Generation Gap: Gen Y Says Super Bowl is for Socialization

Let’s get ready to…chat it up? That’s right, according to our latest Super Bowl data (conducted by BIGinsight for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association), Gen Y is the generation most likely to view the big game as, well, as big party.  Here are the segments we took a look at for this special analysis:

Silent (born 1945 or earlier)
Boomers (born 1946 – 1964)
Gen X (born 1965 – 1982)
Gen Y (born 1983 – 1993)

Before I get ahead of myself, I would like to clarify: among Gen Y-ers planning to watch the Super Bowl, two in five (40.4%) still said the game was most important to them. It’s just that a much larger proportion of these youngsters (25.6%) indicated that getting together with friends was the priority, particularly when compared to Silents (14.9%) and Boomers (15.0%). Slightly more Gen X-ers (19.4%) consider the Super Bowl a social event.

Interestingly, among both of the younger generations, the combined viewers who are into the Super Bowl for the commercials or to get together with friends eclipse the percentage of those who watch for the game itself. The opposite is true for Silents and Boomers: the match-up on the field is more important than all the other “benefits” combined.

Here are some other fun facts about celebrating Super Bowl Sunday:
– Gen Y-ers (42.9%) are the most likely to attend a party that day, double the number of Boomers (21.5%).
– The Gen X group is the most probable to host a party (23.1%), just edging out Gen Y (21.8%). Just a small fraction of Silents (3.1%) are sending out invites.
– Bring on the taco dip! Eight in ten (79.9%) Gen X-ers are planning to buy food/beverages for game day, slightly more than Gen Y (76.6%) and Boomers (70.7%).
– File this under ironic: Although the least likely to vote the game as the most important aspect of Super Bowl Sunday, 16.6% of those in Gen Y plan to show their team spirit by buying new apparel or accessories, more than any other generation.

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

UPDATE: RAMA’s Executive Director Mike Gatti name his picks for the Top 5 Super Bowl Ads: Goosebumps, giggles and gadgets: Mike Gatti’s top 5 Super Bowl commercials.

And, click to view the original RAMA press release: Record Number of Americans to Celebrate Super Bowl This Year with Plans to Spend $11 Billion

Source: Consumer Intentions & Actions® Survey – JAN-12 (N = 9317, 1/4 – 1/11/12)

© 2012, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development Corp.

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