The Nielsen Company
770 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
www.nielsen.com
News Release
Contact:
Gary Holmes
(646) 654-8975
The Nielsen Company’s 2008 Guide to the Super Bowl
January 24, 2008, New York, NY: The Nielsen Company today released its annual Guide to the
Super Bowl which showcases a wide range of consumer and media information about the most
notable marketing event in the U.S. – the NFL’s Super Bowl – scheduled for February 3 in Glendale,
AZ.
Among the key findings from Nielsen:
•
TELEVISION: As usual, the 2007 Super Bowl was the highest rated TV show in the U.S. for
the year attracting more than 93 million TV viewers.
•
ONLINE: Super Bowl 2007 advertisers saw a collective 50% increase in Web traffic the day
after the big game, from 8.5 million unique visitors on Super Bowl Sunday to 12.7 million
unique visitors on Monday. Budweiser brands generated the most online buzz.
•
THE ADVERTISERS: The cost for a 30-second commercial during the 2007 game was $2.38
million down from $2.5 million in 2006. Total spending for the 2007 game reached over
$161.8 million. In 2007, Anheuser-Busch aired the most commercial time, while Cadillac had
the most sponsorship air-time.
•
MUSIC: Halftime and pre-game performances have provided sales growth for music artists
since the early '90s. After last year's Super Bowl halftime, Billboard reported that Prince’s
album sales more than doubled.
•
BOX OFFICE AND DVD SALES: Box Office sales continue to be lower on Super Bowl
Sunday vs. typical Sundays in the winter months. The top selling Super Bowl-related DVD
since 2000 is SUPER BOWL XXXVIII, featuring the Patriots and the Panthers.
•
SHOPPING TRENDS: During the Super Bowl period, snack food had the largest incremental
increase in total sales and alcoholic beverage coolers had the largest percentage increase.
•
DEMOGRAPHICS OF FOOTBALL FANS: People in wealthy homes, which generally have
more than a $100,000 income, are almost three times more likely to watch the Super Bowl as
people in homes with less than $30,000 in annual income. NY Giants fans are more than
twice as likely as New York adults to have bought sporting event tickets online within the past
year. 15% of Boston’s Patriots fans belong to a household with an annual income of $150k
or more.
TELEVISION:
In 2007, an average of 93.1 million Americans tuned in to the
CBS Network to watch the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago
Bears. The event averaged a 42.6% household rating, up from
the 2006 match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the
Seattle Seahawks, which was watched by 90.7 million viewers
and an average of 41.6% of U.S. homes.
The most-watched Super Bowl of all time was in 1982 with a
49.1% rating, which also happened to be the fourth-highest
rated television program since 1961 just behind the final
episodes of M*A*S*H, Dallas and Roots Part VIII. Of the top-40
sports telecasts since January 1961, all but four telecasts were
Super Bowls.
In local markets, the highest overall local rating in 2007 – at
nearly 56% -- was in Indianapolis, IN., home of Super Bowl XLI
champions, the Indianapolis Colts. The second largest local TV
audience, with an average of 50.4%, Orlando-Daytona Beach,
while Chicago, home of the Bears, ranked third with an average
of 50.2%. Kansas City, Minneapolis and Milwaukee followed
respectively as the next three markets with the largest Super
Bowl audiences (see Table 1).
As expected, men watched the 2007 Super Bowl the most
(41.1% rating, or 43.2 million viewers), yet a significant number
of women, Hispanics and African Americans also tuned into the
televised game. Approximately 36.4 million women over the
age of 18 watched the 2007 Super Bowl for a 32.2% average
rating. Among women viewers, those age 25-54 had the
highest interest, with a 32.9% average rating. An average of
28.5% of African Americans (appr 10.1 million viewers), and an
average of 15.5% of Hispanics (appr 6.2 million viewers) tuned
into Super Bowl XLI.
