The Super Bowl is upon us and you may find yourself wondering, what exactly can I say in my brand’s social media content? Well, you’re not alone.

The NFL reserves certain trademarked keywords for official paid sponsorships, so it’s important to know what’s off limits in your copy. That being said, don’t let the limitations deter you from activating. The Super Bowl is always a great time for engagement on social media, and this year promises to be even better than usual. According to Twitter, this year’s Divisional Round of NFL playoffs saw:

• 27% more impressions on Tweets about the NFL than last year
• 58% more Tweets overall
• 42% more unique authors

Your audience is out there waiting for you to interact, so it’s crucial to have your strategy prepared. Here are some of the do’s and don’ts for your brand on social media during this year’s Super Bowl. 

 

🚩PENALTIES:

Here’s what not to use in your brand’s content and copy.

Off-limits terms:

• Super Bowl®
• Super Sunday®
• Pro Bowl®
• NFL, National Football League® 
• AFC, American Football Conference®
• NFC, National Football Conference®
• Gameday®
• Together We Make Football®
• Watch With The World
• Back to Football®
• ANY NFL team names AND their associated colors

Off-limits logos:

• Super Bowl
• NFL
• AFC
• NFC
• League team logos

 

🕵️ STRICT REFS 

As noted by the Broadcast Law Blog, the NFL is incredibly vigilant about their trademarks during the Super Bowl event. If you’re trying to be sly or witty by talking about, say, the “Superb Owl,” there is a high probability that the NFL will throw a penalty flag. It’s not worth it to try to find loopholes; abiding by the guidelines is a much safer bet.

For reference, a fuller list of the NFL's trademarks can be found here.

 

🏈 TOUCHDOWNS:

Here’s how we recommend approaching your social media content strategy on Super Bowl Sunday.

Terms you can use:

• The Big Game
• Sunday’s Big Game
• Football’s Favorite Day 
• The Big Matchup 
• The biggest event in football
• The game that shall not be named 
• Televised football battle 
• That game with all the commercials

(Okay, so, the last three might be a stretch, but you get the picture.)

Winning topics:

As a brand, it's important to realize The Big Game conversation doesn’t just revolve around football and the game itself. Based on historical data from Twitter, you can expect the following topics to trend within the broader NFL conversation: 

• Hip Hop
• Fashion & Beauty
• Drinks 
• Podcasts
• Movies & TV

This opens up a wide variety of opportunities for brands to activate. Engage with your audience on what they care about by keeping a pulse on what’s trending and finding opportunities to join the conversation.

 

📝 PRE-GAME PREP

Looking for additional tips to prepare? Be sure to check out our Customer Blog post from last year which outlines pre-, during, and post-game day recommendations for brands. 

Additionally, as a rule of thumb, no content should include a date that can’t be easily changed in the event that the game has to be postponed. Stay agile!