‍Chris Wise of Ignite Fan Insights asked over 700 sports fans what they’re thinking, and what they’re looking for amid the Covid-19 crisis. 

In this episode of Fired Up! Chris Wise, General Manager of Designsensory Intelligence and Ignite Fan Insights shares his thoughts on the findings from the first wave of their exclusive Fan Sentiment Tracking Study during sports suspension caused by the pandemic. Fans are HUNGRY for sports, and are ready for return to action (when…and however that happens)! The study began March 25 and subsequent research will continue every two weeks at least through the end of May – All designed to give you additional data insights to keep your fans engaged and ready to return as soon as action starts.

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Chris McAdoo:

Hello everybody, and welcome to Fired Up, behind the gates and beyond the numbers that keep sports fans coming back for more. I’m Chris McAdoo and I’m glad to be joining you guys today, and I’m glad that we’ve got Chris Wise with us, the man behind Ignite Fan Insights and Designsensory Intelligence. The reason we’re coming to you with this episode of Fired Up is Ignite Fan Insights and Design Sensory Intelligence want to know what is happening with sports fans. It’s one of the big things that we do with our subscription service and our knowledge base, just keeping that finger on the pulse of what is going on. And particularly now, it’s just really important to know what’s on the horizon, what’s happening now, and what we think that sports fan is going to look like.

Chris McAdoo:

So this past month in March, beginning March 25th, we’ve been reaching out to a lot of sports fans, doing the research and digging in, the goal being to track the sentiments and observe what impact the suspension of sports activities is having. Like what are these fans doing without live events? How are they ‘following’ their team, their sport, their player? And how are they caring, who’s going to return, and what does returning look like? Anyway, Chris and I had a conversation last week from what this research was beginning to tell us, and we just thought this is some great information. Chris, do you want to kind of take it from here and get into a little bit about what’s the methodology behind who we’re talking to and what kind of questions we’re asking, and what are some of the standout facts that you learned?

Chris Wise:

Sure. Thanks, Chris. The methodology was simple; as we do in a lot of our research, we talked to fans via online surveys across the country, in every state, and they’re self-identified sports fans, so we want to make sure we’re only talking to people who have an interest in sports and go to games or watch games or events. And the conversation actually was stimulated by talking with some of our clients who, in this time of great upheaval, said what would serve them best is really understanding what is that fan feeling? What are they going to do? Because many of our clients have no idea what they need to do to be prepared for.

Chris Wise:

So we decided to go ahead and do a survey, and this is a tracking survey, it’s just not a one and done. We’re going to be in the market, collecting data, every three weeks through the end of May in order to see what’s happening as far as the change in feelings, in emotions, and how that relates to the fandom. Is it wearing the fan down to lose interest in sports, or is it making them even more excited about when sports return?

Chris Wise:

And so with that, we were able to look at the data, not just on the macro level across the entire United States, but we looked at it from a regional standpoint and it’s going to be, I believe, terribly interesting to watch this evolve over the next six to eight weeks. Just some of the glimmers of information though, I will tell you, as we start to go through this stuff, the highlights are the fans are really fans. We asked them if they’re consuming any sports right now, or have they put the interest in sports on a shelf and just waiting till live returns? I can tell you, they are all actively consuming sports. They may have seen a game before, they’re reliving an experience. They’re hungry, they want it, and they can’t wait for it to come back. And they’re going to come back to sports as fast as they can, some as soon as sports are being played again, some just when they’re comfortable being in a crowd, or whatever that looks like.

Chris Wise:

Others want to come back, but they’re not quite sure what it will take yet. The only people that said they wouldn’t attend the live event are people that are heavy consumers of sports on TV, or streaming, and don’t attend live events anyways. So those people weren’t impacted one way or the other, but the go to event people that go to that professional collegiate football game or a baseball game, they’re there, they are anxious, it’s part of their life, and they’re not letting go. They are not letting go.

Chris Wise:

One of the first questions that we ask, we try to understand just what are the emotions people are feeling right now. And so we gave about 20 different attributes, related to either positive emotions or negative emotions, and I was positive that we’d have a preponderance of responses that were negative responses, but indeed I was wrong. And I was glad I was wrong, because it turned out that about 53% of the responses were positive and 47% were negative. Now, close, but I thought I was going to be a wider gap and be the other way.

Chris Wise:

So, through that, I will tell you though, the biggest negative word of what people are feeling right now was the word anxious. And they are anxious because they don’t know what’s going on in their lives and we’re all thrown into this pile together to go through it. But on the positive side there were two words almost tied, and it was the word hopeful and the word calm. So there’s a bit of hope in those responses that are allowing people to look beyond today, and probably needing to do that in order to live today.

