A Second Screen Super Bowl: A Look at the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee’s Digital Media Plan

Long before the Falcons and Patriots clinched their respective spots in Super Bowl LI, the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee’s “Social Media QB” began his work to deliver the best possible fan experience in Texas. The goal? To promote the city of Houston and its incredible diversity, food, tourism industry, and entertainment, as well as the great work that the city is doing for its people, all while showcasing the committee’ sponsors.

The committee’s official social media accounts are promoting Houston as a collective, highlighting the city’s strength in the sum of its parts rather than fragmenting the week’s events and providing exclusively coverage leading up to the big game.

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Making sure all this runs smoothly is none other than Jeramie McPeek, a 24+ year veteran of the Phoenix Suns organization who launched his own digital consulting business this fall, who is currently in Houston for his 5th Super Bowl week.

In previous years, he has held a similar position for Arizona’s Super Bowl Host Committee for an unrelated group and before that, he has spent some time working with the NFL Players Association, helping them with their own social channels.

With his love for social media and sports, Jeramie has been a natural fit for the content job.

While the Super Bowl Host Committee consists of about 50 members, working on everything from activating sponsorships to organizing fan events to selling tickets, he is solely in charge of documenting the week’s events on social and curating content, covering Super Bowl LI from every angle possible and delivering the experience to fans not only in Houston, but across the globe.

During his time in Houston, Jeramie has been covering events in an, “authentic, first-person” approach, hoping to give fans an inside look at the festivities the week has to offer through what feels like direct cultural immersion.

“Be ready to work and adapt in the environment, and make it one you operate efficiently in.”

— Jeramie McPeek

With the variety of events the city and the sponsors are hosting, there has been no shortage of excitement to follow. Some notable anticipated features of the week include Super Bowl Live, a drop tower built in partnership with NASA, the NFL Experience, and Opening Night at Minute Maid Park. For Jeramie, “entertain and inform” is the name of the game.

In terms of operation, the @HouSuperBowl Host Committee is using the same social channels that we’ve become accustomed to, including: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. This doesn’t mean we can expect the same old content and perspectives, though.

Only three more days to enjoy Super Bowl LIVE, presented by @Verizon! pic.twitter.com/6soLkJMu1g

— Houston Super Bowl (@HouSuperBowl) February 3, 2017

Jeramie recently broke out a pair of Snapchat Spectacles to offer a unique first-hand view of certain events, while also leveraging the LIVE video aspects that are now being pushed on Facebook and Twitter.

Expect strong, personal content that puts the viewer in the driver’s seat, a full immersion experience.

While he is pretty much a one-man content team, the channels are also managed by a separate group for customer service. This charge is led by three consultants that were brought in to lead a team of probably 50–75 volunteers, primarily made up of local college students. They are in charge of answering fan questions on social surrounding everything related to transportation, schedules, tickets, security, and more.

For Jeramie, living in the moment is key when it comes to the content being created live. With limited pre-production beyond pre-made GIFs or graphics, the vast majority of content that you will see over the course of the next few days will be curated in the moment. With great power comes great responsibility, and the biggest key of the week is to be “smart and careful” with social channels that have such strong influence.

In the days and weeks leading up to the event, Jeramie and the committee will put in anywhere from 180–200 hours to continually cover events, monitor comments, and interact with fans. Sleep? Don’t count on it. Expect a “fast-paced, dynamic environment”, full of grueling nights, quick bites of food, and a constant whirlwind of travel and communication. It’s important to take this all in stride, however. In the end, Super Bowl week is an unforgettable experience, and the action waits for no one.

Make sure you are following the Houston Super Bowl on Twitter (@HouSuperBowl) so you don’t miss out on some incredible action and content. Thank you to Jeramie for connecting with me and providing the content for this article. Make sure to give him a follow as well (@Jeramie) for sports biz and more!