market Intelligence and Word of Mouth Marketing company based in Arlington, Virginia. Read full bio.