Chris Wise:

So that was as it was across the country. I looked at that information too and broke it between male and female, and then by different parts of the country. And we have eight different … I’m sorry, seven different regions established. I will tell you that the male responses tended to be about five percentage points higher than the female positive responses. Can’t explain that yet, but on the positive word side for males, there were two that were tied, optimistic and calm. And then the females are the hopeful ones. And the negative word for both male and female was anxious. They’re just anxious.

Chris Wise:

When we looked at it by different regions of the country, the most positive responses came from the Southwest and the Southeast. And that wasn’t surprising, given that those are the last areas really being hit with the depth or the magnitude of the impact of COVID-19. And I suspect that we will see that shift over the next several weeks’ reporting periods as the impact really hits everywhere.

Chris Wise:

So it’s just interesting to see that. And then so we looked beyond that and we asked the question, “To what level do you believe you’ll continue to support the sports you have in the past?” Currently their support for their sports remains strong, with almost 63% indicating it’s the same, it hasn’t wavered a bit. But what’s interesting is there were people that said somewhat more support or much more support. To the tune of 33% said more support. So they’re feeling a draw or an attraction to or a need to have more of the sports that maybe they’ve taken for granted in the past. So again, that’s a positive sign, at least at this point.

Chris McAdoo:

What it sounds like is … one of the things that I think so many of our sports clients, from large to small, in the South or all around, one of the things that I think people would be scared of is if we’ve just lost fans forever, you know? But what it sounds like is that the fans, the folks that are out there that supported and continue to support these teams, are in it for the long haul, right? Would you agree with that? They’re hungry for more?

Chris Wise:

Oh, absolutely. They are sports fans and they self-identified properly because they are fans. And some are more casual than the others, but it’s an important part of their life. And we know that about sports in general, that the people who participate, or have favorite teams, or just cheer for teams because it’s part of our DNA. It’s part of the human DNA. It helps us build camaraderie with those that are likeminded, and it helps with friendly competition for those that are not like minded. It’s just part of who we are. If you look back in history, there’s always been some competition, some healthy, some not so healthy. But in terms of college and professional sports, it tends to be healthy, and it’s part of the human experience. And now that we can’t touch it, we’re yearning for it even more, it appears. So we’re not losing fans, the case will be, at least on this preliminary data, we’re going to see how this plays out. But I’m going to guess that we’re not going to lose fans. It may look a little different on how we bring them back, how we learn to bring them back and where they will be comfortable and how they may engage in other ways, but we haven’t lost fans at all. They’re for the love of the sport.

Chris McAdoo:

Well what are those fans that are hungry for that sense of belonging, what are they watching, what are they reading, what are they listening to, now that there are no sports? I’m actually thinking of something kind of funny, is my friend, Charlie, they decided to do some spring cleaning and he found, for whatever reason, he recorded the entire 2008 Olympics on DVDs. So that is their evening entertainment. And I wonder, what other things did you find? What are fans doing right now? What are sports fans up to?

Chris Wise:

Sure. Well, we gave them some choices. So the first thing, we asked them the question, “With sporting events suspended, how are you consuming sports?” So 42% of them said they’re watching anything available on cable or broadcast TV. Anything that they’re putting up there, they’re watching it, because they just want to. And then 40% said they’re just reading articles online about sports, it could be anything from … the draft is taking place for the NFL, it’s just in a different kind of setting, it’s not a big party. They’re following on social media, 34% of them. Then 32% say they’re watching anything available on online streaming platforms. 25% are listening to sports radio. 18% are playing e-sports. I will tell you that’s much higher with the younger set. This survey included sports fans that were 18 years or older, I can tell you, when we look at that, e-sports is heavier with the 18 to 44 year old than it is with the older audience. And then we gave them the option that said, “I’m not, I’m just waiting for the return.” 0% checked that box. No one said they’re just sitting around waiting for something to come back. They all said they’re consuming in some fashion. So that was also very encouraging and really interesting.

Chris McAdoo:

Well actually that kind of leads into one of the questions I think you kind of led into, is are there any areas of sports that are growing during the shutdown?

Chris Wise:

Well, we did ask the question, I’ll see if I can find it here. Well, we did ask, “When sports return, what’s it going to be like when it comes back?” And so about 44% of the people said all will be the same as it was. They expect everything to go back to normal. And then 23% said live physical sports will be better than ever, so that group says it’s going to be better than it ever was before. So they either have high expectations or they’re salivating so much that anything can be great for them. And then we start to see e-sports drop in, because we also have the option of physical sports will go on as before, so no change there, while e-sports will grow even faster. That was 17%. And then, coupled with the world will move quickly to e-sports, 5% of people said that. And I will tell you, in both those categories, again, among younger audiences those two were much higher. Only 10% felt that live physical sports will never rebound from this. So there is some pessimism, but it’s only with about 10% of the audience at this point. But again, it’s been interesting to see how this changes over time.

Chris Wise:

Then we asked the question, “To what level do you believe you will continue to support the sports you have in the past?” We looked at that in relation to the favorite sport that people would watch, that they watched. And support remained strong with good indications that sport will remain the same or improve. So I’m going to break out some very specific sports where people said either the same support or greater support. And so auto racing, 88% said the same or better, baseball, 93%, basketball, 92%, football, 95%. Here’s an interesting one, golf, 100%. Hockey, 100%. Soccer, 95%, and tennis, 86%. So, again, they’re all in and no sport is declining. There are a few that are stronger than others, but we may see that change over time too because the numbers in especially golf and tennis, as far as people who responded to that as their favorite sport, were not as strong as some of the other sports. I mean, football, basketball, baseball, blow your socks off. And then the hockey and soccer were pretty strong.

Chris Wise:

So again, it’s there, and they believe it’s coming back as good as or better than before.

Chris McAdoo:

Wow. Well, with that in mind, and to sort of put a bow on this particular conversation, in your estimation, Chris, what should these sports teams … what are some communications that you would recommend? What could they be doing now to keep those sports fans engaged so that when that 90, 95, 100% of folks that are excited about that return, so that they feel valued now, and when they are ready to come back, they’ll know what to do. What can folks be doing now?

Chris Wise:

Well, right now, I think it’s important for every team, every venue, just to continue talking to their fan base, keep them informed of what’s going on as far as anything internally, just so the fan feels they’re still part of the team or part of the venue, so when everybody hits the ground running again, they’re right up to speed. They know where they stand, where things happen on the field, what’s going to happen at the stadium or the arena. Just fill them with great information, all positive, even in times where there isn’t a full understanding yet of what offerings may be, but well, let’s just dialogue with people. Let them be part of it, because they feel part of it. It’s an intimate relationship that happens, that again, I think some of us tend to take for granted. And just like you … when people leave a sport, and it’s a separate study, but when people leave a sport, they agonize over leaving a sport. It’s like a divorce. People think about it, “I’m not comfortable, I can’t go there,” but when they make up their mind, it’s over, it’s over. In this case, there ain’t nothing over, but it all builds on full communication. Give them everything you’ve got and don’t hold anything back. Just be honest and let them be part of who you are.

Chris McAdoo:

All right. Chris, thank you so much for your insights and for the research that you continue to do and will continue to do as part of Ignite Fan Insights. I would encourage everybody to go to ignitefaninsights.com, sign up for our e-blasts and our newsletters and everything. Chris, you’re going to be doing this research every two weeks?

Chris Wise:

So we’ll be back in two weeks because we’re going to collect data again next week, the 15th and 16th, so the week after that, we’ll be back on a podcast with updated information to see how things have changed.

Chris McAdoo:

Great. All right, well thank you very much. Like I said, you guys go visit ignitefaninsights.com to sign up, be the first to be in the know. And for you e-sports teams out there, I just think this is really great information, and it’s information that’s going to keep us all moving forward, keeping those fans involved and looking forward or looking up to what’s next.

Chris McAdoo:

Anyway, thank you so much. This is Chris McAdoo, I’ve been talking with Chris Wise, the director of Designsensory Intelligence and Ignite Fan Insights. Fired Up is a podcast produced by Ignite Fan Insights and is a DS original production. You guys, if you do enjoy this, please share it with your friends and with your coworkers, and we’re all going to make it through this together. And we look forward to talking with you in a couple of weeks.

Chris Wise:

Thanks, Chris.

Chris McAdoo:

Boom.

Chris McAdoo:

Thanks for listening. And if you like what you heard, be sure to subscribe. And if you really liked what you heard, please leave us a five star review and tell all your friends. Also, thanks to the good people that power Fired Up and Ignite Fan Insights at NASCAR, the National Sports Forum, and the Association of Luxury Suite Directors. To learn more about Ignite Fan Insights and what that exclusive content can mean for you, visit ignitefaninsights.com and subscribe today. It’s a wealth of information, all about the fan, at no cost to you. Your fan club subscription includes our e-publication, podcasts like this one, exclusive blogs, quarterly e-newsletters, and [inaudible 00:21:34] webinars that keep you not only up to speed on what your fans are doing, but ahead of the curve and ready to take on anything that comes at you. Fired Up is hosted by Chris Wise and myself, Chris McAdoo. Thanks again for listening. Tune in next time. And as always, you all stay Fired Up.