Super Bowl 2025: Winning with Contextual Commerce
Now that the 2025 NFL season is in full swing, brands, agencies, and retailers are gearing up for one of the most lucrative advertising moments of the year: Super Bowl season.
Food and beverages are by far the most purchased items in anticipation for the big game, and CPG brands themselves often feature the highest share of ads during the game itself. This positions the Super Bowl as a prime opportunity for CPG brands and agencies to engage with consumers. Leveraging contextual commerce, however, can help these brands with the right consumers.
Whether it's promoting game-day snacks or partnering on co-branded campaigns, contextual commerce can help brands meet consumers in high-intent moments in contextually relevant, brand-safe environments.
Here are three key strategies for brands and agencies to win big with contextual commerce in 2025.
1. Advertise on Recipe Pages to Meet High-Intent Shoppers
The Super Bowl is huge for recipe usage. When looking at game day recipe usage throughout our network of over 5,200 publishers, we see that the two weeks leading up to the big game see significant yearly peaks.
Whether it’s wings, nachos, or sliders - consumers actively seek recipes to support their game day gatherings during this period of time. This positions recipe pages as a viable off-site ad environment that CPG brands can take advantage of to meet consumers in relevant moments.
For example: think of the potential of integrating relevant products like chips with game-day themed dip recipes.
Our 2024 State on Online Recipes Report showed that 91% of consumers use online recipes to inspire their meal choices, and 65% of them go as far as to add products to their shopping carts directly from the recipe page. This makes recipe pages not just a great place to promote products, but a highly effective conversion point during the Super Bowl.
Beyond meeting consumers in high-intent moments, brand safety is another critical reason to consider advertising on recipe pages this Super Bowl season. As digital campaign ad spend goes up during the Super Bowl, brand safety becomes an even greater concern, especially in more volatile environments like social media platforms or MFAs.
By placing ads in controlled, brand-safe environments like recipe sites, brands can mitigate risks while ensuring their messages reach high-intent audiences in spaces that reflect their values.
2. Collaborate on Co-Branded Promotions
The Super Bowl is the ultimate time for CPG brands to join forces. Co-branded promotions build on this idea of meeting consumers in high-intent moments by packaging game day favorites in the same campaign.
For example, studies show nearly 80% of Super Bowl gathering attendees prefer snacks like chips and pretzels to be available, while 50% of viewers say they will purchase soda in anticipation of the big game. A co-branded campaign could see a popular chip brand team up with a soft drink to increase reach in a relevant way.
By activating these co-branded campaigns on recipe pages, brands can capitalize on the moment when consumers are actively planning their purchases. A consumer could be browsing a salsa recipe and see a bundled offer for chips and soda, creating an immediate incentive to add both to their shopping cart.
3. Use Diverse Ad Formats to Reach Consumers Across the Journey
Not only do recipe pages present ample opportunity to meet consumers in high-intent mindsets, but they also allow for a multitude of ad formats to be deployed to meet consumers in different ways.
CPG brands can, for example, leverage in-recipe advertising within the recipe card itself, making relevant products visible while consumers are engaging with an online recipe. By seamlessly integrating contextually relevant ads into the recipe card, CPG brands can drive meaningful engagement at the exact moment when shoppers are most likely to make a purchase.
Premium In-line ad (left) and Premium Pairings ad (right)
Another effective way to reach consumers is through dynamic, rich media ad formats that help CPG brands promote multiple products within a single ad unit.
Chicory Portfolio
This is particularly effective for brands offering different flavors or sizes, allowing consumers to see the full range of choices. This is a powerful way to increase brand consideration, especially during events like the Super Bowl. For example, a snack brand could leverage this ad format to promote its variety of chip flavors.
These formats help brands build visibility and drive engagement by offering premium placements and multi-product discovery options. CPG brands can blend these strategies to effectively meet consumers where they are - ready to shop and ready to buy.
Conclusion: Winning with Contextual Commerce
As the 2025 Super Bowl approaches, CPG brands and agencies are looking to contextual commerce media to capitalize and meet consumers in contextually relevant moments of their purchasing journey.
Whether it be advertising on recipe pages with a variety of ad formats or launching co-branded campaigns, the strategies we outlined here serve as a strong foundation for your targeting strategy as the big game approaches.
By aligning with relevant content and offering consumers a seamless path from discovery to purchase, consider these strategies to ensure your brand comes out on top this Super Bowl season.