Smartphones were the must-have devices for consumers watching the recent Super Bowl XLVII game, according to a new report from Millennial Media.

Millennial?s ?Mobile Bowl? report looks at how mobile traffic was split up on Feb. 3. Additionally, Millennial dug into what consumers were doing via mobile during the big game.

?Consumers turned to their mobile devices for a co-viewing Super Bowl experience,? said Marcus Startzel, general manager of North America at Millennial Media, Baltimore.

?Whether it was pre-game, post-game, halftime or during the game itself, consumers were actively engaged with their mobile devices,? he said. ?This meant that brands were able to get the closest they could possibly get to consumers during the big game.?

In the game
?Per Millennial?s findings, 13 percent of mobile impressions came from tablets on Feb. 3 compared to the whopping 87 percent of smartphone impressions.

This points to consumers using their smartphones in quick spurts throughout the day to check game stats or send quick messages to friends and family members.

In fact, Millennial says that the most accessed content on its platform during the Super Bowl was game, entertainment and communication content.

Additionally, when the 49ers scored 17 points in the third quarter, fans sent the most text messages during the game.

Interestingly, tablet impressions jumped to 20 percent of total traffic after the game, presumably when users had more time to spend with their devices.

Engaged audience
It is no surprise that social media is key to mobile?s success with television.

Millennial?s findings break apart social media activity from Baltimore Ravens fans and San Francisco 49ers fans and point to spikes in social media correlating to big moments in the game.

For instance, when the Ravens won the coin toss, social media activity increased from 49ers fans.

With consumers juggling multiple devices to watch the game, smart advertisers leveraged mobile to tie into TV content.

Casual gamers were the most likely to look at their mobile devices during commercials. Consumers categorized as social influencers and music fans also ranked as top mobile users.

Other top audiences that were plugged into their mobile devices include vacationers, college students, fashionistas and foodies, per Millennial.

Mobile traffic overall dropped during halftime but picked back up during the game?s blackout.

Traffic on the company?s platform increased 13 percent during the blackout, when consumers most likely were looking to kill a few minutes before the game began.

In particular, traffic from health and fitness mobile applications grew 53 percent.

Traffic from shoppers grew 30 percent during the blackout.

?The Super Bowl is an event that attracts a wide range of consumer audiences,? Mr. Startzel said.

?During halftime, the audiences we saw accessing sports content included everything from gadget geeks to college students to foodies,? he said.

?While the Super Bowl can be a great opportunity to send out a message to a massive amount of people, mobile allowed brands to focus in on the specific audiences that were relevant to their brand.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York