Sports marketers have simultaneously embraced broader definitions of customer experiences while also working to deliver more elite and aspirational offerings
Consciously or not, sports marketers have simultaneously embraced broader definitions of customer experiences at the same time they have worked tirelessly to deliver more elite and aspirational offerings.
A focus on meeting fans or would-be fans where they are has enabled the most successful properties to diversify, with more accessible entry points — at the same time raising the walls, and costs for exclusive insider opportunities. One might interpret this to be a highly successful manifestation of uber-segmentation, where properties are creating a multitude of touchpoints that allow access across a variety of engagement levels.
Think about how the proliferation of streaming outlets has birthed various alternative forms of product delivery, whether “Monday Night Football” with Peyton and Eli, colloquially known as the Manningcast, or animated activations with the likes of Nickelodeon or “The Simpsons.”
Super Bowl coverage has transcended the hardcore football fan to become so ubiquitous that data about Sunday’s extravaganza concurrently showed 58% of sports fans agreeing that the annual NFL Championship has become overexposed, while the same research shows that professional football continues to top all other sports as the one that fans most want to see more coverage of.
These contradictions rationally coexist in a deeper analysis that shows football purists lamenting that their special oasis is being watered down or bastardized for a less committed and more fleeting audience, while the latter group enjoys the spectacle. Nearly four in 10 express a desire for the Monday after Super Bowl to be a national holiday.
Meanwhile, sports marketers activating around the big game benefit by expanding their reach and being able to strategically deliver targeted messaging to each exclusive group. The event enthusiast can revel in the celebrity vibe, while hard-core fans seek an insider’s perspective, participatory fandom through sports gambling or premium “inside the ropes” offerings. For many, they’ve “earned that right” for deeper levels of engagement, and gaining restricted access is a badge of honor that differentiates them from newbies. Perhaps it’s a kinder, gentler twenty-first century adaptation of the old “snob appeal” marketing strategy. But it’s working!
This phenomenon is even more readily visible on-site, exemplified by a continued push by sports venues to develop more social spaces and dedicate more attention to food, beverage and other amenities often targeted to younger, casual fans or families.
Golf provides a wonderful example here. Some data has posited that the number of consumers who patronize gamified ranges or screen golf has exceeded those playing the traditional round of 18 holes.
In one study, the incidence of facility owners offering these golf derivatives is more than one-third — while at the same time, there’s an increase in the percentage of private clubs filled to membership capacity or maintaining a waiting list. In essence, the drive to bring about greater accessibility has concurrently driven new people to the sport, and nudged another segment to more exclusive oases away from the massification.