Viewers to Go Online for Super Bowl Stats, Updates - and Ads

Three-quarters of U.S. internet users say they intend to go online for Super Bowl-related info on the day of the big game, according to comScore’s annual Super Bowl pre-game survey, reports MarketingCharts.

The survey of 1,522 U.S. Internet users, conducted on January 29-30, revealed insights into Americans’ opinions and expectations for Super Bowl XLII.

Game Day Internet Use

Some 82 percent of those who plan to go online said they would do so before the game, and 61 percent said they would do so after the game; nearly three out of ten said they would log on during the game itself (29 percent) or during halftime (28 percent).

Reasons for going online (see table):

• The most common reason cited for going online on Super Bowl Sunday was to monitor stats and stories related to the game (17 percent of respondents), followed by looking for recipe and party ideas (16 percent).
• Super Bowl ads will also drive viewers to the web, with 16 percent of respondents saying they would go online to visit websites of Super Bowl advertisers; 13 percent said they intended to watch Super Bowl ads or video clips online.

“Viewers have indicated that the internet will be a more significant part of their Super Bowl experience than last year,” said Andrew Lipsman, senior analyst at comScore. “In particular, there seems to be a greater inclination to access advertisers’ content online, which highlights the increasing importance of a cross-media advertising strategy.”

Ads an Anticipated Part of the Super Bowl

For many Super Bowl viewers, the TV commercials are as important to the festivities as the game itself (see table):

• Overall, 49 percent of the respondents said that the game was their favorite part of the Super Bowl festivities, but more than a quarter (26 percent) actually preferred watching the ads.
• Men, in particular, were significantly more likely to prefer watching the game itself, while women preferred watching the ads.
• Women were also more likely than men to prefer spending time with friends and family and watching the halftime show.

One of the key trends in Super Bowl ads last year was the inclusion of several customer-created commercials. Brands such as Doritos, Chevy and the NFL allowed customers to submit their own ads, the best of which made it on air.

• When asked to rate the expected entertainment value of this year’s customer-created ads, 25 percent thought they would be more entertaining than professionally produced ads, compared with just 12 percent that thought they would be less entertaining.
• When asked which ads from last year were the most memorable, Doritos rated as the second most memorable advertiser after Anheuser-Busch, which featured several humorous spots for Bud and Bud Light (see table).

Respondents were also asked to pick three brand advertisers’ commercials they were most looking forward to seeing during this year’s Super Bowl:

• Some 44 percent of respondents selected Coca Cola or Pepsi.
• Edgier advertisers also rated among the most anticipated, including Victoria’s Secret (21 percent) and GoDaddy.com (16 percent).

MarketingCharts provides some additional tidbits of data.