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Measuring fan avidity can help marketers narrow their focus

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Abstract

The sports industry is one of the 10 largest and fastest growing business sectors in the United States. The size of the industry in 2008 was estimated to be approximately $213 billion, more than twice the size of the U.S. auto industry and seven times the size of the movie industry. A sizable proportion of these revenues are attributed either directly or indirectly to the sports fans. And, like any business, it depends principally on its most loyal and dedicated (avid) consumers/sports fans. Researchers define fan avidity as the level of interest, involvement, passion, and loyalty a fan exhibits to a particular sports entity (i.e., a sport, league, team, and/or athlete). Indeed, avid sports fans have a much stronger emotional connection to the sports entity. From a marketing perspective, these avid sports fans are target customers because they are eager consumers of various products associated with the sport. Avid sports fans have been found to spend considerably more money, time, and effort for sports-related activities and goods than their non-avid fan counterparts. But exactly how do fans express their avidity? Are there different paths to fan avidity? Do these paths differ by fan? If so, what are the revenue implications for sports marketers? Much of the previous commercial research efforts measuring fan avidity have utilized survey methodologies that employ single attitude measures including overall avidity, interest, and involvement. Missing in much of this measurement is the actual fan manifestations or behavioral expressions of fan avidity, i.e., games attended, merchandise purchased, watching the games on TV, reading about the team in the newspaper, playing fantasy sports, etc.
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... The spatial procedure utilized should be tied into a well accepted theory of how sports fans make actual activity choices. For these purposes, we devise a modification of the DeSarbo andHoffman (1986, 1987) spatial multidimensional unfolding (MDU) choice model which we describe in some detail below for the convenience of the reader in order to interpret the resulting analyses. 1 Let: ...
... We assume that the choice process of fan i choosing or expressing activity j is Bernoulli, with probability of choice given by P ij . As mentioned in DeSarbo andHoffman (1986, 1987), unlike the conditional logit (McFadden, 1976) and conditional probit (Hausman and Wise, 1978), there need not be the constraint that since the sum of the probabilities across activities is the expected numbers of picks for fan i which in most cases will exceed 1 (we collect pick any/J data). By not requiring this constraint, the model can be utilized to accommodate choice situations where multiple activities are engaged in with correspondingly high probabilities. ...
... Two of the four dimensions relate more closely to revenue streams for the university as noted above. One can use such an analysis as a basis for segmenting fans, and evaluating the value of these fans and derived market segments (see DeSarbo, 2009). ...
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The sports industry is one of the ten largest business sectors in the U.S., and its primary source of revenue is derived from sports fans. Yet, little has been published in the academic journals about fans' allocation of time, effort, and/or financial expenditures in regard to the sports they care so desperately about. The objective of this research is to uncover the multidimensional aspects of the observed manifestations of fan avidity, and explore the nature of the heterogeneity of such expressions. Data were collected from a student sample of football fans from a well-known university. Thirty-five different expressions of fan avidity were uncovered related to how these fans follow and support their football team. A spatial choice multidimensional unfolding model is developed and reveals four latent dimensions of fan avidity expression. The managerial aspects of these empirical findings are provided, as well as several directions for future research.
... 3 While investment in marketing and branding activities have been found to be essential to football and especially club fans" relationship-building and management (Hill & Vincent, 2006), the concern for many football marketers has been how to leverage on such relationships (i.e, from one of just buy match ticket fan to fans' that buy into every facet of the brand). To this end, Desbordes (2009; defined a real or loyal fan as one that will show interest, involvement, passion and loyalty towards a particular sport entity. Such fans are the ones likely to spend more money, time, and effort, for not only football matches but also exhibit the same level of enthusiasm in the entity"s sports related activities and products (Desbordes, and Madrigal, 2011). ...
... Evidently, football marketing has emerged as one of the key constructs of contemporary research in sports marketing and consumer behavior, discussed in numerous conceptual scholarly articles (Desbordes, 2009;Bodet, & Chanavat 2010;Mehler, 2008;Desbordes, and Madrigal, 2011;Hill & Vincent, 2006;Chanavat & Bodet, 2009), doctoral dissertations (Meir, 2009), as well as sports journals and magazines (soccer360; kickoff). In recent times also, scholars such as Madrigal (2011), Hill andVincent (2006), and Desbordes (2007) Given that most of the available studies on football marketing and branding have often shown biases towards the big five markets of England, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany (Abosag et al., 2010;Desbordes, 2007), the study is important as it contributes to empirical literature by presenting the perspective from the context of a developing economy. ...
