Visa is asking account holders to post their football fantasies on Twitter or Instagram for a chance of having their dreams fulfilled.

The campaign is running throughout the NFL season and is geared to ramp up second-screen experiences for football fans so that they can interact on mobile devices while watching football games. Account holders can share their fantasies via the https://visa.com/MyFootballFantasy microsite, which is optimized for mobile devices.

“With this campaign, Visa is able to harness the full potential of the NFL sponsorship, bringing fans closer to the game, strengthening our relationships with our cardholders, merchants and client partners and enhancing the consumer experience,” said Alex Craddock, head of North America Marketing at Visa, Foster City, CA. “For the first time, fans will have the power to create their own football fantasies for Visa to fulfill – not a pre-determined prize package – bringing fans closer to the NFL than ever before.

“Second screen experiences are a critical component of football fans’ NFL viewing environment, and because of this, mobile is a core component of this campaign,” he said.

“By utilizing Twitter and Instagram as the vehicle for fans to submit their football-themed fantasies, we are able to reach fans directly on the mobile platforms where they are already engaged and connected to the sport they love.”

Football fantasies
To participate in the campaign, account holders can visit the microsite and share their fantasy in 50 words or less, using the hashtag #MyFootballFantasy. They can also share it via Twitter and Instagram, but fans have to follow Visa on the platforms in order to be eligible.

Visa will monitor the conversation throughout the season and choose eight of the fantasies to be fulfilled. They will pick the fantasies based on creativity, appropriateness to theme, best fit to Visa’s and NFL’s brand image and feasibility of fulfillment.

The monetary value of fantasies can not exceed $100,000.

Additionally, account holders have to use their visa card during the entry period. Instead of making a purchase, fans have the option of sending in a 3-inch – by – 5-inch card with name, address, date of birth, email and daytime phone to #MyFantasyFootball Contest, P.O. Box 9108, Plainview, NY.

Fans can only submit one entry for the contest, and they have until Mar. 2, 2014 at 12 am to enter.

Social mobile
This campaign is a great way for Visa to build up its social media presence. By requiring fans to follow them on Twitter or Instagram in order to enter via the platforms, Visa will automatically expand its audience on the platforms.

Many other brands have been leveraging Twitter for sweepstakes to engage consumers in a short and fun way (see story).

As Twitter becomes more mainstream, brands are also looking to Instagram for new audiences.

For example, Lufthansa recently rolled out tours of Germany through the company’s Instagram channel (see story).

British accessories brand Anya Hindmarch also leveraged Instagram to take fans behind the scenes of its recently opened New York boutique (see story).

“Social media is still very experimental,” said Drew Sievers, co-founder/CEO of mFoundry, Larkspur, CA.

Mr. Sievers is not affiliated with Visa. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

“In many ways, brands and agencies are groping around in the dark, hoping to find something that works to create real customer engagement,” he said. “It isn’t easy and there will be many more experiments in this space.

“If wallets are going to become mobile, and all things point to that eventuality, then it’s critical for the incumbents like Visa to be positioned for success in the new world order.”

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York