Table 1: Television Ratings
Average Viewers
2007 – CBS – 93.1 million
2006 – ABC – 90.7 million
2005 – FOX – 86.1 million
2004 – CBS – 89.8 million
2003 – ABC – 88.6 million
2002 – FOX – 86.8 million
2001 – CBS – 84.3 million
Program After the Game (average
viewers in millions)
2007 – Criminal Minds (26.1)
2006 – Grey’s Anatomy (21.0)
2005 – The Simpsons (23.1)
2004 – Survivor All-Star (33.5)
2003 – Alias (17.4)
2002 – Malcolm in the Middle (21.4)
2001 – Survivor II (45.4)
Top-10 Local Market Average
Household Ratings - 2006
1. Indianapolis 55.5%
2. Orlando-Daytona Bch 50.4%
3. Chicago. 50.2%
4. Kansas City 49.6%
5. Minneapolis-St. Paul 49.2%
6. Milwaukee 48.8%
7. Nashville 48.7%
8. Dayton 48.5%
9. Jacksonville 47.7%
10. Tampa-St. Pete 47.6%
Source: Nielsen Media Research
ONLINE:
Last year, Super Bowl advertisers saw a collective 50 percent increase in Web traffic on the day after
the big game, from 8.5 million unique visitors on Super Bowl Sunday to 12.7 million unique visitors on
Monday (see Table 2). The 2007 advertiser to see the biggest jump in traffic was FedEx, whose Web
site was below reporting cutoff on Super Bowl Sunday and grew to 1.1 million on Monday. Other
advertisers to benefit online from their TV ad campaigns were CareerBuilder Network, Blockbuster,
Hewlett Packard and CBS Sportsline.
Table 2: Web Traffic Growth for Super Bowl Advertisers (U.S., Home and Work)
Unique Audience (000)
Unique Audience (000)
Sunday 2/4/07
Monday 2/5/07
Web Site
Daily Growth
Roll Up of All Advertisers
8,495
12,738
50%
FedEx
**
1,057
NA
CareerBuilder Network
739
1,844
150%
BLOCKBUSTER
462
791
71%
Hewlett Packard
889
1,465
65%
CBS Sportsline.com
853
1,257
47%
Source: Nielsen Online, NetView
**These Web sites have insufficient sample sizes for reliable projection of audience size.
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For football fans, the Web has become an increasingly important part of pre-game preparations. In
the week ending February 4, 2007, Superbowl.com drew 2.9 million unique visitors, a 24 percent
increase over Super Bowl week in 2006. NFL.com attracted 2.3 million unique visitors that week,
increasing 17 percent over the previous year. The NFL Team Sites had a weekly unique audience of
2.2 million, growing 13 percent year over year.
Bud, Nationwide and Snickers generated significant online buzz in 2007
The following chart shows the most buzzed about commercials from the 2007 Super Bowl (see Table
3). While the Budweiser brands generated the most aggregated buzz for Budweiser and Bud Light
advertisements with 20.6% of buzz volume, Nationwide and Snickers were the two most actively
blogged about individual ads the day after the game with 9.8% of buzz volume each. Doritos also
generated impressive buzz levels as a result of the brand’s consumer-generated ads.
Table 3: Buzz Volume
Budweiser/Bud Light Aggregated
Nationwide Insurance
Snickers: Mechanic
Doritos: (2 Aggregated)
Bud Light: Rock, Paper, Scissors
GM: Robots
Coca-Cola: Aggregated
GoDaddy.com: Marketing
Blockbuster: Mouse
CareerBuilder.com (2 Aggregated)
FedEx: (2 Aggregated)
Taco Bell
Chevrolet: Car Wash
Garmin: Navigation Maposaurus
Sierra Mist: (3 Aggregated)
Bud Light: Reception
Emerald Nuts
Coke: Video Game
Toyota Tundra: (2 Aggregated)
Chevrolet: Ain't We Got Love
Sprint: Broadband
E*Trade
Bud Light: Classroom
Bud Light: Slap/Fist Bump
Honda: Full Line
SalesGenie.com: Sales Guy
Budweiser: Dalmation/Spot Wink
Bud Light: Great Apes
0%
7.9%
7.2%
6.0%
5.3%
4.6%
4.3%
4.1%
3.2%
3.2%
2.7%
2.5%
2.5%
2.2%
2.2%
2.1%
2.1%
2.0%
2.0%
1.9%
1.8%
1.7%
1.5%
1.3%
1.2%
1.1%
5%
20.6%
9.8%
9.8%
10%
15%
20%
Source: Nielsen Online
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers to Perform at Super Bowl XLII
The December 3rd announcement of this year’s Super Bowl half-time show performer Tom Petty
and The Heartbreakers ignited an 800% increase in online buzz compared to October 2007.
