Product Counters

BRANDS AND SPORTS NEED TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT WOMEN’S SPORT

New research from The Space Between shows that women’s sport fans have the potential to be more valuable than men’s sport fans.

For immediate release 04.10.21:

Sports marketing agency, The Space Between, today released new research comparing the attitudes and behaviours of women’s sport fans and men’s sport fans. The research shows that fans of women’s sport are more values-driven and purposeful, quicker adopters of tech and far more likely to buy the product of brand sponsors than fans of men’s sport.

The Space Between commissioned the research from Savanta to offer new insight into fans of women’s sport that could demonstrate to brands and rights holders the untapped value in women’s sport audiences and prompt the sports and marketing sector to think differently about the commercial opportunity. The findings include:

• Women’s sport fans are twice as likely to recall brand sponsors than fans of men’s sport and they are 25% more likely to buy brand sponsor products than fans of men’s sport.
• 50% of women’s sport fans strongly agree that brands should act with purpose and try to make the world a better place, compared to just 20% of men’s sport fans, and these beliefs strongly influence the purchasing decisions of women’s sport fans.
• 40% of women’s sport fans deem it very important for the brand to reflect their values when choosing one brand over another vs. 20% of men’s sport fans.
• Women’s sport fans are significantly more tech savvy, environmentally conscious and community minded compared to men’s sport fans.

Commenting on the rationale for the research, Adam Raincock, Co-Founder of The Space Between says:
“It’s time to change the narrative about the commercial and marketing value of women’s sport. We need to alter the way we look at this audience from a focus on the quantity of the audience to the quality. There is a fundamental difference in how the audience connect with women’s sport. It’s deeper and more meaningful and so therefore brands that get it right have an opportunity to create better and more valuable relationships with these fans. The sooner we make this shift the quicker we’ll start to realise the real value of women’s sport.”

Speaking on the findings of the research, Tom Gladstone, Co-Founder of The Space Between says:
“To date brands have largely used women’s sport as a platform to show their support for equality, female empowerment, and inclusivity, but this risks leaving value on the table. Women’s sport fans have a more progressive, purposeful sense of what is important in society and place greater importance on brands playing a role in health & wellbeing, the environment and sustainability, opening up women’s sport to a broader spectrum of brand partners.”

The Space Between is making the research available to the industry free of charge and it can be downloaded at www.spacebetweenagency.com/womens-sport-fan-research .

Commenting on the access to data on women’s sport, Lisa Parfitt, Co-Founder of The Space Between says: “The growth of women’s sport is a personal and professional priority for The Space Between so we are making the research freely available to the industry. Having new insight and data on women’s sport is critical to the progression and continued momentum of its commercialisation. It’s time for the industry to place more focus on the value of women’s sport fans attitudes and behaviours, for brands with a purposeful persuasion to understand the potential rewards and for sports to sell women’s sport in a new way.”

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button