This year’s Super Bowl will mark several digital firsts. Not only will the game itself be streamed online for the first time, but advertisers will be looking to social media and digital technology more than ever before to generate anticipation for their spots during the game and even in the days preceding it. Brands are now looking for other mediums to complement their TV spots. Phones, tablets, and laptops will be playing an unprecedented role in Sunday's game, which follows the most-watched Super Bowl in history, XLV, which drew 111 million viewers.

Mobile payment systems enable consumers to use their smartphones, instead of cash or credit cards, to purchase products or services in stores. A number of these systems leverage near-field communication (NFC) chips installed in smartphones, such as Google’s Nexus S and the rumored next-generation iPhone. When consumers touch or wave their NFC-enabled smartphones at devices installed at registers, the NFC chip communicates with the register to process the transaction.

Here’s a great campaign for the launch of the MINI Countryman in Sweden that shows the power and interactivity of iPhone apps and demonstrates how location-based technology can be used to deliver a highly engaging and very viral brand experience.

It used to be that technology merely served as a tool to convey and distribute pop culture (i.e. TV enabling audiences everywhere to see a music video, radio broadcasting rising hit songs, etc.). However, technology in this new Internet innovation-driven digital age is actually becoming pop culture itself.