The Internet and the Super Bowl: What do today's pop culture traffic patterns tell us?

Audi records a growth of 11,422% in its website activity after the announcement in the final, Slack increases its productivity by 13% over the weekend, and some social networks experience the annual “slump” during the half-time show.

Fastly, provider of a global edge cloud platform, has shown real-time traffic trends and various internet-related phenomena, recorded in its client portfolio during the peak moments of the Super Bowl. These observations can, without a doubt, represent the sign of current popular culture trends.

The advertisement Let It Go of Audi demuestra la fuerza de la publicidad durante los partidos
Audi, cliente de Fastly, emitió el spot que mostraba una versión de Let It Go, interpretada por Maisie Williams, en el que la cantante conducía un Audi E-Tron Sportback, el inminente nuevo modelo de SUV eléctrico de la marca.

Tras la emisión de este anuncio durante la segunda parte, la web de Audi registró un impresionante crecimiento del 11,422% en RPS, respecto a los momentos anteriores a este pico. El tráfico de su sitio también registró un aumento del 19,46% en el RPS promedio durante los tres días posteriores al evento, en relación con los mismos momentos de la semana anterior. Con unos costes publicitarios que alcanzan hasta 5,6 millones de dólares por un anuncio de 30 segundos, en la final de este año, este es el tipo de métricas que los anunciantes desean ver impulsadas tras semejante inversión.

Slack no baja el ritmo

Otro de los clientes de Fastly, Slack, registró un 13.25% más de RPS on its platform on the day of the grand final compared to the immediately preceding Sunday, January 26, 2020, which could indicate an increase in the use of Slack beyond the work environment and the usual work day. This increase in Slack usage could be related to advertising agencies supporting advertisers with advertising pieces, newsrooms coordinating and publishing stories, and other companies developing brand activations in real time.

Social networks during the break

During previous Super Bowls, Fastly has observed a drop in RPS on some social networks, which would indicate that users put down their phones to watch the shows associated with the game. The 2020 final has been no different in this regard. Some of Fastly's social media clients registered 16% drops in your RPS at the beginning of the musical show, in relation to the activity measured in the first half of the game.

In contrast, some Fastly customers dedicated to GIF and Meme creation experienced sharp spikes in their RPS, indicating the creation of a large number of new viral snippets. During the break show, these customers saw a 34.97% growth in their average RPS, compared to requests recorded immediately before this peak. Furthermore, the average RPS in the post-match recorded a growth of 46.66%.

Dana Wolf, SVP of product and marketing at Fastly, acknowledges that “what's great about this data we see on our platform is that it shows that we can help our clients handle both typical day-to-day spikes and high-traffic events, like an ad during a big game or an express sale.”

"The modern design of our network, composed of fewer but more powerful points of presence around the world, allows us to move customer data and applications closer to the customer's end user. Ultimately, that translates into a faster and more reliable digital experience between a person and the brand," he adds.

This “x-ray” that Fastly has carried out has shown that when there is a significant advertising investment, it is essential to ensure that a company's site can handle the attention it generates.