Situationally Triggered Consumption: The Effect of Sports Viewing on Snacking Incidence

Abstract

There is little direct (field) evidence demonstrating that a television show can systematically trigger a food consumption event. This research shows that watching NFL (American football) games on television causes people to consume more snacks than they would otherwise, an effect moderated by product-situation associations. We show this effect using a unique nationally representative sample of US consumers who self-report snacking behavior at the moment of consumption. Exploiting NFL games' unique temporal and geographic distribution, we are able to identify the causal effect of watching NFL games on real-world snack consumption. These findings appear to be robust across demographic groups as well as to different mappings between NFL teams and designated market areas (DMAs). These results show how product-situation associations can trigger consumption events and suggest practical implications for marketers as well as public health practitioners.

Keywords: food marketing, snacking, product associations, television, health

JEL Classification: M31, I12