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Football is the world’s most popular sports with arguably the most culturally diverse followers (i.e., averaging over 1.4 billion people) than any other sports. In Ghana and many parts of Africa, and the world, football club management is evolving. Consequently, many football clubs have started to align themselves with a “free market thinking” and gradually weaning themselves off subventions of private owners and the community at large. While this may seem a proactive strategy towards self-sustenance, especially, for forward thinking football clubs; it is of even greater advantage when football clubs are able to create value satisfying channels of the brand/club with stakeholders including fans to guarantee continues patronage. Although many studies have investigated the impact of branding on consumers’ behavioural intentions and loyalty to sports, yet, it appears very little studies have been conducted on football club branding and fans’ patronage behaviour, especially, from the perspective of developing economies. On this premise, this study is set out to investigate the impact of club branding on fans’ patronage of two of Ghana’s most celebrated football clubs. To this end, the objectives of the study were to investigate the elements of club branding that motivate fans to watch football, to investigate the relationship between branding of football clubs and impact on fan loyalty, and to find out how club branding elicits patronage behaviour from football fans. A mixed method approach was employed for the study. Questionnaires and interviews served as instruments for gathering research evidence. Four hundred and ten (410) respondents’ and informants were targeted for the study. Following this, 400 questionnaires were administered to respondents and 10 interviews conducted, accordingly. Respondents from the quantitative study comprised registered fans of the two respective football clubs who were purposely sampled using a simple random sampling approach. The qualitative part of the study involved three (3) management staff of each club together with two (2) leaders drawn from the fan/supporter wing of the two respective clubs. The researcher interviewed all informants for the qualitative study. However, only 217 out of the 400 respondents for the quantitative study successfully completed and submitted the questionnaires administered to them for analysis. The findings revealed among others that branding has enormous influence on fans’ patronage. It was also found that different elements of branding appeal to fans of the two clubs to show interest in football and to watch it. However, the study found no relationship between club branding and fans’ loyalty within the two clubs. Some of the managerial implications put forward include the fact that club managers should focus on a club specific branding approach than a generalized branding strategy as this has a greater impact on club branding.
... Given that the sport industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries [13], it merits considerable attention from researchers and practitioners alike. However, there is very little academic research on the sport industry in the marketing domain, which is surprising, as global revenues for spectator sports are now in the hundreds of billions of dollars [49]. North America contributes the largest amount of revenue (about 40% of the almost $150 billion in total global revenue); followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (about 35%); Asia Pacific (about 20%); and Latin America (about 5%) [49]. ...
... Second, there is a dramatic difference in the average avidity scores-with Segment 1 (intercept = 0.297, mean avidity = 6.12) reporting higher average avidity scores than Segment 2 (intercept = − 1.882, mean avidity = 2.28). Third, Segment 1 also has significantly higher mean scores for the majority of the 35 activities measured in the study, especially those activities related to revenue generation (e.g., purchasing season tickets, attending home games, purchasing clothing and memorabilia, etc.), which is consistent with past research that argues avid fans Bspend considerably more money, time, and effort for sports-related activities and goods than their non-avid fan counterparts^ [13]. Based on these findings, we conclude that the demand for the football team (and its symbols) varies by segment and label Segment 1 Bhigh avidity^and Segment 2 Blow avidity.F inally, psychographic profiles for the two segments are also somewhat different. ...
Article
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While the sport industry is a multibillion dollar industry, there is a paucity of academic marketing research regarding the various aspects of the industry, especially concerning fan avidity—the level of interest, involvement, passion, enthusiasm, and loyalty a fan exhibits to a sport entity. This is somewhat surprising given that avid fans are the lifeblood of any sport organization, spending significantly more money, time, and effort on sport-related products than other consumers. Thus, given its importance to the sport industry, we examine the relationship between fan avidity and its various behavioral manifestations. Recognizing the existence of consumer heterogeneity among fans, we present a new parametric constrained segmentation methodology and corresponding estimation algorithm that incorporates managerial constraints pertinent to the sport industry (or any other industry) while simultaneously segmenting the market and profiling each segment. We conducted a Monte Carlo simulation, which demonstrates the successful performance of the estimation algorithm across various models, data, and error structures. Then, we applied our proposed methodology to college football data for a major US university and found evidence for two distinct market segments. Finally, we performed a series of model comparisons and showed that our parametric constrained segmentation methodology outperforms existing alternatives.
