If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember a shampoo commercial that, while entirely annoying, was ahead of its time in understanding the power of a recommendation (“And they told two friends, and they told two friends . . .).
That’s the multiplier effect. Sure, it’s generally used in financial conversations, but the theory is the same. Detroit has the potential to reap the rewards of this effect, and we have two surveys to prove it.
In case you missed it, in April 2024 more than 750,000 visitors from all 50 states, Canada, and beyond were in Detroit for the NFL Draft. With so many guests from diverse locations in our city during Draft Days, the Downtown Detroit Partnership took advantage of the opportunity to survey visitors about their impressions of Downtown Detroit before, during, and after the Draft.
In addition, we also were provided a unique opportunity to add a question to a national survey of the NFL Draft remote viewing audience.
The results are, in a word, stunning.
For the DDP’s NFL Draft Perceptions Survey, we learned that while attendees said they had a positive impression of Downtown Detroit ahead of the Draft, that impression improved for all survey groups after they attended the Draft.
It gets better. An overwhelming majority of visitors said they would recommend visiting Downtown Detroit to a friend or family member.
(Please read DDP’s Data Director’s great article on this for more on our NFL Survey.)
For the national survey, our Perceptions Survey partner, Michigan State University Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, Office for Survey Research, reached 1,000 random individuals and DDP was able to add our own specific questions.
Of the 1,000 surveyed, 199 had watched some portion of the Draft. From that, we can extrapolate that around 20 percent of the United States’ adult population watched the Draft—an incredibly high number.
We wanted to know the following: “Did watching the Draft on television positively impact a person’s perceptions about Detroit.”
The answer? Yes, and in a big way.
For those surveyed who DID NOT watch the Draft, their average perception of Downtown Detroit was 4.13 on a 0-10 scale.
For those who DID watch the Draft, their average perception of Detroit was 6.16.
The takeaway is that the televised coverage of the NFL Draft improved the perception of Downtown Detroit by more than two points (or about a 20 percent improvement) in the minds of around 34 million people (the viewing audience).
Let that sink in.
Our city is on a trajectory unlike anything we’ve seen. Continuous improvement and smart developments are critical. We must be strategic and forward-thinking in everything we do and not take our newfound celebrity for granted.
“If you build it, they will come” only works in the movies. If you take the time to build it right, manage it right, keep it safe and clean, and work as one team, they will come.
And now we know they will return, too.
The DDP is currently conducting its biennial Perceptions Survey for residents in Detroit and surrounding Southeast Michigan communities. Please take 10 minutes to complete the survey to help guide DDP programming in the future.
