Super Bowl improved Tampa’s image by 6 percent

Published by peter | Filed under Market Trends, Shout Outs

A study released Thursday by national public opinion research firm Competitive Edge Research & Communication showed a 6 percent increase in public opinion of Tampa following the city’s hosting of Super Bowl XLIII.

The company, based in San Diego, conducted two telephone surveys with about 500 randomly selected Americans. The study aims to measure the effect the game has on its host city by comparing public opinion data from before and after the Super Bowl.

More than 37 percent of respondents said that they had a positive impression of Tampa after the Super Bowl, compared to 31.3 percent in the survey administered prior to the game.

John Nienstedt, president of CERC, attributed the increase largely to the number of times the city was referenced favorably by the game’s commentators. Tampa was mentioned by name 13 times during the telecast using words like “gorgeous,” “beautiful” and “good-looking,” he said in a conference call Thursday.

The data, he said, translates to roughly 18 million Americans with increased opinions of Tampa.

The percentage of those with no impression of Tampa remained steady with a 3 percent decline from 59.3 percent to 56.5 percent, while the number of respondents with a negative impression shrunk about 2 percent from 6.2 percent to 4.3 percent.

However, the Super Bowl had little effect on whether or not respondents would visit Tampa within the next year, according to the study.

More than 79 percent said they were either “somewhat unlikely” or “very unlikely” to come to town after the game, a 2 percent decrease from before the Super Bowl aired.

Founded in 1987, CERC has conducted similar studies for five Super Bowls in the past. Four of the five studies demonstrated little to no effect on the image of the host city. - TBBJ