Some consumers are excited and anticipate the band’s performance, while others question
whether the band can top last year’s show by Prince.
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THE ADVERTISERS:
Table 4: Advertising Information
According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the advertising intelligence
service of Nielsen, the cost for a 30-second commercial during the
2007 game was $2.39 million, down from $2.50 million in 2006
(see Table 4). Total spending for the game reached over $161.8
million.
Top Advertiser (seconds of exposure)
2007 – Anheuser-Busch (300)
2006 – Anheuser-Busch (270)
2005 – Anheuser-Busch (300)
2004 – Anheuser-Busch (330)
2003 – Anheuser-Busch (330)
Forty-three unique brands advertised over 43 minutes of
commercial time during the 2007 Super Bowl, according to Nielsen
Monitor-Plus. The categories that advertised the most during the
2007 Super Bowl included Beer, Automotive, and Soft Drinks.
The Beer category increased its airtime from 4½ minutes in 2006
to 5 minutes in 2007. Automotive also rose to 4½ minutes in 2007.
The Soft Drink category ran 4 minutes of ads in 2007, doubling the
category’s exposure compared to the 2006 game.
Anheuser-Busch aired the most commercial time with 4½ minutes
for their Budweiser and Bud Light brands. Budweiser aired one 60second ad and one 30-second ad. Bud Light ran six 30-second
commercials. Coca-Cola aired 3 minutes of commercials, making it
the second largest advertiser. General Motors was in third place,
airing 2 ½ minutes of advertising.
In 2007, the automotive category included advertising for General
Motors, Honda, and Toyota.
GM promoted its Chevrolet brands; Honda ran ads for its CR-V
Truck; and Toyota ran two 30-second spots for its Tundra Truck.
The Motion Picture category, which tied for first place in 2006
(along with Beer), cut spending during the 2007 Super Bowl to 1
minute 45 seconds, airing 4 spots for 4 different movies. In 2006,
nine different films advertised, each with a 30-second commercial,
totaling 4½ minutes.
Average 30-second Cost
2007 - $2.385 million
2006 - $2.5 million
2005 - $2.4 million
2004 - $2.3 million
2003 - $2.15 million
2007 Top Categories
(seconds of exposure)
1. Beer - 300 seconds
2. Autos & Trucks - 270 seconds
3. Soft Drinks - 240 seconds
2007 Top Advertisers
(seconds of exposure)
1. Anheuser-Busch – 300 seconds
2. Coca-Cola – 180 seconds
3. General Motors – 150 seconds
# Commercial Minutes:Seconds
2007 – 43:00
2006 – 47:20
2005 – 43:10
2004 – 49:25
2003 – 40:41
Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus
To view the commercials that aired during the last nine Super Bowls, visit Nielsen’s creative website
at https://www.nielsenmedia.com/monitorplus/superbowl/. The commercials for this year’s game will
be posted on this website February 6.
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Nielsen’s Sponsorship Scorecard monitors advertising sponsorships of professional sporting events
by measuring the time each brand is seen or heard on screen, and how many viewers were exposed
to each brand. In comparing all brands across all locations throughout the 2007 Super Bowl game,
Cadillac ranked 1st from being seen or heard by more than 334 million homes (see Table 5 below).
