Case study: CPG brand used location data, in-store sales to analyze NFL stadium ad impact

Increasingly, mobile-location and other data are being combined for sophisticated insights into audience behavior and media performance. In a new case study from IRI and PlaceIQ, a CPG brand (“adult beverage”) wanted to understand whether its out-of-home NFL stadium sponsorships were lifting sales in stores.

The company also wanted to understand consumer behavior before and after exposure to the sponsorship placements. The study was run in 2016 using PlaceIQ’s location data and IRI’s in-store purchase data, based on more than 300 million loyalty cards.

What the companies discovered was that exposure to the sponsorship (in multiple cities) impacted product sales and produced a 2x lift compared with households not exposed to the sponsorship. During a one-month post-exposure purchase window, IRI and PlaceIQ found:

• 12 percent of stadium visitors purchased the sponsor’s flagship brand featured during the 2016 NFL season (compared to just 4.8 percent for all US households during that same season).
• 14 percent of stadium visitors purchased another of the sponsor’s portfolio products during the 2016 NFL season (compared to just 5.1 percent of all US households during that same season).

The sponsorship generated $3 million in additional off-stadium sales during the 2016 NFL season, and there was a halo effect for the brand’s portfolio, producing sales of related products. What’s also interesting is that those individuals who were repeatedly exposed (after three games) were responsible for a 32 percent lift in sales, compared to the control group.

The brand discovered a literal path to purchase among these fans, many of whom went to fast-food or casual restaurants and stayed at hotels in the 24 hours leading up to the games. Indeed, what the study found was that many fans were coming to games from out of town — an unexpected finding.

These insights have media-buying implications. In the future, the CPG brand can buy advertising or out-of-home placements in the cities or areas where fans reside, as well as at airports, hotels and post-event locations they visit. Accordingly, this location + purchase data methodology both expands the aperture for media buying and planning and makes it more targeted and precise.