Venables Bell & Partners’ 5th annual Super Bowl study predicts 2014 will be the most exciting game for advertisers in history. In talking to 1,000 Americans, VB&P discovered that the momentum around Super Bowl ads is growing furiously–a trend fueled by viewers’ social networks.

1. VB&P’S 5TH ANNUAL SUPER BOWL
XLVIII SURVEY
JANUARY 2014

2. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
METHODOLOGY & APPROACH
CONDUCTED ONLINE DECEMBER 7-11, 2013.
1,000-PERSON SAMPLE SIZE DEMOGRAPHICALLY WEIGHTED BY AGE, ETHNICITY,
EMPLOYMENT STATUS, ETC. TO REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES’ GENERAL POPULATION.
RESPONDENTS WERE REQUIRED TO HAVE WATCHED AT LEAST SOME PART OF THE 2013
SUPER BOWL AND INTEND TO WATCH THE 2014 SUPER BOWL TO QUALIFY FOR THE SURVEY.
MAJORITY OF THE QUESTIONS WERE CLOSED RESPONSE AND MULTIPLE CHOICE.
IN THIS STUDY, MILLENNIALS ARE CLASSIFIED AS AGES 18-29.

3. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
KEY FINDINGS
AMERICANS’ LOVE FOR SUPER BOWL ADS CONTINUES TO GROW:
• 70% WILL PAY ATTENTION TO ADS BEFORE THE GAME AND 45% WILL SEEK OUT ADS BEFORE KICKOFF (A 350% INCREASE SINCE 2010).
• POST-GAME, VIEWERS ARE AS LIKELY TO TALK ABOUT SUPER BOWL ADS AS THEY ARE PLAYS. MORE THAN HALF (52%) WILL REWATCH ADS
AFTER THE GAME.
• VIEWERS ARE 105% MORE LIKELY TO “LIKE” ON FACEBOOK A BRAND THAT ADVERTISED IN THE GAME VS. A TEAM THAT PLAYED IN THE GAME.
HUMOR RULES:
• 95% OF AMERICANS SAY HUMOR MAKES A SUPER BOWL AD MEMORABLE.
• OF THE 33% OF AMERICANS (65% OF MILLENNIALS) WHO WOULD LIKELY USE A HASHTAG FROM A SUPER BOWL SPOT, 26% (53% OF MILLENNIALS)
REPORTED THEY WOULD USE A HASHTAG IF WAS FUNNY OVER IF THEY LIKED THE BRAND (9%) OR COMMERCIAL (10%).
FACEBOOK REMAINS VITAL TO SUPER BOWL ADVERTISING:
• 41% OF AMERICANS AND 69% OF MILLENNIALS WILL BE ON FACEBOOK DURING THE GAME.
• OF THE 36% OF PEOPLE WHO WILL SHARE THEIR FAVORITE SUPER BOWL AD, 77% WILL DO SO VIA FACEBOOK AND 15% ON TWITTER.
• MILLENNIALS ARE MORE LIKELY TO SEEK OUT INFORMATION ON AN ADVERTISER VIA FACEBOOK THAN A BRAND SITE, AN OMEN FOR THE FUTURE.
• 36% OF AMERICANS SAY ENGAGING IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATION “ENHANCES” THEIR SUPER BOWL VIEWING EXPERIENCE. THIS NUMBER
INCREASES TO 68% FOR MILLENNIALS.

