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
Household
Characteristic
Have income of
$100,000 or more
Regularly use credit card for travel/ entertainment
Regularly watch sports on TV
Snow ski frequently
% of total golfing households
17.8
19.3
58
16.1
Index
187
152
149
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
Category
1995 in millions
1996 in millions
Total Participants 16.8
18.1
% increase
1995-1996
7.7
Frequent: 25 or more days per yr.
Core: 52 or more days per yr.
Aficionados:
Soccer is favorite activity
7.3
3.2
3.7
7.7
3.2
4
5.4
0.0
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

Satisfaction
Decision Making
Need recognition
Awareness/information search
Evaluation of choices
Purchase decision
Sport experience
Evaluation of experience
Marginal dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction