Fewer Young Adults Watching Super Bowl for Commercials, According to RAMA

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Fewer Young Adults Watching Super Bowl for Commercials, According to RAMA
--Consumers to Spend $5.3 Billion for Super Bowl--

Washington D.C., January 26, 2006 –With close to 145 million people nationwide watching the Super Bowl this year, advertisers will be doing their best to impress on February 5.  According to the 2006 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA), a division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), consumers expect to spend about the same on Super Bowl-related purchases as last year ($49.39 vs. $49.27).  Overall spending for the Super Bowl in 2006 is expected to reach $5.3 billion dollars, compared to $5.6 billion in 2005.

While 33.6 percent of survey respondents say the game itself is still the biggest draw, commercials still play a major role in why fans tune in. This year, 33.4 million consumers (15.3% of survey respondents) said that commercials were the most important part of the Super Bowl. Others said they watch the big game to socialize (12.5% of survey respondents) and watch the halftime show (4.6% of survey respondents).

The biggest challenge to advertisers is the shifting demographics in consumers watching for commercials. Young adults, who last year found the commercials more important than the actual game, have shifted their focus to the action on the field rather than the entertainment of the commercials.  The coveted 18 – 24 age group are less likely to watch the game for commercials this year (18.5%) compared to 2005 (24.5%). 

“With young adults redirecting their focus toward the game this year, advertisers are going to be pulling out all of the stops to attract their attention,” said Mike Gatti, Executive Vice President of RAMA. “Knowing the impact of Super Bowl commercials on branding, we can expect to see nothing less than the best-of-the-best.” 

According to the survey, consumers will also use the Super Bowl to upgrade their home entertainment systems.  Consumers expect to purchase 1.7 million new televisions compared to 1.4 million in 2005.  Comfort and lounging is also becoming more important as consumers expect to buy roughly 800,000 pieces of furniture, compared to 530,000 last year.

Football fans plan to enjoy this year’s Super Bowl festivities in a variety of ways. Nearly a quarter (24.3%) of those polled plan to attend a party, while one-in-ten (9.8%) plan to host a party. Furthermore, 8.3 million consumers will be enjoying the game from their favorite bar or restaurant.

“Retailers look forward to the Super Bowl every year, knowing that it means big business,” said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. “Home electronics and team apparel sales are sure to beef up retailers’ revenue as consumers hit the stores in anticipation of Super Bowl Sunday.”

RAMA will be honoring the best in retail advertising and marketing during the 2006 Retail Advertising Conference, February 8-10 at the Hilton Chicago. The conference is the only annual gathering dedicated solely to the art of advertising and marketing in the retail field.  Press registration for the event is complimentary.  To register for RAC, please visit http://www.nrf.com/press/PressRegistrationForm.asp.

About the Survey
The Retail Advertising and Marketing Association's 2006 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Super Bowl. The survey was conducted for RAMA by BIGresearch. The poll of 6,618 consumers was conducted from January 4-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch's syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.

The Retail Advertising & Marketing Association, a division of the National Retail Federation, is a trade association of over 1500 retail marketing and advertising executives, plus their supporting partners from the advertising agency, media and service-provider areas. RAMA sponsors the annual Retail Advertising Conference, the largest single gathering of retail marketing and advertising professionals in the industry today. RAMA also produces the RAC Awards Competition, the most prestigious creative contest in retail. www.rama-nrf.org 

The National Retail Federation is the world 's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry 's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 23 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2005 sales of $4.4 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.

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