Is Hosting the Super Bowl Worth the Cost? What You Can Learn from "Super" Big Decision Processes

Every year at Super Bowl time, marketers debate whether the value of Super Bowl television advertising is worth the exorbitant costs. (Yes, I’ve debated it as well… click here for the article and here for the video.) So here we are at Super Bowl LII (52 for those who aren’t into Roman numerals) and a barrage of costly marketing ads that will entertain and bewilder us.

But the measly $5 million cost of purchasing ad space is dwarfed by the huge costs building state-of-the-art stadiums and pushing campaigns to attract this grand event. Various studies show that taxpayers foot the bill for an average of $250 million for new stadiums, with the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis (for Super Bowl LII) costing almost $500 million in state and local taxes. 

$500 million! That’s like, well, 100 Super Bowl ads. And there are additional costs, such as security, other infrastructure, waiver of taxes, access to golf courses and bowling alleys (seriously), etc. In response, local officials tout the “economic benefits” of hosting the big game, always claiming that the financial benefits exceed the financial costs. All in all, many economists doubt that the “investment” in the Super Bowl is worth as much as claimed, but usually admit that it’s still worthwhile.

How Super-Bowl-Like Decisions Are Made

In a recently published post, business guru Seth Godin suggests that big decisions like courting the Super Bowl are made for several key reasons:

1. The Imminence of the Project. The fact that the decision to pursue a particular Super Bowl must be made quickly pushes “yes” answers faster than “no” ones. Perhaps there's an NFL-level FOMO (“fear of missing out”) at play here.
2. Decision Specificity. A Super Bowl Courting Project is a specific, absolute choice option. Compare that against more ethereal and vague options such as spending tax dollars on better education, enhanced employment opportunities, and services for vulnerable populations. Each of these has a slew of long and undefined decision trees connected to them, which make them collectively less attractive than attracting one (really big deal) football game.
3. Project Specificity. With the Super Bowl, you know when it’s over and done. With all the other options for government spending, there would likely be no clear end in sight.
4. The People Who Will Benefit. Although many advocates purport that all residents of the hosting city will benefit, it’s clear that those with certain connections, power, etc. will likely benefit more. The same might be said for the other more generalized infrastructure choices, but perhaps not in such a clear and direct fashion.
5. “Tribal Patriotism.” This is Godin’s term for when champions of the project suggest that those in opposition just aren’t “supporting our city,” something that could curb naysayers via social shaming of sorts.

How to Make Decisions with Your Super (Bowl) Powers

We can learn a lot from Godin’s insights on the circumstances surrounding these types of decisions. We can apply this knowledge to (1) when we’re making decisions and (2) when we’re trying to convince others to decide in our favor.

1. When we’re the decision makers. When we’re provided with choice options that include some of the types of circumstances described above, we need to think through how our own biases toward decision specificity, project specificity, and/or project imminence could affect our decision making. Will we be swayed to choose the specific choice rather than alternatives that aren’t as clearly defined? Will we be pressured to say “yes” because this option expires, while the other options don’t? Understanding our potential decision biases can help us (at least to some degree) to overcome them.
2. When we’re trying to champion a choice option. When we are the ones pushing a particular choice option to others, we might want to learn from the Super Bowl experience how we can make our favored option more attractive to the decision makers. Are there ways to ensure that our project is more clearly specified than the others? Can we construct the project in a manner that shows a clear endpoint so success can be easily measured? Are there any expiration dates that we can promote to push for an early “yes” vote? And can we evoke Godin’s tribal patriotism by making our project the one that “feels good” from an organizational or micro-societal view?

All in all, whether you’re a football fan, a business person, a believer in unbiased decision making, or all or none of the above, you can definitely learn from an understanding of how biases can affect decision making, and how you can use it to your advantage.

?????

If you enjoyed this article, share it with a friend and leave a comment below. If you’d like to connect with me, reach out here on LinkedIn or visit me on YouTube where I host a weekly Marketing Minute video series. Have a “Super” day!