TORONTO- The granddaddy sporting event of the year, the Super Bowl XLVI, is just a few days away. The hype machine is in full-swing – ads are going viral, Madonna is musing about her half-time show performance and female super fans are getting ready to watch the game.
Websites, like the chicksinthehuddle.com are offering more in-depth analysis and fewer party planning ideas, suggesting a trend that women are interested in the game for the love of the game itself (and not just to hang out with guys).
According to data from Nielsen Media Research, in 2011, 45.9 per cent of the Super Bowl’s 111 million viewers, or some 50 million people, were women. The same research also shows that females account for more than a third of the 14 million viewers major events like the NBA Finals, World Series, Daytona 500, and Stanley Cup Finals attract.
Despite this growing female audience, marketers are still shifting less attention to what women seemingly want, opting to focus on the male customer. Just take a peek at the ads being debuted this weekend.
Alan Middleton, PhD., assistant professor of marketing at Toronto’s Schulich School of Business says these ads show big advertisers are still missing the point when it comes to marketing to a more female audience.
While some car companies have shifted their creative messages to attract women, Middleton says many of the usual prime-time advertiser suspects like health and beauty aids, food products (other than snacks) and other products, typically targeted at the woman shopper, are missing.
“Whether it’s the cost of Super Bowl ad time that keeps them away or the conservatism of the assumption of male-only audiences, these advertisers are missing opportunities,” said Middleton.
In Canada, a rep for the Canadian Football League says while they do consider young families with moms as the most important demographic and do target women, they don’t have hard numbers available.
Laurel Walzak, director of integrated sales and partnership marketing for the National Hockey League says the NHL is also well aware of its increasing female fan base, which is currently about 40 per cent of overall fans. Besides expanding the female clothing line and offering more form-fitted apparel, she says the NHL is also working with strategic partners to engage the female fan.
“We want to strengthen the overall loyalty with the fan base, again that obviously includes the female fan, and then we do this through a multiple-channel approach, said Walzak. “The more we know about the fan, the better that we can offer.”
What do we know about the typical female fan watching ads on TV?
“As the Super Bowl attracts a more mixed audience, its advertising has become less 'jock' and more light comedy,” said Middleton. “As long as the commercials are linked or followed up with other media, appearance in one of the most watched events in North American TV could be a boon to advertisers who want the women watching with their significant others or even by themselves.”In a recent online survey of 500 U.S. consumers, Nielsen revealed that one in three respondents said they bought a product in the past 12 months based on seeing an ad for the product. The ads for health/beauty products resonated with more than half of consumers, presenting big opportunities for advertisers, especially during the Super Bowl.
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