Table 5: Brands Seen/Heard During the 2007 Super Bowl
Total # of
Occurrences
Brand
Total
Duration in
Seconds
Total
Homes
(000)
Cadillac Autos & Trucks
17
272
334,420
Pepsi-Cola Regular Soft Drink
8
198
301,505
Motorola Electronic Equipment
45
189
300,766
Blockbuster Video
12
195
295,926
184
282,283
Gatorade Drinks- Isotonic
49
Source: Nielsen Sponsorship Scorecard
In terms of product placement, football team brands showed up 14% more in the content of Broadcast
Network primetime TV shows this year, demonstrating that the NFL has increased marketing efforts
to drive interest in their games and the team that play during the season. The New England Patriots
occurrences totaled 176 with 10% of the activity taking place in the fourth quarter of 2007, while the
New York Giants occurrences totaled 135 with more than half of the occurrences taking place in the
4th Quarter of 2007.
The New York Giants product placement occurrence pattern follows that of the Indianapolis Colts last
year where 40% of their brand placements took place in the 4th Quarter of 2006 and put this team at
#14 on the most placed brands list as reported by the Nielsen Product Placement Service in 2006.
Deal or No Deal on NBC showed the most appearances for both the New York Giants and the New
England Patriots on primetime broadcast network entertainment programming this past year. For the
cable networks measured by Nielsen, it was Runs House on MTV for the Giants and What Not to
Wear on TLC for the Patriots.
MUSIC:
From Michael Jackson and U2 to Josh Groban and Prince, halftime and pre-game performances
have provided sales growth for artists from a wide variety of musical genres since the early '90s.
After last year's Super Bowl halftime, Billboard reported that album sales for Prince's body of work
more than doubled. Nielsen SoundScan measured his album volume for the week that followed at
31,000, up from 14,000 the prior week. Similarly, digital downloads of all his available songs almost
doubled, with Nielsen SoundScan posting 102,000 for Prince, compared to 59,000 the week before
the championship game.
Other recent Super Bowl spikes that Billboard spotted in Nielsen SoundScan data:
•
Rolling Stones in 2006: Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" album showed a 34% increase over
the week before the Super Bowl.
•
Paul McCartney in 2005: His 2002 live album posted a 542% increase in sales, while two of
his greatest hits sets more than doubled ("All the Best" by 246% and "Wingspan: Hits and
History" by 161%). Beatles' hits album "1" showed 72% growth.
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•
Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, 2004: Despite, or maybe because of, controversy
generated by their halftime appearance, sales for three of her albums more than doubled,
while his "Justified" increased 160%. Current albums by participants Nelly (up 56%) and Kid
Rock (up 25%) also gained.
•
Shania Twain in 2003: Twain's "Up" led the Super Bowl field, with a 41% increase, while No
Doubt's "Rock Steady" gained 23% and Sting saw "Very Best of Sting & the Police" grow by
39%.
•
U2 in 2002: Sales for three of the band's key albums more than doubled ("All That You Can't
Leave Behind," up 142%; "Best of 1980-1990," up 154%; "The Joshua Tree," up 144%).
BOX OFFICE and DVD SALES:
As usual, movie-going plunged on 2007 Super Bowl Sunday. Nielsen EDI found that U.S. box office
receipts, which averaged $30.7 million on a typical winter Sunday in 2006, fell to $16.4 million on
Super Bowl Sunday 2007 (2/4/07) – a 47% decline. Over the past five years, the average domestic
box office for Super Bowl Sunday versus the average winter Sunday is down by about $11.8 million.
Nielsen VideoScan data shows that interest for the Super Bowl even translates into DVD sales (see
Table 6). Below is a look at the top 10 DVD titles for Super Bowl-related videos since 2000, the first
year that Nielsen VideoScan started collecting sales data.
Table 6: TOP SUPER BOWL DVDs – Since 2000
Rank
Title
Release
Date
Sales
Index
1
SUPER BOWL XXXVIII -- Patriots def. Panthers
02-24-04
100
2
SUPER BOWL XL -- Steelers def. Seahawks
02-28-06
79
3
SUPER BOWL XXXVI -- Patriots def. Rams
03-05-02
79
4
SUPER BOWL XXXIX -- Patriots def. Eagles
03-01-05
66
5
SUPER BOWL XXXVII -- Tampa Bay def. Raiders
02-11-03
54
6
SUPER BOWL XLI -- Colts def. Bears
02-27-07
29
7
SUPER BOWL SHUFFLE -- 1985 Chicago Bears
10-05-04
24
8
GREATEST SUPER BOWL MOMENTS
12-06-05
21
9
NFL SUPER BOWL COLLECTION - PITTSBURGH STEELERS
11-08-05
18
10
NFL SUPER BOWL COLLECTION - DALLAS COWBOYS
11-08-05
16
Source: Nielsen VideoScan
Note: Based on aggregate disc unit sales. Does not include sales from Wal-Mart. Most other sell-through retailers are included.
