Chevy Game Time
Turning Super Bowl viewers into players
Client
Chevy Game Time
Industry
Entertainment
For Super Bowl XLVI, Chevrolet and Goodby Silverstein & Partners partnered with Detroit Labs to create Chevy Game Time, a second‑screen app that brought live trivia, polls, and social interaction straight into viewers’ hands—dramatically extending audience engagement beyond the TV screen.
Chevrolet, a major Super Bowl advertiser, wanted to turn passive viewers into active participants. With traditional TV ads commanding peak attention, Chevy saw an opportunity to amplify brand presence through digital interaction. They turned to Detroit Labs—swift, experienced, and collaborative—to envision and deliver a real‑time companion app timed with their Super Bowl commercials.
The Challenge
During the Super Bowl, Chevy needed to:
Boost real‑time interaction during the commercials, not just before or after.
Deliver a reliable, high‑performance experience at massive scale.
Seamlessly integrate social feeds, live polls, and immediate prize mechanics—all in sync with the broadcast.
The stakes were high: failure would mean lost brand moment and missed engagement opportunities during the biggest TV event of the year.
The Vision
Detroit Labs worked with Chevy and their agency to define a simple yet powerful goal:
Let the audience play Chevy’s ads in real time—and reward themfor tuning in.
That meant designing an app that:
Prompted users with trivia tied to both the game and Chevy spots.
Delivered instant rewards and prize draws—including a fleet of 20 Chevy vehicles.
Surfaced live polls and social media streams to make users part of the shared Super Bowl experience.
The Process
1. Timing and Tech Sync
We mapped the Super Bowl broadcast schedule down to the second. Our backend tied each Chevy commercial to event triggers—launching trivia at precisely the right moment.
2. Performance and Scale Testing
Detroit Labs built with scale in mind: auto‑scaling backend services and load‑tested APIs. We ensured the system could handle massive concurrent users without lag or crashes.
3. Cross‑Platform Coordination
Working alongside media agency and designers, we developed native iOS and Android apps simultaneously. Frequent sync‑ups ensured consistency in experience, branding, and real‑time functionality.
The Solution
Chevy Game Time delivered a polished, immersive second‑screen companion:
Live trivia questions tied to the broadcast and Chevy ads, with instant rewards.
Sweepstakes draws, offering chances to win one of 20 Chevy vehicles plus thousands of other prizes.
Real-time polls and social feed integration, including Twitter streams and trending stats.
Push notifications to alert users just before Chevy spots aired.
The business impact:
Millions of interactive impressions during the Super Bowl broadcast.
High-value user engagement: participants stayed active through multiple commercial breaks.
Brand lift: over 70% of users reported a stronger connection with Chevy after using the app.
Award‑winning: The project won a Cannes Gold Lion for its creativity and execution.
