Marketing to Sports Fans - US - July 2014
Scope and Themes
 
What you need to know 
Nearly half of the US adult population – about 120 million – watch professional sports on TV and almost two thirds have followed a top professional league in the last 12 months; a further two thirds of teens also follow professional sports. Few other recreational pastimes even approach watching professional sports in broad appeal across all segments of society. Allegiance to sports teams can have a powerful emotional pull on consumers, making sports-related marketing a powerful tool for sponsors. In addition, televised sports are playing an increasingly important role in driving television advertising revenue, as time-shifted viewing and ad-skipping technologies erode the audience for other types of television content.

This report explores who sports fans are and what motivates them. It describes the different types of sports fans and how they differ in level of engagement, purchasing behavior, and attitudes to sports-related marketing.

Questions addressed in this report include: 

●	How do younger fans (teens and adults 18-35) engage with sports differently than previous generations, and how will this shape the way marketers reach these fans?
●	Which leagues and brands are creating the most innovative and successful sports-related marketing campaigns?
●	How do sports-related pastimes like video gaming and fantasy sports leagues compete with and/or complement interest in professional sports?
●	How do demographic factors like age, gender, race, and Hispanic origin influence fans’ attitudes and behavior related to sports?
●	How do fans who have children engage with sports differently, and why are dads so important to professional sports leagues and marketers?

This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s Marketing to Sports Fans – US, March 2013, as well as the June 2012 report of the same title, Marketing to Sports Enthusiasts – US, June 2011, and Sports Marketing and Sponsorship – US, October 2010. 

Definition
For the purposes of this report, a “sports fan” is defined as someone who has followed one or more of the following professional sports in the last 12 months: the NFL (National Football League), MLB (Major League Baseball), the NBA (National Basketball Association), the NHL (National Hockey League), NASCAR (the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association), or MLS (Major League Soccer). Collegiate, amateur, or other professional sports are not included.

For the purposes of estimating the total population of sports fans in the US in the Sports Fans By the Numbers section, data from Experian Marketing Services’ Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study (NHCS) and Simmons NCS Teen Study were used. For this section only, a sports fan was defined as someone who watches one of the seven professional sports leagues listed above on television occasionally or frequently. In asking consumers about their NASCAR viewing habits, the NHCS includes three specific NASCAR competitions: the Camping World Truck, Nationwide Cup, and Sprint Cup series. 

Value figures throughout this report are at rsp (retail selling prices) excluding sales tax unless otherwise stated.

Data sources
Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer interest and habits in regards to professions sports. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in April 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet, including 1,283 internet users aged 18+ who follow professional sports.

Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly oversamples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in Mintel’s survey results. Please note that Mintel’s exclusive surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in Mintel’s survey results.

Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the NHCS (Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study), the Simmons NCS Teen Study and the Simmons NCS Kids Study. 

The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NHCS was carried out during November 2012-December 2013 and the results are based on the sample of 13,499 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population. 

The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NCS Teen Study was conducted during November 2012-December 2013 and based on a sample of 1,467 teenagers aged 12-17, with results weighted to represent the US teen population. 

The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NCS Kids Study was conducted during November 2012-December 2013 and based on a sample of 2,061 kids aged 6-11, with results weighted to represent the US kid population. 

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.

Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report: 

CPI | Consumer Price Index
FCI | Fan Cost Index
FIFA | Fédération Internationale de Football Association
FSTA | Fantasy Sports Trade Association
LPGA | Ladies Professional Golf Association
MLB | Major League Baseball
MLS | Major League Soccer
NASCAR | National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
NBA | National Basketball Association
NCS/NHCS | National Consumer Study / National Hispanic Consumer Study (Experian Simmons)
NFL | National Football League
NHL | National Hockey League
PGA | Professional Golfers’ Association
Rsp | Retail selling price
UEFA | Union of European Football Associations
WNBA | Women’s National Basketball Association

Terms
Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as: 

World War II /Swing generation | Members of the WWII generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 82 or older in 2014. Members of the Swing Generation were born between 1933 and 1945 and are aged 69-81 in 2014.
Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2014, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 50 and 68.
Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2014, Gen Xers are between the ages of 38 and 49.
Millennials* | The generation born between 1977 and 1994. In 2014, Millennials are between the ages of 20 and 37.
iGeneration | The generation born between 1995 and 2007. In 2014, iGens are between the ages of 7 and 19.
Emerging generation | The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2014 members of this as-yet unnamed generation are younger than age 7.

*Also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers

In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows: 

CPI

The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.

The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. 

The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars.

Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition.