2014

5th ANNUAL U.S. SPORTS FAN ENGAGEMENT STUDY

Fan Engagement Study

First conducted in 2010, the Fan Engagement Study provides insight into the continuing convergence of sports and digital media among sports fans, how trends evolve year-over-year, and identifies opportunities for brand engagement

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Research Approach

Conducted an online survey among 2,195 avid sport fans aged 16-64 in the US who engage with sports using social media in August 2014.

The following fan groups were defined to make comparisons across sports and to enable deep dive analyses into use of social media by sport:

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506 521 511 530 514 513 519

Social Media increases its rank as a primary source of sports info; yet still not trusted as much as traditional sources

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TV

Non-Social Web

Social Media

Newspapers

Radio

Magazines

2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 Rank 2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 Rank

Primary Sports Trusted Sports

1.4 1.6 1.6 1.6 1

3.7 3.4 3.0 3.3 2

3.7 3.6 3.6 3 3.4

3.6 3.8 3.8 3.8 4

Which of the following, if any, social media sites or location-based services do you use in relation to these sports? (Select all that apply] Base: 16-64 year-old social media sports fans

3.9 4.0 4.2 4.0 5

4.6 4.8 4.9 4.9 6

1.6 1.7 1.7 1.7 1

3.6 3.2 2.8 3.1 2

3.3 3.5 4.5 5

3.9 3.8 3.4 3.5 3

4.2 4.2 4.1 4

4.4 4.6 4.6 4.7 6

3.8

4.2

Soccer fans are the most dependent on social media

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80%

66% 66%

41%

48%

26%

73% 72% 77% 76% 70% 72%

46% 54% 47% 55% 40%

31% 37% 32% 35% 33% 35%

31% 40% 33% 43% 28% 43%

14% 18% 16% 22% 11% 18%

Which of the following, if any, social media sites or location-based services do you use in relation to these sports? (Select all that apply] Base: 16-64 year-old social media sports fans

Google+ and Tumblr game day usage has increased since 2013

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31%

14%

13%

17%

24%

13%

20%

27%

43%

40%

46%

38%

2013

37%

19%

26%

24%

34%

25%

34%

30%

48%

39%

40%

41%

2014

Thinking about a typical gameday, which of the following, if any, do you use before, during, and after [SPORT] games? Please select all that apply. Base: 16-64 year-old social media sports fans

Before During After

Fans are checking social media sites more frequently on gameday; Instagram, Vine and Pinterest saw the biggest upticks YOY

7 Thinking about a typical [SPORT] gameday, how often do you check or post to each of the social networking sites? Base: 16-64 year-old social media sports fans

6.0

4.3

2.6

2.0 1.8 1.4

1.1 0.8

5.6 5.8

4.4

3.1 3.1

2.5

4.1

2.7

2013

2014

College Football

Fans use Pinterest

1.9x more than the average

sports fan on game day

Teams and media outlets remain the top follows on social media; athletes, leagues and super fans gain momentum

8 During the [SPORT] season, how frequently do you follow each of these sources on social media for [SPORT]? Base: 16-64 year-old social media sports fans

62% 68%

62% 64%

38% 42%

46%

83% 80%

61% 64%

36% 35% 26%

86% 77%

70% 69%

44% 42% 42%

Teams Media Athletes Leagues Bloggers/Analysts (Changedto

Media Personalities)

Celebrities Super fans(Changed to Social Media

Celebrities)

Follow Often/Sometimes 2012 2013 2014

Fans frequently engage with the content that takes them beyond the scoreboard including pre-game excitement, historic video, bloopers and game debate/banter

9 Please indicate how you engage with the following types of content in relation to your favorite sports on social media sites? (Select all that apply) Base: 16-64 year-old social media sports fans

54%

56%

60%

61%

62%

65%

65%

68%

69%

73%

74%

77%

86%

86%

Fan offers/promotions

Photos/videos mocking teams/players

Behind the scenes content

Polls & poll results

Q&A/interviews with coaches/players

Historic/nostalgic photos/videos

Game debate/banter

Photos/videos of bloopers

Photos/videos/articles of player injuries

Pre-game excitement

Player stats

Post-game excitement

Game scores/stats

Game highlights

Connection with a fan’s favorite team drives brand engagement – eight in ten fans want to interact with brands in context of sports

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Which of the following ways motivated you to ‘Like’ or follow brands when it comes to the sport(s) you mentioned? What have you done after ‘liking’ or ‘following’ a brand on Facebook or Twitter?

Base: 16-64 year-old social media sports fans who have ever liked/followed a brand displayed/promoted at a sporting event

30%

43%

43%

44%

44%

56%

Gave me a chance to meet a favorite athlete

Support a charity cause supported by the team

Offered a contest where I could win a prizerelated to the sport

Interesting advertising/promotion

Provided a coupon/discount

Showed that they support my favorite team

Why like/follow brands on social media

32%

35%

38%

46%

79%

Posted/tweeted about the brand on socialnetworking sites

Bought the brand

Shared a post/retweeted content that the brandbroadcasted

Talked about the brand with friends/family

Any action

Actions after liking/following a brand

More action vs. 2013 (up 10% pts.)

Summary Social media increases its rank as a primary source for sports information, yet still not trusted as much as traditional sources Soccer fans most dependent on social media for following/discussing sport Google+ and Tumblr game day usage has increased since 2013 Fans are checking social media sites more frequently on game day – Instagram, Vine and Pinterest saw the biggest upticks since last year Fans frequently engage with content that takes them beyond the score board including pre-game excitement, historic video, bloopers, game debate/banter Connection with a fan’s favorite team drives brand engagement–Eight-in-ten fans want to interact with brands in the context of sports

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For more on how your brand can connect with fans, catalystimg.com, or Bret Werner at Bwerner@CatalystIMG.com

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