National Poll Finds That Tampa Benefits from a Hit Super Bowl; Springsteen Not So Fortunate

National Poll Finds That Tampa Benefits from a Hit Super Bowl; Springsteen Not So Fortunate

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- John Nienstedt, President of Competitive Edge Research & Communication (www.CERC.net) released the results of the annual CERC post-Superbowl poll.

According to Nienstedt's findings, Super Bowl viewers were treated to a whale of a game - three-quarters of them rate Super Bowl 43 as "better than average" and 36% say it was "one of the best ever" - and it rubbed off on the host city of Tampa. The Florida city went from being regarded positively by 31% of Americans before the game, to being viewed favorably by 37% of Americans after the game. That significant 6% bump was accompanied by a 2% drop in negative impressions and equates to about 18 million more US adults with an improved opinion of Tampa.

Working in Tampa's favor was sportscaster Al Michaels. He mentioned Tampa thirteen times during the kick-off show and game broadcast while commenting on "good-looking downtown Tampa." He referred to the evening in Tampa as "beautiful" and "gorgeous" while shots of the waterfront and downtown were on the screen. Demographically, the improvement mainly came from viewers in the Pacific and Mountain states where the city was less known.

The game itself helped expand the scope of the impact for Tampa. Going into the Super Bowl, 71% said they would indeed watch the game. However, the post-game survey found that 77% actually watched, meaning roughly 13 million more fans than anticipated watched the game.

The halftime show was another story. Prior to the game, only 11% of Super Bowl viewers said they had no intention of watching the halftime festivities. But among those queried afterward, 25% did not watch during halftime, with viewership collapsing among those outside the eastern time zone, the middle-aged (35-54 year-olds), and women. That 14% drop in viewership means that about 23 million Americans who thought they would watch the halftime show, turned away from their TVs as it was starting.

Halftime act Bruce Springsteen did raise his profile. Seventy-three percent of Americans had an impression of "The Boss" before Super Bowl 43; now that figure is significantly higher at 80%. What is fascinating is that Springsteen's overall image only improved among those who did not watch the halftime show. Among those who did take in his 12-minute set, opinions about Springsteen were unchanged. This suggests that the hype surrounding his appearance and word of mouth afterwards influenced those who did not actually watch his performance.

Despite this limited "success," the survey shows that Springsteen's Super Bowl appearance will not generate more sales of his new album. About 1% of Americans say they already have "Working on a Dream" which was released prior to the Super Bowl on January 27th. Three percent say they definitely plan on buying it, another 3% will probably buy it and 24% say they might buy it. These figures were the same both before and after the Super Bowl. Younger viewers, however, left the halftime show significantly less inclined to purchase anything off the Boss' new album. Before the big game, half were entertaining the possibility of purchasing the album. Because younger Americans are less familiar with Springsteen, the Super Bowl halftime show was seen as an opportunity to connect with the rocker with a new generation. However, 65% of adults under the age of 36 now say they will not buy Springsteen's latest offering.

Competitive Edge Research & Communication, founded in 1987, is a national public opinion research firm specializing in civic, political and public affairs polling. The annual Super Bowl study is conducted as part of CERC's on-going civic research.

Source: Competitive Edge Research & Communication

CONTACT: Audrey Mullen for Competitive Edge Research & Communication,
+1-703-548-1160, Audrey@advocacyink.com

Web Site: http://cerc.net/

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