Sport ConsumersSport Consumers

HSS 3000/5263

Sport Marketing

Brian Turner

Types of Sport Consumer Studies

• By industry segment

• By sport

• By consumer demographics

• By consumer activity

Types of Sport Consumer Studies

• Frequency

• Scope

Sample Study

Youth Participation

• 7 million children between 5 & 17 participated in school athletic programs

• 22 million more involved in an organized athletic program

• 14 million more involved in less structured sports and physical activity

Sample Study

Youth Participation

• Nearly 50% of youth (12-21) are vigorously active on a regular basis

• About 14% of this age group have no recent participation in a physical activity

• Participation in PE classes declines dramatically as age and/or grade level increases

Sample Study

Youth Participation

• For HS students, only 19% are physically active for 20 minutes or more, 5 days a week

• Between 1991-1995, enrollment in PE classes dropped from 42% to 25%

Indexing Sport Consumers

HouseholdCharacteristic

% of total golfinghouseholds Index

Have income of$100,000 or more

17.8 187

Regularly use creditcard for travel/entertainment

19.3 152

Regularly watchsports on TV

58 149

Snow ski frequently 16.1 194

Reading Sport Consumer Studies

• Definitions

• Methods

• Sampling

Definitions

• “… in a study conducted by the National Golf Foundation, it was estimated that 24.7 million people aged 12 & over played one round of golf in 1996; this was a decrease from 24.8 million people in 1990.”

Definitions

Category1995 inmillions

1996 inmillions

% increase1995-1996

Total Participants 16.8 18.1 7.7

Frequent: 25 ormore days per yr.

7.3 7.7 5.4

Core: 52 or moredays per yr.

3.2 3.2 0.0

Aficionados:Soccer is favorite

activity3.7 4 8.1

Methods & Sample

• Methods

• Sampling

Factors Influencing Attendance

• Fan Motivation Factors– Self-Esteem Enhancement– Diversion from Everyday Life– Entertainment Value– Eustress– Aesthetic Value– Need for Affiliation– Family Ties– Economic Value

Factors Influencing Attendance

• Game Attractiveness

• Economic Factors

• Competitive Factors

• Demographic Factors

Factors Influencing Attendance

• Stadium Factors– Stadium accessibility– Facility aesthetics– Scoreboard quality– Perceived crowding– Seating comfort– Layout accessibility

Factors Influencing Attendance• Fan identification

– Team characteristics– Organizational characteristics– Affiliation characteristics– Activity characteristics

What Fans Value

• Parking that costs < $8 and tickets < $25

• Adequate parking or convenient public transportation

• Safe, comfortable seat that you can buy just a week before the game

• Reasonably priced snack foods (hot dogs for $2 or less)

• Home team with a winning record

• A close score

What Fans Value

• Hometown star who is generally regarded as being among the sport’s 10 best players

• Reasonably priced souvenirs

• A game that ends in less than 3 hours

• A wide variety of snack foods

Why Individuals Consume Sport

• In general, individuals participate for the enjoyment it brings

• For college students, …– most important reasons– least important reasons

Why Individuals Consume Sport

• For children, important reasons for participation …– fun– learn new skills/improve skills– like the action and challenge– being on a team– want to go on to higher levels of competition– to be physically fit

» (Barber et al., 1999)

Socialization, Involvement, Commitment

• Socialization - “…the process by which individuals assimilate and develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and other ‘equipment’ necessary to perform various social roles.”

• Involvement

Socialization, Involvement, Commitment

• Commitment

• With sport consumers, commitment refers to …

Psychological (Internal) Factors

• Personality

• Motivation

Self-Actualization

Esteem Needs

Social Needs

Safety Needs

Psychological Needs

Psychological (Internal) Factors

• Perception

• Learning

• Attitudes

Sociological (External) Factors

• Culture

• Social Class

• Reference Groups

• Family

Situational Factors

• Physical Surroundings

• Social Surroundings

• Time

Spectators as Consumers

Spectators as Consumers

• Socioeconomic characteristics and media habits

• Consumers categorized as heavy participants were more likely to be male, better educated, work in white collar jobs, be minorities, and be younger than the heavy spectator group

• Heavy participants are more likely to use business and news-reporting media

Spectators as Consumers

• Heavy participants are also more likely to watch intellectually appealing programs

• Compared with male participants, male spectators exhibit an interest in a wider variety of media, especially television

• Heavy participants and heavy spectators are different with respect to how they can be reached by advertising and how they perceive advertising

Decision Making

Awareness/information search

Need recognition

Evaluation of choices

Purchase decision

Sport experience

Evaluation of experience

Dissatisfaction

SatisfactionMarginal

dissatisfaction