The Big Money of the Big Game

Each year the Super Bowl is one of the most watched television events in the world. There’s millions of eyes on the game, and millions upon millions of dollars behind it and tied to it. A Super Bowl ad has now become the most expensive 30 seconds on TV, at more than $3.4million per spot.

There’s more to take into consideration than simply the cost of the ads though. A recent survey by Lab42 revealed the following:

•  39% of people prefer the ads over the actual game (one of the reasons we created Big Game Advertising Bingo)

•  64% said that more than half their game related conversations the next day revolve around the commercials

• 69% have re-watched a Super Bowl commercial online

• 72% believe the game commercials are funnier than “regular” commercials, while 57% consider them more creative, and 21% say they’re memorable

Clearly, there’s a lot expected of the ads, and the benefits extend both before and beyond the game. Toyota’s “Wish Granted” commercial starring Kaley Cuoco has garnered over 10.6 million views before the game, with many others reaching millions of views as well. Advertisers can also expect a 20% increase in web traffic as well.

Influence extends well beyond ads during the game. Some restaurants and bars are seeing an increase in foot traffic and orders. And the food people by for parties? Figures from 2012 show that 16 million chicken wings were sold during the game, as was 4 million pizzas (not counting frozen pizzas), while spending over $10billion on beer. Dominos pizza drivers alone will drive over 4 million miles on Super Bowl Sunday (revenue for transportation, fuel, etc.).

Advertising, food, and beverage categories are still only a small piece of the pie. There’s events, the hospitality industry for the host cities, and apparel and merchandise sales for the teams, which affects the retail industry. And of course there’s the teams themselves. Any way you look at it, the “big game” is big money, affecting in ways you might not even have noticed. So, how’s does the big game affect you?

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