COMMENTARY: Super Bowl for Swifties: More Ad Engagement to Shake Off

COMMENTARY

Super Bowl for Swifties: More Ad Engagement to Shake Off

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, February 2, 2024

Ask yourself how much screen time with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce we will see now that Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, are back again in the Super Bowl.

There was much buzz surrounding the popular musician and entertainer during regular-season games for the Chiefs, when TV networks showed quick shots of Swift in the stands with friends, Kelce family members, and others -- in addition to many TV announcer mentions.

As a result, there was a bump of some -- I emphasize some -- viewership among young women for regular-season NFL games.

The Super Bowl is another matter, where a much broader diverse audience already exists.

Looking deeper, demographics for women have grown for the big game.

Nielsen reports they now comprise 46% of the Super Bowl viewing audience -- which is more female viewers for advertisers than any of the major female-centric entertainment award shows -- the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys.

Given all this, some female-centric brands may expect better engagement in connection with the game and Swift's video shots, as well as overall advertising interest on the part of those ardent Swiftie fans.

This comes on the heels of a PWC study that estimates U.S. female consumers spent 11% more in 2023 with total consumer household spending -- gift, travel, entertainment -- to a $1,530 on average per year.

Apex Marketing Group, a U.S. branding consulting and analytics firm, says Swift's relationship with Kelce and her appearances at Chiefs games has generated $331.5 million in equivalent brand value for the Chiefs and the NFL, reported by business publication Quartz. 

But wait. There's more. A political conspiracy is brewing, according to former GOP Presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy, who wildly speculates that the Super Bowl will be rigged in favor of the Chiefs -- all because of the Swift-Kelce relationship.

Even better for brand stakeholders in the big game would be higher overall viewership for the game’s usual 115 million viewers that day.

But what if those conspiracy plans go sideways? Maybe with this Swift-Kelce thing, we can all just shake it off.