NFL’s Score With Faith-Driven Consumers Isn’t So Super, This Index Says

On the cusp of Super Bowl 50, one consumer index says the National Football League falls short in welcoming Americans who make their choices “through the lens of their biblical worldview.”

The NFL scored only 24 out of 100 points on the Faith Equality Index prepared by Faith Driven Consumer, a Christian organization that provides resources for faith-conscious Americans.

Chris Stone, a certified brand strategist who founded the organization, said in a formal statement:

The National Football League is significantly comprised of Christian players, coaches, and executives, and as such, many in our community assume the organization is welcoming of faith-driven consumers. But its score of 24 out of 100 says otherwise. As with most brands, this may not be intentional [but] rather it stems from a lack of awareness and understanding of this color in the diversity rainbow.

Faith Driven Consumer also released its first annual rating of Super Bowl advertisers this week. This year, the cost for one second of Super Bowl advertising is $160,000.

The group’s top five Super Bowl advertisers for the Denver Broncos-Carolina Panthers clash are Acura, Honda, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Marmot. The bottom five are Snickers, Coca-Cola, Colgate, T-Mobile, and Axe.

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According to the research firm American Insights, 86 percent of faith-driven consumers are more likely to do business with a brand that welcomes their Christian values.

“We look forward to working with the NFL, and all professional sports organizations—educating them on and encouraging them to specifically include faith-driven consumers,” Stone said.

The NFL can improve its score on his index and its “standing with the faith community,” he said.

The index rates 400 major brands, Stone’s group says, and it “measures a company’s commitment and actions in order to create parity, at minimum, between faith-driven consumers and other groups that are embraced in the rainbow of employment, philanthropy, and marketing diversity.”

Index scores are based on four categories: public commitment to faith-driven consumers, faith-compatible corporate actions, “equal application of equal protections,” and corporate competency in the market segment made up of faith-driven consumers.

The highest score for Super Bowl 50 advertisers was 46 (scored by both Acura and Honda), while the lowest was 11 (Axe). Here is how the index rated all the brands:

• Acura: 46
• Honda: 46
• Pepsi: 38
• Mountain Dew: 38
• Marmot: 38
• Heinz: 37
• Mini USA: 36
• Avocados from Mexico: 35
• Butterfinger: 32
• Amazon: 32
• Hyundai: 30
• Kia: 30
• Audi: 29
• Buick: 29
• Taco Bell: 29
• Doritos: 27
• SunTrust: 25
• Toyota: 25
• Skittles: 24
• Snickers: 24
• Coca-Cola: 23
• Colgate: 22
• T-Mobile: 19
• Axe: 11  

Faith Driven Consumer says it is affecting the marketplace and represents 41 million Americans who spend $2 trillion annually.

Americans will spend $15 billion during the week leading up to Super Bowl 50, according to the group, which created an online game to guide consumers to shop for their Super Bowl parties with “faith compatibility” in mind.

Stone said:

Millions of Americans will buy food, beverages, decorations, TVs and electronics, and other items for family Super Bowl parties. We’re encouraging our community to actively do business with the brands that score highest in welcoming them.

Some of the “best places to shop and work for faith equality and inclusion,” Faith Driven Consumer says, include Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart, and Thrivent Financial.

Chick-fil-A scored the highest on the index, with a 63.