Instagram teamed up with the NFL and DJ D-Nice for a takeover of the @Instagram account to help fans get ready for the game. The festivities included an interactive playlist via Instagram Stories featuring the DJ’s favorite gameday tracks along with highlights from the 2020 season. Then fans could move over to D-Nice’s (@dnice) Instagram account where he livestreamed a DJ set from Raymond James Stadium before kickoff.Photo: Courtesy of DJ D-Nice/InstagramOn Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, which took place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Tom Brady and his Bucs winning was probably the only semi-normal part of the day, though. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL allowed just 22,000 fans to attend the game this year—a third of the stadium’s normal 65,000-seat capacity—along with 7,500 vaccinated frontline health-care workers, plus a crowd of cardboard cut-outs.

And the lack of in-person fans didn’t exactly translate into a larger at-home audience. According to ViacomCBS, which broadcast the event, the game attracted 96.4 million viewers, making it the lowest-watched Super Bowl since 2007.

In addition to the attendance limitations, Super Bowl LV was also fully mobile ticketed and fully cashless, making it the first paperless NFL game. Attendees were required to use their smartphones for entry and for concession payments. (Kiosks outside the stadium were set up to convert cash into gift cards for use at concession and souvenir stands.) Visa, the “official payment services partner” of the NFL, had been aiming for a cashless Super Bowl by 2025, but the pandemic sped up the timeline.

Visa wasn’t the only brand forced to innovate during this year’s game. Others including Verizon, Bud Light and the NFL itself got creative with their messaging, with many activating on social media platforms in search of younger fans. Here are some standout Super Bowl brand activations you might have missed.