Sport Attractions for Watching & Playing

Retailing to sports fans is of two sorts—selling seats to those who want to watch and selling equipment to those who want to play. In reality, there’s some overlap. Baseball teams sell more seats when they offer fans opportunities to show their stuff briefly on the field. Sporting goods stores market to the parents who will be watching the games, with on-the-field time perhaps limited to mercilessly heckling the referees and the kids’ coaches.
     Researchers at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and University of Central Florida found that the marketing points differ for the two orientations depending on whether the consumer is independent or interdependent. People with independent self-construal aim for autonomy and assertiveness. They tend to behave the same irrespective of the social situation they’re in. On the other hand, those with interdependent self-construal place high value on maintaining good relationships with others, and so readily change their behavior to fit in.
     As you’d expect, the interdependents are more likely than the independents to purchase equipment to play team versus individual sports. But the Wisconsin/Florida research was looking at another set of differences: When occupying a stadium seat, the interdependent consumer—in comparison to the independent—finds more purchase benefits from how the game is played than from the game’s score. But when participating in the play, the interdependent—compared to the independent—finds more benefits in the likelihood of winning the game than in hearing about how the game would be played.
     The differences in retailing to independent shoppers contrasted with interdependent shoppers is now inspiring many consumer psychology studies.
     Another typology of fans comes from a University of Oregon analysis which characterized spectators as having three sorts of motivations

• Die-hard fans. They’re committed to the team and love the nature of the sport. Keep feeding them information about team history and give plenty of notice about upcoming changes so the fans feel like they’re in the know. 
• Fair-weather fans. These spectators love cheering mightily for winners, and they will switch who they buy tickets to see if games get dull. Keep consumers excited by regularly introducing changes, especially if the team is piling up an unfavorable win-loss record. 
• Tailgaters. These football fans are there for the camaraderie. Hold special events on and around the field. Use social media to provide opportunities for the fans to exchange critiques. Give discounts when a group of consumers purchase together. 

Click below for more: 
Generate the Excitement of a Football Game 
Breed Family Pride to Motivate Choice 
Welcome Me to Your Store with Enthusiasm