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Fan Sentiments in COVID-19

We’ve tracked the sentiments and observed what impact the suspension of sports activities has on the current and future behavior of the fan.

Sports came to a screeching halt amid the outbreak of Covid-19. Professional sports and national media organizations relied on our national fan sentiment findings/learnings as one of the touch points to help guide them through the decision-making process.

Challenge

For the first time in our lifetime, arenas, fields, gyms and stadiums grew silent due to COVID-19. With our continued work for sports organizations, and as we faced the challenges of partially opening the economy, it became imperative that we start to track fan sentiment insights. Marketers and sports brands wrestled with hard questions during this unprecedented event disruptor associated with the suspension of all group/team sports activities. 

Solution

Beginning in March of 2020 we began tracking sport fan sentiment. This continued every three weeks through the fall. We gathered their exact feelings and anticipated behavior once the crisis passes. The goal was to track the sentiments and observe what impact the suspension of sports activities, and the eventual slow return, has had on current and future fan behavior – especially the behavior of those who attend live events in support of their favorite sport, team or player. We asked questions like:

  • To what level do you believe you will continue to support the sport(s) you have in the past?
  • With the current suspension of live sports, to what degree have your feelings about collegiate and/or professional sports changed, if at all?
  • When will you likely start attending sporting events again?
  • With in-person sporting events suspended, how are you consuming sports?
  • What must happen for you to start attending live events again?

Results

Our detailed research shows that overall happy and positive-feeling word responses outpace the negative-feeling word responses when asked how fans are feeling at the moment, and currently, their support for sports remains strong. Fans will return to the action as soon as they feel comfortable. New operational imperatives will prevail, and marketing will be deployed to allay any fears. But the changes to operations—and the entire business culture—must be genuine and honest. Keeping track of fan or customer feelings in relation to reactivation with a brand, venue, attraction or team is an ongoing activity. We have provided actionable insights to the sports industry which have aided in their go-forward decision-making process. 

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