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SHOPPING TRENDS FOR FOOTBALL FANS:
ACNielsen reviewed more than 72 food and beverage categories
sold in U.S. food, drug, and mass merchandiser stores (including
Wal-Mart) to see which products benefit most from the Super
Bowl. It compared average one-week sales performance during
the two-weeks ending February 10, 2007 with the average oneweek sales performance of the three-weeks before and threeweeks after the Super Bowl period. The charts at right (see
Table 7) show that Snacks, including tortilla chips, potato chips
and popcorn, had the largest incremental increase in total sales
during the Super Bowl period and alcoholic beverage coolers
had the largest percentage increase. Within the snacks
category, tortilla chips are the most popular with a 29 percent
increase in sales during the Super Bowl period and a $13.4
million incremental sales boost.
Table 7:
Product Categories – Super Bowl Period*
Total Incremental Sales
1. Total Snacks -- $33.365 million
2. Total Beer -- $20.718 million
3. Total Cheese -- $18.871 million
4. Total Carbonated Beverages -- $18.647 mil
5. Total Packaged Meat -- $16.586 million
Product Categories – Super Bowl Period*
Largest Overall Percentage Sales Increase
1. Total Alcoholic Bev Coolers +25%
2. Total Snacks/Spreads/DipDairy +22%
3. Total Crackers +15%
4. Total Beer +13%
5. Total Snacks +13%
*Two-weeks ending February 10, 2007
Source ACNielsen; Total U.S. food, drug,
mass merchandiser stores (including WalMart)
THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF A FOOTBALL FAN:
According to data from the marketing company Spectra, viewers of professional football across the
U.S. who typically watch on the weekend one or more times per month tend to be from town and rural
areas. They are primarily larger families with head of household age 40+ or households age 35+
without children.
Claritas consumer segmentation shows that even though the Super Bowl draws such a huge
television audience each year, it is the most affluent households that are most likely to be watching.
In fact, people in wealthy households, which generally have more than a $100,000 income, are
almost three times more likely to be watching the Super Bowl as people in households with less than
$30,000 in annual income.
According to Claritas, consumers that are most likely to be watching the Super Bowl tend to own
luxury SUVs, have Blackberries, subscribe to satellite radio and own iPods. They are very likely to
take frequent business trips, be members of frequent flier programs, and spend more than $3,000 a
year on domestic travel. The Super Bowl has high coverage of viewers that are active stock traders
and use discount brokerage services.
GIANTS FANS – AND THE NEW YORK MARKET
40% of Giants* fans (adults in the New York DMA that has watched on Cable/Broadcast TV, attended
a game or listened to the NY Giants within the past 12 months) have an annual household income of
$100k+. In fact, Giants fans are 26% more likely than all New Yorkers to be in this income bracket.
They are also avid investors. Giants fans are more likely than all New Yorkers to have a wide variety
of investments in their household, from stocks and bonds to second homes/real estate property. Also,
nearly one-third (31%) of New York’s Giants fans are female (Source: Scarborough Sports
Marketing).
NY Giants fans are more than twice as likely as all New York adults to have bought sporting event
tickets online within the past year. They are two and a half times more likely than all New Yorkers to
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have played Fantasy sports online within the past month and nearly two and a half times more likely
to be willing to spend $50 or more on a single NFL ticket (Source: Scarborough Sports Marketing).
Giants fans love to snack. They are more likely than all New Yorkers to have used all types of snack
foods in their household during the past 30 days, from pretzels and chips to nuts and candy. Giants
fans in the New York market are 13% less likely than all New York adults to be a part of a home that
has used organic foods within the past month. 59% of Giants fans in New York ages 21+, consumed
beer during the past month. Giants fans in New York are 53% more likely than New York adults to
have had whiskey within the past month. (Source: Scarborough Sports Marketing).
