Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner. It’s a big day for Americans, with many willing to pay an average of $6,000 for a ticket and more than half reportedly willing to give up one year of vacation time just to see their team win. The competition is fierce, and not only are the Patriots and the Falcons gearing up for battle, but many advertisers are also hoping to win big with game-day commercials. Native advertising firm MGID recently commissioned a survey, the results of which reveal some very interesting findings on how we enjoy this exciting event together. Here are some of the highlights:
Commercials are worth the spend
In a time when viewers are accustomed to skipping commercials, Super Bowl spots are still highly sought-after, as they often receive as much attention as the game itself. According to Variety, a 30-second spot for the 2017 Super Bowl costs more than $5 million. While the exorbitant cost of these spots might leave advertisers questioning their worth, the survey revealed they could very well be worth the spend. 39.6% of respondents said a Super Bowl commercial has positively changed their perception of a brand, and nearly a third of the respondents are either much more likely or likely to purchase an item or service after seeing an ad for it during the big game.
The survey also proves that viewers are clearly enjoying the creative commercials more than they’d like to let on. Even though 49.3 percent of those surveyed said they plan to watch the game simply because they enjoy watching football, 70 percent said they’d prefer to watch a block of commercials during breaks in the game instead of professional game analysis, which suggests they do show up for the commercials to some degree.
Additionally, Super Bowl ads may have a lifespan that extends beyond the game for lasting brand awareness, as 43.1 percent of survey respondents said they are either very likely or likely to rewatch their favorite commercial online in the days following the game. According to AdWeek, “YouTube’s top 20 Super Bowl ads have been watched for 440 million minutes, which is equivalent to watching the game 1.8 million times.” For example, the 2011 Volkswagen ad called “The Force” had accumulated 47 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours after it aired.
Cable is still on top for Super Bowl Sunday
With the rapid growth of over-the-top (OTT) services, one might expect to see a substantial segment of viewers planning to watch the Super Bowl through a streaming service. Yet, people seem to be sticking with cable on game day. According to the survey, more than 70 percent of respondents plan to watch the game with a traditional cable subscription at home, 16 percent intend to stream the event online and just 2 percent plan to watch on mobile.
The survey results also indicate that viewers’ preferences for watching the Super Bowl varies according to the type of mobile device they use. 72 percent of respondents that use a Samsung smartphone consider watching the game live to be either very important or important, followed by 54 percent and 51 percent for those with a Google smartphone (running on Android) and iPhone users respectively. Furthermore, BlackBerry and Samsung users are more likely than iPhone and Google smartphone users to rewatch commercials online. Roughly 60 percent of respondents with BlackBerry and Samsung smartphones answered very likely or likely when asked if they plan to rewatch commercials online, while only 42 percent of iPhone and 43 percent of Google smartphone users said the same.
Ditch the chips and go for wings
And of course, we can’t talk about the Super Bowl without mentioning food. According to NRF Super Bowl report on consumption, of those surveyed who plan to watch the game, 80 percent say they will purchase food and beverages, while only 11 percent will buy team apparel or accessories. With an array of options to choose from, getting the menu right for your viewing party is crucial. The survey shows that chicken wings are the most popular game day dish, with 29.4 percent of respondents reporting it to be their favorite. Pizza comes in as a close second, with 23.1 percent of the vote, and chips land in third place with 19.1 percent of the vote. Though vegetable platters are the healthy choice, they are universally disliked by most viewers and only got 8.9% percent of the vote.
If you’d like to be the most thoughtful host on the block, you can further modify your menu according to your guests’ hair color. Turns out that blonde and grey-hair individuals are the only hair groups that are not hardcore wing lovers, and would actually prefer pizza. Specifically, 27 percent of blondes said pizza is their favorite Super Bowl food, and 22 percent of blondes voted for chicken wings. Moreover, 30 percent of respondents with white hair and 22 percent of those with grey hair prefer chips with salsa and guacamole over all other game day snacks. As such, if you have a group of blondes and grandparents coming over, make sure you’re prepared with pizzas, chips and guac.