4. BEFORE KICKOFF

5. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
AMERICANS INCREASINGLY ARE LOOKING
FORWARD TO SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS
YES, I WANT TO WATCH THE SUPER BOWL WITH COMMERCIALS
90%
80%
Avg Americans
Millennials
70%
60%
50%
2011
2012
2013
2014

6. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
70% OF AMERICANS PAY ATTENTION TO
WHO IS ADVERTISING BEFORE THE GAME
HOW LONG BEFORE THE SUPER BOWL DO YOU START PAYING ATTENTION TO WHO
IS ADVERTISING?
4% 6%
30%
14%
12%
14%
20%
More than 3 months before
2-3 Months Before
1 Month Before
2 Weeks Before
1 Week Before
Day of Game
I don’t pay attention before the game

7. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
WATCHING ADS PRE-GAME INCREASES
ALMOST HALF (45%) OF AMERICANS (61% OF MILLENNIALS) WILL SEEK OUT
SUPER BOWL ADS PRIOR TO THE GAME IN 2014, A 350% INCREASE SINCE 2010.
YES, I WILL SEEK OUT ADS PRIOR TO THE GAME ONLINE
70%
52.5%
Avg Americans
Millennials
35%
17.5%
0%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
7

8. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
PR DRIVES CURIOSITY IN ADS
PRE-GAME
WHAT MAKES YOU SEEK OUT ADS PRIOR TO THE SUPER BOWL?
40%
30%
News About Ad
Brand Interest
Knowing they are repeat advertisers
Knowing a celebrity will appear
20%
10%
0%
2013
2014

9. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
NEWS SOURCES ARE THE DESTINATION
FOR SUPER BOWL ADS
WHERE DO YOU SEEK OUT ADS PRIOR TO THE SUPER BOWL?
70%
52.5%
Brand Sites
Facebook
YouTube
Media/News Source
35%
17.5%
0%
2013
2014

10. GAME TIME

11. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
SOCIAL MEDIA ENHANCES THE
SUPER BOWL EXPERIENCE
DOES FOLLOWING THE SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATION WHILE
WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL ENHANCE YOUR VIEWING EXPERIENCE?
70%
52.5%
35%
17.5%
0%
18-29 yr olds
Avg Americans

12. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
IF YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE A HASHTAG,
MAKE IT FUNNY
33% OF AMERICANS AND 64% OF MILLENNIALS WOULD USE A SUPER BOWL
AD HASHTAG IN THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS.
WHAT WOULD MOST LIKELY MAKE YOU USE A BRAND’S HASHTAG?
60%
45%
18-29 yr olds
Avg Americans
30%
15%
0%
Funny
Like Brand Like Commercial

13. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
TWO+ SCREEN VIEWING GROWS
63% OF RESPONDENTS PLAN TO ENGAGE WITH SOME TYPE OF COMMUNICATION TOOL(S)
WHILE WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL IN 2014 (VS. 54% IN 2013), CONTINUING AN
ENORMOUS INCREASE IN DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT SINCE 2010.
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
% Change
2010-2014
INSTAGRAM
N/A
N/A
2%
5%
11%
450%
TWITTER
4%
4%
8%
15%
15%
275%
FACEBOOK
16%
22%
27%
37%
41%
156%
E-MAIL
15%
16%
20%
22%
26%
73%
TEXTING
20%
22%
30%
29%
41%
105%
SEARCH
10%
9%
12%
13%
20%
100%

14. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
MILLENNIAL MULTI-TASKING
94% OF MILLENNIALS WILL BE ENGAGED IN SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATIONS
TOOLS WHILE WATCHING THE GAME.
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2014
(Millennials)
(Millennials)
(Millennials)
(Millennials)
(Millennials)
(Average)
INSTAGRAM
N/A
N/A
7%
13%
31%
11%
FACEBOOK
28%
41%
50%
62%
69%
41%
TEXTING
37%
44%
55%
52%
72%
41%
TWITTER
8%
11%
17%
35%
32%
15%
EMAIL
17%
19%
29%
26%
32%
26%
SEARCH
13%
13%
21%
18%
33%
20%

15. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
AMERICANS INCREASINGLY “LIKE”
BRANDS MORE THAN TEAMS
AMERICANS ARE 105% MORE LIKELY TO LIKE A BRAND OVER A TEAM THAT
ADVERTISES DURING THE GAME. THIS IS A 95% INCREASE SINCE 2011.
40%
33.75%
27.5%
A brand
A team
21.25%
15%
2011
2012
2013
2014

16. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
CONSUMER-GENERATED SPOTS MAY
HAVE PEAKED LAST YEAR
DO YOU PREFER PROFESSIONALLY PRODUCED OR CONSUMER-GENERATED
SUPER BOWL SPOTS?
70%
52.5%
Professional
Consumer-generated
35%
17.5%
0%
2011
2012
2013
2014

17. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES
DESPITE THE DIFFERENCES, OVERALL, ANIMALS LEAD, WITH 34% OF
AMERICANS SAYING IT MAKES A SPOT MEMORABLE COMPARED TO MUSIC (17%)
OR AN ATTRACTIVE PERSON (15%).
50%
Animals
Music soundtrack
Attractive woman/man
Someone getting hit
Movie/film celebrity
Babies
Famous athlete
Bodily functions
37.5%
25%
12.5%
0%
WOMEN
MEN

18. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
SUPER BOWL ADS AND THE
INFLUENCE ON PURCHASE
I AM MORE INTERESTED IN BUYING A PRODUCT AFTER
SEEING IT ADVERTISED DURING THE SUPER BOWL
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Avg Americans
Millennial

19. POST-GAME DIGITAL
WATER COOLER

20. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
ADS AND PLAYS EARN EQUAL
CHATTER AFTER THE GAME
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO DISCUSS THE MONDAY
AFTER THE SUPER BOWL?
40%
30%
Ads
Best Plays
Half-time Show
What you did during the game
20%
10%
0%
2014

21. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICANS WILL
REWATCH SUPER BOWL ADS
AFTER THE SUPER BOWL ENDS, WILL YOU REWATCH SUPER BOWL ADS ONLINE?
60%
53%
45%
Yes
38%
30%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

22. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
FACEBOOK DOMINATES SHARING
WITH WHICH SOCIAL NETWORK ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO SHARE YOUR FAVORITE
SUPER BOWL AD?
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Facebook
Twitter

23. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
MILLENNIALS LOOK TO FACEBOOK FOR
INFORMATION AS MUCH AS ON A BRAND’S
SITE
IF YOU LIKE A BRAND THAT ADVERTISED IN THE SUPER BOWL, WHERE WILL YOU GO
TO SEEK OUT INFORMATION ABOUT IT DURING OR AFTER THE GAME?
70%
52.5%
Facebook
Brand Site
YouTube
Twitter
35%
17.5%
0%
Millennials
Avg Americans

24. THE SUPER BOWL HANGOVER

25. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
POSTING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
29% OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS ADMITTED THEY ARE LIKELY TO BE HUNGOVER THE
MONDAY AFTER THE SUPER BOWL.
WILL POST ON FACEBOOK
ABOUT THE SUPER BOWL
WILL TWEET ABOUT
THE SUPER BOWL
30%
50%
40%
20%
Likely-to-be-hungover
Non-hungover
30%
Avg Americans
10%
20%
10%
0%
0%
Avg Americans

26. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
INTOXICATED BUYING POWER
15% OF VIEWERS INTEND TO PURCHASE SOMETHING DURING THE SUPER BOWL; OF
THAT, HEAVY DRINKERS (47%) ARE ALMOST EIGHT TIMES AS LIKELY TO BUY A
PRODUCT WHILE WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL VS. NON-DRINKERS (6%).
YES, I THINK I WILL BUY SOMETHING WHILE WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Likely to be hungover
Not likely to be hungover
Avg American

27. CONFIDENTIAL. For internal use only.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE STUDY, OR TO SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW WITH
LUCY FAREY-JONES, PARTNER AND EXECUTIVE STRATEGY DIRECTOR, PLEASE
CONTACT MEREDITH VELLINES AT MEREDITH.VELLINES@VENABLESBELL.COM.

28. THANK YOU