PARSIPPANY, NJ–(Marketwire – Jan 29, 2013) – Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor of the world’s largest residential real estate sales organization, today announced the results of its Big Game Survey. CENTURY 21(R), an advertiser in this year’s Super Bowl(R), recently surveyed Americans about their game-watching and party plans during this year’s game. The results revealed an overwhelming majority of Americans consider the home to be the best place to tune into the Big Game and that a number of factors contribute to making the party a success, including the comforts of home, good food and, of course, a big screen television.

Key findings include:

Home is where the game is. Nearly nine in ten Americans who plan to watch the Big Game (88 percent) agree home is the best place to catch the action. In fact, 84 percent indicated they will watch the game this year in their home, a friend’s home or a family member’s home as opposed to other venues including bars and restaurants.Comfort, comfort, comfort. 66 percent of those who plan to watch the game at their own home or someone else’s said a comfortable and/or relaxing atmosphere is the leading reason why they opted to watch the game there. In fact, the most popular benefit of watching the game at home instead of a bar is the ability to easily find a comfortable seat with 58 percent of U.S. adults citing this as a benefit. Not far behind was the advantage of not having a huge crowd blocking the view of the television, which drew 48 percent of the vote.In good company. 63 percent of women value good company as a critical factor to making a good Big Game party, compared to 57 percent of men.

However, 46 percent of U.S. males indicated that aside from holidays and birthdays, the Big Game is their favorite reason to get together with family and friends at someone’s home (compared to 39 percent of U.S. females).

What makes a good house party? Nearly three-quarters of Americans (72 percent) said food and drink are among the most critical factors in a successful Big Game party.Party Too Hard? After a long day of eating, drinking and touchdown-cheering, those aged 18-34 are most likely to indicate that they have called in sick to work the next day after a Big Game houseparty (22 percent). And of all hooky players — men are more likely to do so than women (14 percent compared to 9 percent).

The CENTURY 21 brand advertised during the Super Bowl for the first time last year. This year, the CENTURY 21 commercial will be broadcast in the third quarter, during the game’s first commercial break after halftime. In addition, the brand will also sponsor an hour-long pre-game show and air ads eight times prior to kick-off.

“For millions of Americans who tune in, it’s not just about the game and the commercials, it’s about getting together with friends and family in the home,” said Bev Thorne, Chief Marketing Officer of Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “This game represents the last great American campfire and we thought it’d be fun to take a look at the role the home plays in what has become an iconic cultural event.”

Additional findings include:

Time to Relax. 76 percent of Americans who plan to watch the championship game said they like to watch the game at home in their pajamas or comfortable clothes, with women supporting this notion even more so than men (83 percent vs. 70 percent). Bathroom breaks! Nearly half of U.S. adults (46 percent) cite cleaner bathrooms as a benefit of watching the game at home. Did you see that?! Men are four percent more likely than women to cite “being able to control instant replay with the DVR” as a reason to watch the game at home (26 percent compared to 22 percent). Savory over sweet. For American adults, snack foods such as chips and dip lead the way with 22 percent of the vote for the best Big Game party food. Not on the menu? Sweets such as cookies and brownies only drew in two percent of the vote. Hot dogs are ready! Not surprisingly, 23 percent of Americans in the warm-weathered South indicated grilled specialties such as hamburgers and hot dogs are the best foods, compared to only 12 percent of those from the chilly Northeast. It’s all about big screens. 52 percent of U.S. adults said the quality of the television (e.g., size and resolution) is a critical factor to throwing a successful party for watching the game at home. Staying connected. 36 percent of those who plan to watch the Big Game indicate they will use media devices other than their television to supplement the game-viewing experience.

  • 42 percent of U.S. adults who will be using additional devices during the Big Game say they will be doing so to check sports news apps on their phone or tablet for breaking, behind-the-scene commentary.
  • 52 percent of U.S. adults who use social media indicate they will also be using social media during the game.
  • Those age 18-34 (30%) are much more likely than any other age group to use their phone to supplement their viewing experience (age 35+ is only 10%).
  • Those aged 18-54 who use social media are much more likely than those 55+ to use social media during the Big Game to talk about the commercials (32 percent vs. 17 percent).
  • During the game, the leading topic of conversation among friends is the game itself (30%). Lastly, it turns out on this day it really is all about two things: the game itself and the commercials — that’s right, only 6 percent of U.S. adults who use social media indicated they plan to chat with friends via social media about the cheerleaders.

*Super Bowl(R) is a registered trademark of the National Football League.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Century 21 Real Estate LLC from December 11-13, 2012 among 2,893 adults age 18+. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.