Understanding what drives consumers early in the creative process, and having data to support those wants and needs, is a core element to making sure big-game ads resonate.
BOSTON (PRWEB) February 02, 2023
The Super Bowl stage is set as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs square off in one of the world’s most watched sporting events on February 12. With Super Bowl ads among the most anticipated and costly – with average costs exceeding of $7 million for 30-seconds – marketing events of the year, consumers expect the best brands have to offer.
Zappi, the leading consumer insights platform designed for creators, surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 U.S. consumers to understand their plans to watch the game this year, and what makes for a successful Super Bowl commercial. Survey findings revealed consumers’ higher-than-ever expectations for this year’s commercials and their plans to re-watch their favorite ads before and after the game.
“The Super Bowl is a cultural phenomenon that spans interests, passions, and preferences, which is why nearly 100 million viewers tune in every year,” said Ryan Barry, President of Zappi. “Brands go big for the Super Bowl, and consumers expect nothing less than engaging, relevant content to mark the occasion. Understanding what drives consumers early in the creative process, and having data to support those wants and needs, is a core element to making sure big-game ads resonate.”
- More than half of U.S. consumers tune into the Super Bowl for reasons other than the game. 72% of American consumers are likely to watch the Super Bowl this year, but less than half (48%) are most looking forward to the game itself. 28% of consumers are most looking forward to the commercials, while 24% are tuning in for the halftime show.
While 72% of NFL fans – those who regularly watch the NFL – are most looking forward to the game, non-NFL fans – those who never watch football – plan to watch for the commercials (49%) and halftime show (43%), showing that the Super Bowl’s entertainment value for the American public.
- Consumers expect humor – and a cameo appearance from AI – this Super Bowl. Consumers want brands to keep their advertisements lighthearted and fun. More than half of consumers (56%) think humor is the most important feature of a Super Bowl commercial, followed by music (36%), an exciting or relatable story (32%), and a celebrity of influencer appearance (25%). Only 10% of consumers said that brands addressing a political or social issue was most important to them, while 9% expect brands to be empathetic to the economic situation during the Super Bowl.
64% of consumers expect ChatGPT or AI to appear in at least one Super Bowl commercial, as brands look to tap into the trendy technology. This is especially true of younger viewers. 53% of Gen-Z consumers (ages 18-25) expect more than two commercials to feature ChatGPT or AI, while only 22% of consumers aged 56+ share this expectation.
- Consumers have high expectations for commercials during Super Bowl 57 – and more than half will watch pre-released ads before the game. 71% of consumers believe commercials are important to the Super Bowl experience, and their expectations for them have never been higher. 46% of consumers expect advertisements during this year’s Super Bowl to be better than in past years, compared with 33% who expect them to be average. Only 5% of respondents expect this year’s ads to be worse than in recent years.
Due to the excitement and anticipation of Super Bowl ads, consumers are more likely to watch them time and time again. More than half of consumers (59%) will watch Super Bowl ads that are pre-released before the game, while 53% plan to re-watch this year’s ads without them being advertised.
Despite the excitement for Super Bowl ads, consumers are realistic about the intentions of brands who advertise during the game. When asked what the intent of a Super Bowl advertisement is for brands, 30% of consumers said, “to reach a large audience,” while 24% said “to sell a product.” Notably, 23% of respondents selected “to entertain” as the primary goal of a Super Bowl ad.
- Older viewers prefer humorous ads, while younger viewers expect celebrities and music. Opinions on what makes for an effective Super Bowl advertisement change across age demographics. 34% of Gen-Z consumers value celebrity or influencer appearances during Super Bowl commercials and 45% note likable music as an important factor in an ad. Gen-Z consumers were the least likely among all demographics to prefer a humorous ad (51%).
Conversely, 65% of consumers aged 56+ prefer a humorous Super Bowl commercial – the highest of any demographic tested. At the same time, this group of consumers is least likely to prioritize celebrity or influencer appearances (13%) and music (26%).
- Facebook is the most popular platform for consumer discussion of the Super Bowl; Twitter falls out of the top three. 70% of consumers plan to discuss the Super Bowl with their friends, family, and colleagues during or after the game. When asked which social media apps consumers are likely to use for these discussions, Facebook led the pack by a wide margin.
54% of consumers are likely to use Facebook as their go-to social media platform for discussing the Super Bowl. Consumers also plan to use Instagram (38%), TikTok (32%) and Twitter (31%) as their platforms to discuss the game.
Facebook is the most popular social media app among consumers aged 26 and above. However, Gen-Z consumers prefer Instagram (56%) and TikTok (49%) over Facebook (43%) for their Super Bowl discourse.
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METHODOLOGY:
Zappi surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 U.S. adults (age 18+) on Friday, January 27, 2023.
ABOUT ZAPPI
Zappi is the leading consumer insights platform designed for creators – the insights professionals, marketers and product innovators that bring fresh, new ideas to life each day. More than 350 of the world’s most progressive brands use the Zappi platform to better understand consumers, accelerate innovation pipeline, and optimize ads and products before they go to market with pre-launch data. Zappi’s reached a critical milestone of $50 million in sales in 2021, on the back of consecutive years of 30% annual growth.
Zappi has been recognized as one of the hottest martech companies in 2022 by Business Insider and recognized by Newsweek and Comparably for its engaging and inclusive workplace culture. With offices in Boston, London and Cape Town, we are a distributed team where career growth is equitable for everyone.