... Given that the sport industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries [13], it merits considerable attention from researchers and practitioners alike. However, there is very little academic research on the sport industry in the Marketing domain, which is surprising, as global revenues for spectator sports are now in the hundreds of billions of dollars [49]. North America contributes the largest amount of revenue (about 40% of the almost $150 billion in total global revenue); followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (about 35%); Asia Pacific (about 20%); and Latin America (about 5%) [49]. ...
... mean avidity = 2.28). Third, Segment 1 also has significantly higher mean scores for the majority of the 35 activities measured in the study, especially those activities related to revenue generation (e.g., purchasing season tickets, attending home games, purchasing clothing and memorabilia, etc.), which is consistent with past research that argues avid fans "spend considerably more money, time, and effort for sports-related activities and goods than their non-avid fan counterparts" [13]. Based on these findings, we conclude that the demand for the football team (and its symbols) vary by segment and label Segment 1 "high avidity" and Segment 2 "low avidity." ...
Article
While the sport industry is a multibillion-dollar industry, there is a paucity of academic Marketing research regarding the various aspects of the industry, especially concerning fan avidity—the level of interest, involvement, passion, enthusiasm, and loyalty a fan exhibits to a sport entity. This is somewhat surprising given that avid fans are the lifeblood of any sport organization, spending significantly more money, time, and effort on sport-related products than other consumers. Thus, given its importance to the sport industry, we examine the relationship between fan avidity and its various behavioral manifestations. Recognizing the existence of consumer heterogeneity among fans, we present a new parametric constrained segmentation methodology and corresponding estimation algorithm that incorporates managerial constraints pertinent to the sport industry (or any other industry) while simultaneously segmenting the market and profiling each segment. We conduct a Monte Carlo simulation, which demonstrates the successful performance of the estimation algorithm across various models, data, and error structures. Then, we apply our proposed methodology to college football data for a major U.S. university and find evidence for two distinct market segments. Finally, we perform a series of model comparisons and show that our parametric constrained segmentation methodology outperforms existing alternatives.
... Market segmentation allows organizations to effectively communicate and implement marketing strategies with heterogeneous groups. In the sport management context, this is often accomplished through fan avidity level (DeSarbo, 2009;Goyat, 2011). The current study examined whether there were any significant differences in behavioral responses to SIF between the avid and casual fan groups. ...
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The present study investigated the effectiveness of sport venue stimuli and local image fit in the case of FC Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data, enabling the connection between the two components and facilitating the interpretation of the results. The findings demonstrated that establishing sensory image fit between Nippert Stadium and Cincinnati was achievable, resulting in positive impacts according to both the quantitative and qualitative results. These conclusions, supported by the resource-based view approach, emphasize the importance of organizations leveraging local resources to create value and enhance memorable fan experiences.In practical terms, the applied sensory Image fit scale provides venue managers with a powerful tool to assess the current status of stadium operations in terms of sensory stimuli and guide the design and development of venue stimuli for continuous improvement.
... In 2008, the U.S. sports industry was estimated to be worth around $213 billion, surpassing the size of the U.S. auto industry by double and the movie industry by seven times (Desarbo, 2009). The report indicates that sports contribute to America's economy. ...
Article
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Over the past ten years, Major League Soccer (MLS) has grown substantially by implementing stadium development projects similar to those used by other major leagues in the United States. This study analyzes the critical role of soccer-specific stadiums in MLS's recent success and compares it to the current state of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). Additionally, the study explores this growth's social and economic impacts through liminality and communitas concepts. Despite MLS's achievements in expanding to new markets and adopting stadium development initiatives, the sustainability of this model remains uncertain. The paper then suggests that future research should focus on why the league should prioritize global soccer best practices rather than continuing to adapt to the closed league system used by other major leagues in the United States. Furthermore, given the United States co-hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, aligning with the global system is crucial to elevate United States soccer to the next level. The paper utilizes secondary data sources and frequency analysis to examine MLS trends over the last decade and make recommendations to the Nigerian league on how to channel their strategy for growth. Ultimately, the study suggests that the United States and MLS adopt a new approach to compete effectively in international soccer, leveraging the country's infrastructure, socio-economic capacity, and increasingly diverse population. Keywords: Major League Soccer; Nigeria Professional Football League; Soccer; 2026 FIFA World Cup; Soccer-specific Stadium; Premier League
... Like any business, the sports industry depends principally on its most avid consumers or fans. Fan avidity has been defined (DeSarbo 2009(DeSarbo , 2010 as the level of interest, involvement, passion, and loyalty a fan exhibits to a particular sports entity (i.e., sport, league, team, and/or athlete). As noted by Syracuse (2008, p. 1), "avid fans are those that have an emotional connection to the game-people whose interest, enthusiasm, and passion for the product defy the norm. ...
