Amanda Lake
BU News Service

It’s Denver against Seattle on Sunday as Super Bowl XLVIII kicks off at 6:25 p.m at MetLife Stadium. As Super Bowl week comes to a close, the festivities continue in New York City on Super Bowl Boulevard. Broncos and Seahawks fans came together along with city tourists to take in the excitement between 34th and 47th streets starting last Wednesday. Several events are in place all free to the public.

While fun for fans, big time companies like McDonald’s and Pepsi are taking advantage of the kickoff celebration with giveaways and promotions sponsoring the boulevard. Microsoft has an Xbox One Tailgating Zone where the public can try its hand at the new gaming system incorporating NFL games into the experience. Papa John’s is giving away slices of pizza while McDonald’s is passing around some hot cups of coffee, a treat any passerby would welcome in recent frigid temperatures.

This Super Bowl pre-game, which features a giant ice slide in the middle of Times Square, will go down in history as one of the most memorable. It just goes to show how brands and organizations are leveraging their companies off what our country does best, celebrate good old-fashioned competition.

The Super Bowl Boulevard represents the future of brand marketing. Brands have to interact with the consumers and can no longer hide behind advertisements on television or in magazines. Consumers have more knowledge about advertising and are no longer so easily fooled by it. People want brands that do something for them in return. Free product giveaways whether it is a dollar coffee or a fun experience will bring in more sales than any print advertisement. Everyone knows that million dollar Super Bowl television ads are the most watched in the country, but the sponsors of Super Bowl Boulevard are on to something even bigger.