What do NFL teams' fans like other than a win? With the Super Bowl just two weeks away, it's a question marketers spending mega-dollars on advertising are no doubt asking.
Matching info from hundreds of thousands of visits to team websites with additional data from a general user base, The Trade Desk has created a new infographic centered around this season's eight best NFL teams—explaining where their fans live, what they buy and how often they actually cheer for their beloved team even during not-so-favorable seasons. (Last fall, the company took a similiar approach to analyzing the interests of Ohio voters voters ahead of the 2016 presidential race.)
Jeff Green, CEO of The Trade Desk, said marketers could use data to better understand what consumers rootings for various playoff contenders like or don't like. It could also be used to know where to focus endorsement dollars. For example, New England Patriots fans appear more likely to visit a Mercedes-Benz website than any American can manufacturer.
"The game has changed the last 10 years, and while this is fun and anecdotal, it definitely represents a serious trend," Green said.
Another example: The Trade Desk found fans of the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs to be more family-oriented, showing a higher interest in family vehicles. He said that might mean those games are a good time to show more ads related to those types of products.
Here's the infographic, taking a look at this year's final eight playoffs teams: