December 2015

Perhaps I’m old fashioned in that, I’ve always enjoyed getting holiday greetings from friends and family that would include a letter, chronicling the year in review and offering end of year reflections. So, when we started Sports and Leisure Research Group, more than eight years ago, it was always a vision to utilize the final “News and Views” of each year, to put our own spin on the traditional “holiday letter.”

Because many of you, reading this have been a significant part of 2015, I won’t let this narrative go any further without thanking you for being such a vital part of yet another year of continued growth and accomplishment as a company. That we continue on an upward arc is both rewarding and motivating…and it is greatly appreciated on so many levels.

We remain truly honored to work for many of the most well known and valued organizations in and around the sports, travel and media markets. The windows that our work together provides into the mindsets of your customers and other constituents are both invigorating and thought provoking. Someone once said that if you love what you do professionally, it doesn’t feel like work. I can truly say that such sentiment reflects how it feels to partner with our clients and it fuels an insatiable appetite to dig even deeper to provide cutting edge insights through rigorous and thoughtful hard work and a sensitivity to the pragmatic realities that are always evolving in this fast paced and competitive business climate.

To our valued SLRG team and partners, it’s easy sometimes to take for granted the heroic efforts, countless hours and dedication to our mission that you put forth. That we work in the sports industry is quite fitting, because I have always seen the model for our company to be akin to a championship team; one where we collectively strive to do our best at all times, and come together towards a common commitment to excellence. Part of what I have always hoped has been a differentiator of our firm is that, like the best athletes, we are nimble and adept at proactively anticipating client needs. The metaphor that comes to mind is a trait attributed to NHL hall of famer Wayne Gretzky,…in that we have a sixth sense for where the puck is going to go. Upon the closing of another incredibly gratifying year, I thank all of you who’ve been a part of our winning team.

With 2015 nearly in the rear view mirror, it’s exciting to anticipate how continuous evolution within the verticals we serve, will surface new areas of inquiry. We look forward to analyzing fresh data, and to observing and interpreting the trends and behaviors that are the raw materials that become marketing research insights. An insatiable curiosity will continue to be at the heart of how Sports and Leisure Research Group continues to service the needs of current and future clients alike. We’ll meld that with a relentless commitment to finding the most efficient and cost effective means for securing our insights, for seeing past the buzzwords and passing methodological fads, to land at pragmatic ways to transform data into actionable strategies.

Once again, we’ll start the new year with the release of new research that will shine a light on golfer behaviors. In the broader sports marketing space, we’ll once again deliver a new wave of our ongoing sports omnibus study, launching immediately after the first of the year. We’ll look forward to welcoming golf industry partners and friends to the 2016 PGA Merchandise Show at our annual research breakfast sponsored by Sports Illustrated Golf Group. Mark your breakfast calendars for Wednesday January 27. We’ll also anticipate seeing many of you at 3:30pm on January 28th, when highlights from a new SLRG study conducted with The PGA of America will be revealed on the PGA Merchandise Show Forum Main stage, as part of an intriguing look into the gender-specific realities of business golf. Look for more details and invitations to these events, at the start of the new year.

Of course, these are just the start of what we hope and expect will be another banner year, of working with our clients to help unlock the marketing insights that drive decision making and effective measurement for travel, media and sports brands as well as those who seek to optimize their activation efforts through these channels.

As wonderful as 2015 has been, we can’t wait for the new year to begin. Before it does, let me again take brief pause to thank you for being a part of our never ending journey for knowledge, and to wish each of you all of the blessings of the holidays with those closest to you. We remain humbled and grateful for your friendship, trust and support, and wish you only the best for a healthy, prosperous and joyous 2016.