The most-watched sporting event in the United States, the Super Bowl, is expected to draw record viewership during this year's game. And with the championship around the corner, could some public companies be poised for large business?
In 2009, the Super Bowl XLIII match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals was the highest rated Super Bowl in history, attracting 98.7M viewers and setting a new record for the seventh consecutive year, according to Nielsen's ratings.
This year's event between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints may not be any different. Historically, nine of the twenty most watched television shows in the United States include a Super Bowl game.
>>> Read about Super Bowl Market Indicators Here
CBS Corp. announced on Monday this week that advertising spots for the NFL's Super Bowl game sold out, with some 30-second spots topping $3 million.
The high price tag paid by advertisers may be well worth the cost for some companies seeking to reach large audiences, considering that a recent survey conducted by Nielsen found that the majority of Super Bowl viewers (51%) tuned in to watch the commercials aired during the game rather than the action on the field.
One company seeking to capitalize on this notion is Anheuser-Busch InBev, a beer-maker with a portfolio of brands such as Budweiser, Stella Artoise, Beck's, among others, will be 2010's biggest advertiser, having purchased 5 minutes worth of promotion time.
However, not every company seems as eager to take part in this year's event. Pepsi Co., the world's second biggest soft-drink maker, announced last month that it will shift its ad dollars for its line of beverages to marketing efforts mostly online. Pepsi Co. advertised in the Super Bowl every year since 1987. Frito-lay, a division of parent company Pepsi, will have an ad for its Doritos brand.
Nevertheless, the biggest advertising event of the year will help participating companies increase their brand exposure and recognition, which could ultimately translate into greater sales. The list below includes some of the major public companies that will take part in the Super Bowl XLIV.
- Anheuser-Busch InBev
- Coca-Cola
- Denny’s
- Diamond Foods
- E-Trade
- Electronic Arts
- General Electric*
- Honda
- Intel
- Monster Worldwide
- Motorola
- Papa Johns
- Uniliver
- Viacom
- Walt Disney
- YUM! Brands
*General Electric is the parent company of NBC Universal/CNBC
Changing Economics & Super Bowl Consumption
Changing Economics & Super Bowl Consumption
A recent survey conducted by Nielsen showed that nine out of ten Americans are planning to watch the game at home or a friend's or relative's house instead of gathering at a restaurant or bar. At the same time, only 5% of the households interviewed reported an increase on spending on food and beverages for the game, while 86% plan to spend the same amount or less than last year.
“Staying in is the new ‘night out’ and we see this trend continue to play out with the Super Bowl,” noted Nick Lake, vice president, group client director, Beverage Alcohol at Nielsen, on a report published by the company. “Consumers continue to rein in spending and while this ‘new normal’ provides challenges for restaurant and bar owners, it presents opportunities for consumer packaged goods (CPG) retailers and manufacturers.”
Nearly 166 pounds of snacks are expected to be consumed during the Super Bowl game, accounting for about $644.7 million in sales. Potato and tortilla chips are at the top of the list, making up 50% of snack purchases worth about $310 million.
Beer sales during the game, surprisingly, rank seventh among U.S. holidays, with the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day taking the first three spots, averaging 62 million cases during a two-week period, according to Nielsen's statistics.
Some of the public companies that could benefit from this trend include:
- Pepsico : Maker of Frito-lay snacks
- Domino's Pizza
- Buffalo Wild Wings
- Papa John's expects to sell more than 750K pizzas on Super Bowl Sunday as the Official Pizza Sponsor of the game (In total, Americans are expected to consume a total of 30 million slices)
- Wal-Mart Stores
- Costco
- BJ's Wholesale
- Target
- CVS Caremark
- Family Dollar Stores
- Molson Coors
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