Super Bowl watching is a social experience. We watch the game eagerly for its pomp and competitiveness, but also to assemble with friends and family, be part of a community, and engage with others as the show and the advertising unfold. We share food and drink. We talk before during and after the game. And, increasingly, we use social media to broaden our connectedness. The propensity to engage in social media activity influences the Super Bowl viewing experience and how people consume advertising messages. According to new research from G&R, the more actively involved a person is in social media, the more commercials they pay attention to and the more favorable their reaction to them is.
Based on G&R’s Annual Survey of Super Bowl Advertising, fully 9 out of 10 (92%) Super Bowl watchers regular engage in social media activity. About a third of the people (31%) say they are usually the first to share something interesting/funny/outrageous/unique, including ads, with their friends (Buzz “Initiators”). Another third (35%) forward what they receive (Buzz “Sustainers”). And about one in four (25%) enjoy receiving things from their friends, but rarely share them with others (Buzz “Passives”). (The remaining 8% don’t like to receive interesting/funny/outrageous/unique things, including ads, even from their friends.)
Demographically the three groups of social media engaged viewers are surprisingly similar. While Initiators are younger, there is little difference across gender and income. However, there are attitudinal differences in how engaged they are with the Super Bowl program and advertising and their product buying dispositions. Initiators enjoy the Super Bowl more than other TV programs, pay more attention to the advertising, and use social media more to express their opinions about what they saw. Additionally, Initiators are more likely to be in the near term market for considered goods like televisions, cars and phones, but are no different from each of the other groups in fast moving package goods like snacks, soft drinks and deodorants.
According to Scott Purvis, President of G&R, “Buzz Initiators are an important to psychographic audience segment for advertisers to understand and target. For all advertisers, Initiators are the gatekeepers of the chatter that enters the Internet during and after the game. For considered-goods advertisers, they are more likely to buy the products than other social media segments.”
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