Article
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The sports industry is one of the world's fastest-growing business sectors, and its primary source of revenue is ultimately derived from sports fans. However, little is known about fans' allocations of time, effort, and financial expenditures to the sports they care most about or how they determine their allocations. The objective of our research is to explore the dimensions of sports consumption and fan avidity, and the nature of heterogeneity of such demand aspects vis-à-vis derived market segments. We develop a new constrained latent-structure multidimensional scaling procedure to uncover the underlying dimensions of sports consumption and fan avidity for student college football fans at a large university, and simultaneously derive latent market segments to explore demand heterogeneity. We collected data from a sample of student football fans from a large US public university known for its excellence in college football. We developed 35 expressions of manifestations of fan avidity and investigated how these college fans follow and support their football team. We then extracted four interpretable dimensions and four market segments with the application of this new spatial multidimensional scaling model. This paper discusses the managerial implications of applying this new latent-structure procedure to this college football context.
... The sports industry is one of the top 10 business sectors in the US in terms of both size and growth (DeSarbo, 2009) and is valued at $470 billion (Plunkett Research, 2013). The application in this paper deals specifically with Major League Baseball (MLB) whose 30 teams generated an estimated $6.8 billion in revenue in 2012 alone (Badenhausen, Ozanian, & Settimi, 2013). ...
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We devise a new statistical methodology called constrained stochastic extended redundancy analysis (CSERA) to examine the comparative impact of various conceptual factors, or drivers, as well as the specific predictor variables that contribute to each driver on designated dependent variable(s). The technical details of the proposed methodology, the maximum likelihood estimation algorithm, and model selection heuristics are discussed. A sports marketing consumer psychology application is provided in a Major League Baseball (MLB) context where the effects of six conceptual drivers of game attendance and their defining predictor variables are estimated. Results compare favorably to those obtained using traditional extended redundancy analysis (ERA).
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In 2007, Major League Soccer (MLS) became the first major professional sports league in the USA to allow individual franchises to sell advertising space on their game jerseys. While these shirt sponsorships are considered the norm in international soccer, in the US game uniforms are considered ‘sacred space’ free from the increasingly commercialized American sports landscape. Team owners and sports writers have given their opinions – the former arguing they are a necessity for increasing revenue, the latter arguing they represent a dangerous commoditization of sports – yet, little attention has been paid to the opinions of sports fans. To address this, an exploratory survey was conducted to assess fan reactions to shirt sponsorships in MLS, how these ads are affecting fan behaviours, and whether or not fans believe these ads to be starting a trend for other sports to follow. Preliminary results found no strong negative opinions about the presence of jersey advertisements, and respondents – soccer fans, sports fans and non-fans – showed support for shirt sponsorship if it helped keep games affordable and/or helped teams stay competitive. These results are discussed in greater detail, along with implications for more theoretical approaches to understanding the effect of shirt sponsorships on sports fans.
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Purpose – The sports industry is one of the fastest growing business sectors in the world today and its primary source of revenue is derived from fans. Yet, little is known about fans' allocation of time, effort, and/or financial expenditures in regard to the sports they care so desperately about. The purpose of this paper is to explore the multidimensional aspects of such manifestations of fan avidity and examine the nature of heterogeneity of such expressions. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a student sample of football fans from a well‐known US university. Findings – In total, 35 different expressions of fan avidity are developed related to how fans follow and support their favorite team. A spatial choice multidimensional scaling model is developed to uncover four latent dimensions of fan avidity expression. Originality/value – The managerial aspects of these empirical findings are provided, and the authors suggest several directions for future research.
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