According to Claritas, New Yorkers will likely enjoy Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Beer or tailgate
in BMW or Land Rover SUVs for Super Bowl festivities. New York homes are also likely to play a
game of tennis, rent a foreign film or a sip a coffee from Starbucks (Source: Claritas).
Spectra data shows New York residents who watched the Super Bowl last year generally come from
affluent urban and suburban neighborhoods. Additionally, New York viewers purchase above
average amounts of beer, health bars, tequila, scotch, and jarred nuts than the average viewer.
PATRIOTS FANS – AND THE BOSTON MARKET
15% of Boston’s Patriots fans* (adult in the Boston DMA that has watched on Cable/Broadcast TV,
attended a game or listened to the New England Patriots within the past 12 months) belong to a
household with an annual income of $150k or more. Patriots fans in Boston are 17% more likely than
all Boston adults to be in this income bracket. Forty-three percent of Boston’s Patriot fans are women
(Source: Scarborough Sports Marketing).
Ford (25%), Toyota (21%), and Chevrolet (15%) are the top three auto brands among Patriot fans in
the Boston market. Patriots fans are also 40% more likely than all Boston adults to have bought
gear/clothing with the NFL logo on it within the past year (Source: Scarborough Sports Marketing).
63% of Patriots fans in Boston have a broadband internet connection. Patriots fans are 17% more
likely than all Boston adults to be a part of a household that has shopped at BJ’s Wholesale club
within the past year for their audio / video needs (Source: Scarborough Sports Marketing)
According to Claritas, many Boston households drink Amstel Light Beer, and might be drinking that
when tailgating out of the back of their Lexus or Volvo SUVs. When Boston households are not
enjoying the Super Bowl, they might be downhill skiing or sailing. People in this area are likely to
read Wine Spectator magazine and be members of country clubs (Source: Claritas).
Data from Spectra shows that Boston residents who watched the Super Bowl last year are more likely
to live in affluent suburban and rural neighborhoods. Additionally, Boston viewers purchase above
average amounts of pretzels, health bars, beer, trail mix and tortilla chips.
ADDITIONAL SUPER BOWL INSIGHT FROM NIELSEN:
•
In December 2007, The Nielsen Company launched a blog entitled “Road to the Big Game” -http://blog.nielsen.com/bowl360/. This new blog which showcases Nielsen’s broad
perspective on the Super Bowl – ranging from measurements of television ratings and
Internet traffic to its impact on consumer spending, movie box office receipts and album sales
of half-time performers – enables the company’s experts to examine a host of issues,
including new forms of advertising, marketing ROI, consumer-generated media and more.
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•
In the new issue of Nielsen’s Consumer Insights (CI) magazine issued January 22, 2008, the
head of Nielsen Sports, Tom Ziangas, explores how the football fan experience has changed
thanks to the explosive growth of media options. The January 2008 issue of CI is available at
www.nielsen.com/consumer_insight/.
•
Immediately following the 2008 Super Bowl, Adweek magazine will host its annual game-day
chat where Adweek editors and guest bloggers review the 2008 Super Bowl advertising.
SuperAdFreak is available at http://www.superadfreak.com/.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in
marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence
(NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood
Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more that 100 countries, with
headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit,
www.nielsen.com
###
Media Contacts
ACNielsen: Jennifer Frighetto, 847.605.5686
Claritas: Steve Moore, 858.677.9634
Nielsen Online: Suzy Bausch 408.941.2965 or Sandra Parrelli 646.654.7772
Nielsen EDI: Michael Marcell, 323.860.4670
Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen VideoScan: Anna Loynes, 213.639.6167
Nielsen Sponsorship Scorecard: Karen Gyimesi, 646.654.8631
Nielsen Media Research: Brandi Preston 646.654.8391
Nielsen Monitor-Plus: Laura Czaja, 646.654.8681
Scarborough Sports Marketing: Allyson Mongrain, 703.451.3174
Spectra: Jennifer Frighetto, 847.605.5686
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