Super Bowl Wins with Super-Sized Wallets

Advertising during the Super Bowl requires very deep pockets, as the average 30-second spot cost marketers well over $3 million the last two years. And the stakes for those dollars are just as big, considering that viewership routinely tops the hundred-million viewer mark. So when you take a step back and look at the big picture, saying the Super Bowl is big business is really a big understatement.

In fact, over the last three years, the big game has helped boost tequila, cognac and prepared cocktail sales, among other party must-haves. Even the halftime musical artists have reaped the ratings benefits, seeing skyrocketing digital sales following their Super Bowl stage performances.

With all the money riding on the game—from sponsors to TV spots to sales lifts of popular party products—Nielsen recently took a closer look at Super Bowl viewers over the last decade and found those tuning in to be an increasingly wealthier share of the audience. Income among other groups remained flat or even fell over the years.

Among the 53 million homes that tuned in to Super Bowl XLVII in 2013, over one-quarter of those homes made more than $100,000 per year. A decade earlier, for Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003, roughly 14 percent of homes taking in more than $100,000 per year tuned in to the Super Bowl. For marketers looking to reach an affluent audience, the $3 million price tag could be the best score of the game.