Nike, Pepsi dominate nontraditional media exposure during Super Bowl

The Los Angeles Rams won their second Super Bowl in franchise history, beating the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. But NFL sponsors Nike, Pepsi and Bose also came out on top, according to an early version of in-game media valuations seen by CNBC.

These brands’ logos were among those that scored millions of dollars in media exposure during Super Bowl 56, according to data compiled by San Francisco-based software company Hive in collaboration with sports consultancy firm Elevate.

Sponsor brands received $170 million of in-game exposure, according to the report, up slightly from $169 million during the 2021 Super Bowl. The 2020 game generated $143 million.

Hive said brands received more than 75 minutes of on-screen time during Super Bowl 56. That’s down from 104 minutes in 2021, in part due to the lifting of pandemic restrictions for this year’s game.

This is the fourth consecutive year the software company has used its artificial intelligence platform to track media sponsorships during the big game. With in-content exposure gaining traction among sports leagues looking to drive revenue, the company-developed Mensio software provides brand-exposure data beyond traditional commercials for live sporting events.

“Nielsen has been the currency for [measuring] traditional commercials,” Hive president Dan Calpin told CNBC. “We see ourselves as the gold standard for measuring in-content brand exposure for which there is no currency today.”

Hive’s 2022 report combined visual and verbal exposures throughout Super Bowl 56. Nike scored 46 minutes of on-screen time, while Bose, one of the National Football League’s top sideline sponsors, had its brand logo appear for eight minutes

Pepsi had double exposure with its brands, according to Hive’s data. The beverage maker sponsored the halftime show — perhaps for the last time — featuring iconic hip-hop stars Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Hive estimated Pepsi’s combined brands, including Gatorade, were on the screen for roughly nine minutes and its brand was mentioned a game-high 11 times.

Toyota, Verizon, and New Era followed with a combined three minutes (one minute each) of in-game exposure. And SoFi, which agreed to a $625 million naming rights deal with the Rams, had roughly one minute of in-game exposure that Hive valued at $3.5 million.

“There is so much focus and watercooler conversation on the commercials, but when you step back, the most exposed brands might not have aired a commercial, and people were exposed to them…