Study 2
Super Bowl Halftime Show
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Objective: Extend experimental findings to real consumer experiences during
the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show.
Methodology: Randomly assigned participants to three conditions:
1. Content Generation: Participants created content during the show (e.g.,
text messages, social media posts).
2. No Content: Participants did not create any content during the show.
3. Irrelevant Content: Participants created content unrelated to the halftime
show to control for technology use and writing.
Rationale for Irrelevant Content Condition: This condition helps isolate the
effect of generating content about the experience by comparing it to a situation
where technology is used separately from the ongoing experience.
Hypothesis: Content generation during the show is expected to have different
effects compared to not generating content or generating irrelevant content.
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Participants:
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Recruited 1,212 MTurk participants
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46.8% female
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Mean age: 37.41 years
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All planned to watch the 2019 Super Bowl
and halftime show
Two-Part Study:
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Part 1 (Saturday before Super Bowl):
 Provided instructions for an activity
during the event.
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Part 2 (Super Bowl Sunday):
 Conducted immediately after the
halftime show.
Experimental Conditions:
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Participants randomly assigned to one of
three conditions:
 Content Generation
 No Content Generation
 Unrelated Technology Use
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No Content group given a task during the
first quarter to avoid selection bias.
Methodology
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Agreement to Participate:
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1,109 participants agreed to complete the
task (out of 1,212), with no variation by
condition.
Control Variables:
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Participants provided information about:
 Super Bowl plans (location and
company)
 Pre-existing attitudes toward
halftime show headliner (Maroon 5)
 Team preference
Reminder for Content Generation:
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Participants assigned to the content
generation activity received a reminder six
hours before the game.
Part 2 Availability:
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Part 2 available immediately after the
halftime show until the end of the game.
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First 200 participants received a bonus for
prompt completion.
Completion Rate:
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731 participants (51.8% female) completed
Part 2, with no variation by condition.
Methodology
Manipulation Checks
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Content Creation:
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Content Generation and Unrelated
Technology Use conditions created
significantly more content during the
halftime show than the No Content
condition.
Relevance of Content:
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Content Generation participants created
content more directly related to the
halftime show compared to other
conditions.
Methodology
Control Variables
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Super Bowl Plans:
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Location and company where participants
watched the Super Bowl.
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Control variables to account for differences
in experiences.
Attitudes Toward Halftime Show Headliner
(Maroon 5):
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Participants' pre-existing attitudes towards
the band as a control variable.
Team Preference:
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Participants indicated if they were rooting
for a particular team.
Alcohol Consumption:
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Participants reported how many alcoholic
beverages they consumed during the Super
Bowl.
Methodology
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Manipulation Checks:
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Participants in Content Generation (M = 4.98, SD = 7.05) and
Unrelated Technology Use (M = 3.96, SD = 5.41) conditions
created significantly more content during the halftime show than
those in the No Content condition (M = 1.55, SD = 6.04).
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Content Generation participants reported a higher percentage of
content directly related to the show (M = 82.40%) compared to No
Content (M = 29.26%) and Unrelated Technology Use (M =
15.61%) conditions.
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Unrelated Technology Use participants created significantly less
relevant content during the halftime show compared to No
Content participants.
Effects of Content Generation
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Contrasts:
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Content Generation vs. No Content and Unrelated Technology Use (C1)
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No Content vs. Unrelated Technology Use (C2)
Immersion:
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Content Generation participants felt more immersed (M = 63.15) than
those in other conditions (M = 56.48).
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No significant difference between No Content (M = 57.55) and Unrelated
Technology Use (M = 55.47) conditions.
Time Perception:
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Content Generation participants perceived time passing more quickly (M =
66.75) than others (M = 62.59).
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No significant difference between No Content (M = 61.92) and Unrelated
Technology Use (M = 63.21) conditions.
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Enjoyment:
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Content Generation participants enjoyed the halftime show more
(M = 60.53) than those in other conditions (M = 55.50).
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No significant difference between No Content (M = 55.13) and
Unrelated Technology Use (M = 55.85) conditions.
Mediation:
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Immersion significantly mediated the effect of generating content
on enjoyment, both directly and indirectly through time perception
in a serial mediation.
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Beneficial Effects of Content Generation:
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Study 2 reinforces the positive impact of content generation in a
real-world consumer experience.
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Participants who naturally generated content (e.g., text messages,
social media posts) during the Super Bowl halftime show reported:
 Increased immersion.
 Perception of time passing more quickly.
 Higher enjoyment of the show.
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Differentiating Content Generation:
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Only generating content related to the experience resulted in these
positive effects.
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Unrelated technology use during the same experience did not
provide the same benefits.
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Suggests that recommendations to put down phones during
experiences may overlook the advantages of using devices for
related content creation.
Consumer Choice:
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In real-world settings, consumers have the freedom to choose
whether to generate content during experiences.
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Subsequent studies explore how this choice impacts their
experiences.
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Understanding Consumer Behavior:
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Recognizing the impact of content generation on consumer
experiences.
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Encouraging consumers to engage in content creation that
enhances their immersion and enjoyment.
Media and Technology Usage:
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Highlighting the importance of context-specific technology use.
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Encouraging responsible technology use that enhances, rather than
detracts from, real-time experiences.
Future Research:
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Continuing to explore consumer choices regarding content
generation during various experiences.
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Investigating how different forms of content (e.g., photos, videos,
live updates) affect immersion and enjoyment.