Google "has built a tool for its search product that places ads alongside football-related results," according to Sydney Ember of the N.Y. TIMES. The ads "will run before official NFL video clips that will appear in a box at the top of the page, next to scores and news items." In addition to Google’s ad program, Facebook "is shopping around marketing products that allow advertisers to target football fans and run campaigns around NFL and college games." Twitter "now offers several live-event tools for advertisers, including one for brands to sponsor clips related to the NFL." Snapchat "is working to secure a partnership with the league to push out weekly football-related video stories, with spots for ads." Vox Media also is "getting involved, creating a website for the technology company Lenovo centered on fantasy football." Anheuser-Busch VP/Consumer Connections Lucas Herscovici said that Bud Light, along with advertising on social networks like Twitter and Facebook, "has signed up for Google’s football program with the goal of reaching fans at relevant moments." When users "search Google for information on a specific team, a relevant 15-second Bud Light ad could run before NFL videos that turn up." These "'pre-roll ads' will also run on the NFL’s YouTube channel." Ember reports Facebook will enable advertisers to target segments of users who have "indicated an interest in football by, for example, updating their statuses, liking a football-related post or posting football-related links." The company "is also offering a product called accelerated-delivery technology, which allows brands to show their ads to a target audience during a limited time period to align with a live event like a football game or presidential debate." Lowe’s "plans to use Facebook’s targeting product during the season," with its ads "heavily focused on Thursday night games -- and aimed at sending customers to their stores over the weekend" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/8).
