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Ad Meter Super Bowl

Super Bowl ad costs soar — but so does buzz

Chris Woodyard
USA TODAY

This  Super Bowl won't be just about game statistics. The numbers associated with the off-field action — the commercials — are equally important, especially to the marketers that spend up to $5 million for 30 seconds of air time.

The important figures will take many forms, ranging from how many people watched commercials during the TV broadcast to what percentage of those viewers can remember the brand names in the ads they saw. Marketers, of course, want to air ads that boost their brand as well as bolster sales.

With so much money at stake, advertisers have to play an inside game in search of a touchdown, not a fumble, when it comes to ads that break through. They will look at survey data and statistics like these:

TV Audience. Last year, 114 million viewers saw the game -- and all those ads, Nielsen says. About 54 million, or 47%, were women.

Pre-game views. Given the immense cost to air Super Bowl ads, most companies release them ahead of time. As of Friday, YouTube said about 40 ads and more than 130 teasers had been posted. It says those who post their ads in advance get 2.2 times more views than those who wait until game day.

Audience engagement. Some 17.7% of adults say ads are the most important part of the Super Bowl, according to Prosper Insights and Analytics, which conducted a survey for the National Retail Federation. That's almost half as many who cite the game itself, at 34.7%. For others, the food and getting together with friends is the main draw. Almost one-fourth (23%) say they don't watch the game.

One in eight people view Super Bowl ads as entertainment, according to the Prosper/NRF survey.  Nearly 18%  say the ads make them aware of advertisers’ brands and 10.3% said they influence their buying decisions.

Free publicity. It's not just the ad itself. Companies count on a wave of free publicity from TV shows, magazines, newspapers and websites. Many of those outlets also pay the most attention to the celebrities featured in the ads, who often have huge numbers of Twitter followers and other social media presence. "Celebrities help you reach even more people, in fresher, newer ways," says Dean Evans, Hyundai's chief marketing officer.

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