Game Day Ad Analytics - Undergraduate

Game Day Analytics Challenge

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Registration Deadline:

Thursday, February 6 at 11:59 p.m.

Recap of the 2024 Game Day Analytics Challenge

Hosted by Information Systems, student teams use Twitter data posted during the Super Bowl and analyze tweets for advertising insights. Winning teams receive cash, scholarships, and guaranteed interviews with sponsor companies.

Info Session

Thursday, January 30
5 – 6 p.m.
via Zoom

Competition Kickoff

Thursday, Feb. 6
5 – 6 p.m.
SFEBB 1170

Game Day

Sunday, Feb. 9
Teams watch the Super Bowl game and analyze tweets to extract insights.

Presentations and Award Ceremony

Friday, Feb. 21
12 – 5 p.m.
SFEBB 1110

About the challenge

A 30-second commercial spot during the 2024 Super Bowl costs brands a whopping $7 million, plus production costs. Traditional mechanisms such as the USA Today AD METER ratings were and still are the acceptable measuring yardstick. But with the advent of social media, channels such as Facebook and Twitter are able to provide digital footprints that enable additional in-depth understanding of consumer feedback in reaction to those ads.

Since 2016, Dr. Chong Oh, Professor (Lecturer), Academic Director of MSIS, and Director of Undergraduate IS Program at the David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, created the Game Day Analytics Challenge to conduct an in-depth analysis of Twitter tweets on Super Bowl ads in extracting valuable metrics related to performance, influence, and diffusion.

In this competition, students apply business analytics skill and gain practical knowledge including data collection, data processing and cleaning, data analysis, and data visualization. Technology learned includes PHP, MySQL, Python, MongoDB, Twitter API, Alteryx, and Domo. These in-demand skills prepare our students for success in the job market. Teams present the best infographics and white paper in relation to extracted insights from the Super Bowl ads.

Challenge Details

Entry Requirements

Students must be enrolled at the Eccles School, or other approved university, during Spring 2025.
Teams must include 3-4 students.
Must have at least one team member from the Information Systems undergraduate major, MSIS or MSBA programs, or QAMO IS Emphasis, or IS Minor.

Team Deliverables

All teams must prepare and submit the following items for judging:

Infographic (template will be provided)
White paper detailing findings
Outline of framework used for processing and extracting insights from the tweet data
Poster presentation for first round judging
10-minute presentation

Judging Criteria

The judges will score each team based on:

Value of findings. Are the results relevant and helpful to advertisers? Does this information help inform if the marketing spend was successful?
Complexity of findings. Judges are looking for relationships between variables and in-depth analytic conclusions.
Quality of materials. Team deliverables should be professional-quality, well written/designed, and easy to understand.
Professional presentation. Judges are looking for students to deliver a business-quality poster presentation, including visual or other aides. Finalists also are expected to deliver an oral presentation in the final round.

Key Dates

Jan. 30: Information Session | 5 – 6 p.m.
Feb. 6: Kickoff | 5 – 6 p.m.
Feb. 9: Super Bowl Game
Feb. 21: Presentations and Awards Ceremony | 12 – 5 p.m.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does one student have to be an IS major?
One team member must be either an undergraduate IS, MSIS, or MSBA student.

What if a team member quits?
You can get a replacement team member or choose to continue in the competition without that person, but each team still needs to have 3-4 members.

What if the whole team quits?
That team will then forfeit the competition and no longer continue.

Can the team seek outside help?
Yes, you can get advice but you must do the work yourselves.

Can the team use other technologies?
Yes.

Can the team use other data sources?
Yes.

Do we get help?
Yes, training videos and help desk support (limited-time) will be provided during the week of the competition.

Do we start from scratch?
No, teams will receive code and documents from last year’s Super Bowl analytics project (i.e. python, MongoDB dataset, infographics, and white paper).

Awards

1st Place
$750 per team or $185 per individual
Interviews will be available for either internships or full-time employment with the competition sponsors.
2nd Place
$500 per team or $125 per individual
3rd Place
$400 per team or $100 per individual
Unique Entry
$400 per team or $100 per individual