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Female Fan Engagement in the
NFL
Fan clubs, merchandising and home-gating: Why female fans are
@MrBlairHughes Background• Career in Education, Music Industry and Sports Business
• Event management, customer engagement and digital media roles with The Gabba, Hammersmith Apollo, Zoo Nightclub, QPRFC and audioBoom
• Teacher, commentator and writer on fan engagement
• Consulting and partnerships with 100+ global teams and stadiums including Premier League, AFL and NFL
• Currently working on Fan Engagement PHD
NFL and Female FansFemale fans represent the biggest opportunity for revenue growth and are the NFL’s most important demographic because of:
Fan Base• Women represent 45% or 90M of the NFL fan base and growing• Women are the fastest growing fan demographic in the NFL
Viewership • Female viewership growing rapidly• 46% of the 100M+ 2015 Super Bowl viewers were women• More women watch the Super Bowl than the Oscars and Grammy’s combined
Merchandise• Sales up 125% since 2012• NFL merch is a $3.2B business
Fantasy Football• Fantasy football participation keeps growing. Up 6.5M women in 2015
Female fans are the household decision makers and make 85% of the disposable income purchasing decisions in the US every day
A growing female fan base creates a more marketable NFL for advertisers and sponsors.
NFL Women Focus
The NFL are finding success in targeting new and existing female fans through three key fan engagement initiatives:
1. Female Only Affinity Fan Clubs 2. Merchandising 3. Home-gating
1. Female Only NFL Fan Clubs• Provide female fans with a community for themselves
to bring them together to express their passion for NFL
• Creating an inclusive environment for women with access to the team through community and educational opportunities
• A focus on providing a sense of connection to the game and a place to express their feelings without ridicule from male fans
• Membership bases range from 15-30,000 fans
NFL Female Fan Club’s
Features:• Mostly FREE to join with paid memberships available for full benefits• VIP events (High tea’s, Ladies Nights, Fashion showcases, Cooking events)• Football 101 education training sessions• Unique merchandise packs (spirit beads, coolers, scarves, compact mirrors)• Away day game viewing gatherings• Happy hour cocktail events at team sponsor’s bar/club• Game day Fanicure’s• Exclusive photo and autograph opportunities with the team• Fitness workshops (Yoga in the Field to Stadium Zumba)• Play Safe Mum Clinic’s• Big focus on social with Pinterest
Female Fan Club Features
2. Merchandising• Women’s NFL apparel line first launched in mid 2000’s with pink theme
• Movement away from ‘Shrink It and Pink It’ in recent years to improve women’s choice of game day options
• Focus on fashionable, unique and custom pieces of team gear for all ages and sizes that appeals to female fans
• Merch range has included nail polish, jewelry, boots, hairclips and designer bags
• Creation of ‘Fit For You’ style lounges in stadiums (stylists, photo booth, DJ’s, merch, fanicure’s)
• Forged partnerships with women’s brands like Covergirl and Victoria’s Secret
• Female merch sales have increased 148% over the past five years
• The NFL has added 30 to 35% more items to meet the increasing demand from female fans
• Women’s clothing is now the fastest growing segment of merch sales for the NFL
NFL Female Merchandise
3. Home-gating• Bringing the tailgate experience to the house/backyard
• Brings excitement of being at the stadium to the game
• Home-gating aimed at the female demographic
• NFL identified women as being the keepers of family traditions like gathering the family together and that they’re more passionate about the ‘food, family, planning’ aspect of the game day
• Cooking accessories, outdoor setting supplies, snack helmets, party packs, cheese boards.
• Home-gating blog with party planning tips, menu’s, recipes for families
Home-Gating Examples
