SOASTA, a leader in performance analytics, unveiled the results of its 2016 Super Bowl Second Screen Survey¹, examining online and mobile habits and preferences of Americans watching this year’s Super Bowl, as well as their thoughts on which professional football playoff team has the most obnoxious fans. The research revealed that the New England Patriots, who were recently eliminated from the NFL playoffs, are #1 when it comes to obnoxious fans. More than 1 in 3 Americans (38 percent) said that the Pats had the most obnoxious fans in the playoffs. Americans rated fans of the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers much more highly.
SOASTA commissioned the Super Bowl Second Screen Study to raise awareness around the peak traffic and high download rates expected during the U.S.’s most watched sporting event of the year. According to the new research, nearly half (48 percent) of Americans say that online performance during the Super Bowl matters to them, and 46 percent of Americans say that a poorly performing website or app is worse than watching their favorite team perform poorly during the Super Bowl. The online survey was conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of SOASTA Jan. 20-22, 2016, among 2,046 adults age 18+.
At the same time, SOASTA released new Consumer Performance Index (CPI) data from a separate study and launched a Digital Performance Management Platform to help digital businesses meet the growing demand for the ultimate measure of performance – the customer digital experience – at big events like the Super Bowl. SOASTA used its CPI to estimate the performance of popular websites tied to the upcoming Super Bowl, benchmarking website user engagement against top-performing sites monitored by SOASTA and condensing it into a single score. According to SOASTA’s CPI data, Beyoncé has the worst performing website of the three halftime show performers. Coldplay’s website comes in at #1, with Bruno Mars taking second place.
Most Obnoxious Fans – and Most Important Ways to Show Loyalty
Americans say the New England Patriots have the most obnoxious fans, according to SOASTA’s Super Bowl Survey, which asked respondents to rate fans supporting the four professional football teams vying for the Super Bowl in the latest playoff series. More than 1 in 3 Americans (38 percent) picked the Pats as having the most obnoxious fans, with only 15 percent choosing the Denver Broncos, coming in a distant second place. Thirteen percent said the Carolina Panthers have the most obnoxious fans, with the Arizona Cardinals coming in last place with only 9 percent of the vote.
The new survey illustrated the importance of fans showing their loyalty to their favorite teams through digital activities. More than 2 in 5 (42 percent) Americans believe that posting support on social media or fan sites is an important way fans show their loyalty. Other popular ways fans express loyalty to their teams include watching games on TV, on a laptop or a mobile device (59 percent); following game scores and player statistics (47 percent); following players on social media (30 percent); and trash-talking other teams (17 percent).
Online Performance Just as Important as In-Game Performance
SOASTA’s Super Bowl Survey revealed that Americans are just as demanding when it comes to online performance as they are of performance on the field. Nearly half of Americans (48 percent) said that online performance during the Super Bowl matters to them.
SOASTA’s Super Bowl Study showed that Americans will be using their smartphones and electronic devices to multi-task while watching the game. Nearly 1 in 3 (32 percent) of Americans who are planning to watch the Super Bowl this year said they also plan to use social media on websites or apps. In addition, 21 percent plan to use sports sites or apps; 19 percent will use news sites or apps; 17 percent will use food delivery sites or apps; and 14 percent will use game sites or apps – suggesting that digital performance will be critical during the Super Bowl.
In fact, 46 percent of Americans say that a poorly performing website or app is worse than watching their favorite football team perform poorly during the Super Bowl. Of those with a favorite football team, that number jumps to 66 percent. Nearly one-third (32%) of Americans with a favorite football team say a poorly performing website or app is worse than watching their favorite football team perform poorly when they are trying to watch a live stream of the game and it won’t work.
Winning the game of digital performance has fundamentally changed in this new era of Internet transparency, extreme velocity, and unforgiving user impatience,” said Ann Sung Ruckstuhl, Chief Marketing Officer of SOASTA. “With billions of dollars of online economy at stake and competition just a click away, brands no longer have the luxury of minutes, much less hours or days, to detect, analyze and correct performance-related problems such as a slow or unresponsive website. Today’s digital winners subscribe to a discipline we called Digital Performance Management. They continuously measure, test and optimize their websites, mobile apps and the IT infrastructures that support them based on real user experiences as they occur. For many brands, the Super Bowl is the ultimate test for digital supremacy.”
Queen Bey: More Peasant than Royalty
Beyoncé may reign supreme on the world’s biggest stage at next month’s Super Bowl halftime show. But in the battle of online performance, Queen Bey is more peasant than royalty.
This is according to findings from SOASTA’s new Consumer Performance Index (CPI) research, revealing that Beyoncé has the worst performing website of the three halftime show performers. Coldplay’s website comes in at #1, with Bruno Mars taking second place.
SOASTA’s CPI is a metric that measures how website performance impacts consumer engagement, evaluating speed and user reaction via bounce rate to provide a single effectiveness score. Using CPI estimates, SOASTA determined that among the three Super Bowl halftime performers, Queen B comes in last place, with a score of 64. Coldplay has the highest score at 81, and Bruno Mars is second at 76. Among NFL teams who made it to the playoffs, the Arizona Cardinals are undefeated when it comes to digital performance, with a CPI score of 82.
Additionally, SOASTA identified the top performing websites popular with Americans on Super Bowl Sunday. Domino’s tops the pizza company category when it comes to website performance – scoring higher than Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and Little Caesars, with a score of 86. DoorDash is the best performing food delivery website, beating Seamless, Eat24 and GrubHub with a score of 85. Of the biggest sports gambling sites, FanDuel bests DraftKings.
Most Memorable Super Bowl Moments: “Bud,” “Weis,” “Er” and “Nip Slips”
As part of its Super Bowl Study, SOASTA commissioned Harris Poll to ask Americans about their opinions on the most memorable Super Bowl moments, including ad campaigns and performances on the field. More than 1 in 3 Americans said that the Budweiser: Bud Frogs (1995) ad campaign and the Coca-Cola: Polar Bears (2012) ad campaign were the most memorable for them.
When asked about the most memorable Super Bowl moments, 36 percent of Americans said that Janet Jackson’s “nip slip” wardrobe malfunction (2004) was the most memorable moment for them. More than 1 in 4 (28 percent) said it was when Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made the call to pass the ball instead of giving it to Marshawn Lynch in the final seconds, losing the game to the Patriots in 2015 (dubbed the “worst NFL call in history”). Nearly 1 in 4 (23 percent) Americans said the most memorable Super Bowl moment for them was when Katy Perry rode an enormous lion and danced with a confused, out-of-step “Left Shark” in the 2015 Super Bowl halftime show. Finally, 21 percent said it was Whitney Houston’s rendition of “Star Spangled Banner” in 1991, while 15 percent of Americans said it was Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World” performance in 1993.
¹ Super Bowl Second Screen Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of SOASTA from Jan. 20-22, 2016, among 2,046 adults ages 18 and older, among which 1,488 plan to watch the Super Bowl this year, and 1,387 have a favorite football team. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and, therefore, no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
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