Super Bowl Sunday: A chance for online and offline ads to come together

This Sunday, millions of Americans will gather around their televisions, with a bag of chips in hand, to watch the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers play for the NFL championship. Although it's the most watched NFL game of the season, and the first Super Bowl appearance for my beloved Seahawks, many viewers don't actually care how many touchdowns are scored. Instead, their eyes are glued to the TV as soon as a team calls a timeout and the latest ad for brand X flashes across the screen.

So, as you relax on the couch and enjoy the premiere of this year's commercials, take a moment to consider how your online advertising can complement your offline campaigns. We've found that users often search the internet for the brand or product that they've seen advertised or promoted on TV. So, running an online campaign that represents the products that you're advertising offline could really boost your traffic.

If you're lucky enough to have a spot advertising brand X in this years Super Bowl lineup, you can create an online campaign that focuses on the theme of your commercial to drive additional traffic to your site. Remember, to ensure that this campaign only runs during the days surrounding the Super Bowl, you can set specific start and end dates.

But, since the vast majority of viewers will be armchair quarterbacks (or marketers) on Sunday, remember that this tip applies throughout the year. Whether you're running a local real estate commercial or a nationwide branding campaign, you can tailor your AdWords ads to the specific region that you're targeting to ensure that the people who see your ad on the air, will also find it when they search online.

With that, enjoy this years crop of Super Bowl commercials, cheer for the team that's never won the big game, and consider using online advertising to enhance your return on your offline advertising investments.

Posted by Sarah, Inside AdWords crew