We are a sport-loving nation, but what does that mean for women’s sport?
There’s no denying that sport is a massive part of UK culture – whether it’s the enjoyment we get from religiously following our favourite teams, or the sense of community that participating at grassroots level brings. In fact, latest research from our Human Understanding Lab indicates that 67% of the nation follows sport in some capacity, while 44% of our respondents take part themselves.
Another undeniable truth is that women’s sport has been growing at pace over the past few years. From the rise of the Women’s Super League to the record crowds at Red Roses’ matches, the potential for brands and rightsholders to connect with growing fanbases is significant.
Sport UNLIMITED brought together leading industry voices to discuss this potential. Hosted by our Group Account Director Andy Walton, we heard from the Human Understanding Lab’s Dr Simon Collister, with panellists including the RFU’s Matt Farnes, the ECB’s Caz Nicholls, and Sport UNLIMITED’s very own Sophie Marsh. Read on to see what they had to say.
Converting the casual follower
Guided by our Human Understanding Lab’s recent study, our panel focused on the key opportunities that brands and rightsholders can maximise to engage with audiences, drive behaviour change, and grow women’s sport fandom. The first of these centred around the so-called casual fan.
Our research found that while 54% of UK sports fans follow women’s professional sport to some degree, only 24% do so “actively” or “passionately”. That leaves us with 76% of the nation who aren’t following women’s sport on a regular basis. It also leaves us with a significant opportunity to deepen these fans’ engagement.
When we posed this insight to our panellists, Matt Farnes pointed to the power of storytelling. With England Women’s rugby going from strength to strength, the key lies in constructing deeper narratives about the women’s team both on and off the pitch. This has been a powerful tool, helping fans to drive more personal connections with the players and growing the bonds of belonging and community that make the difference between a casual and a devoted fan.
Caz Nicholls built on this further, telling us about the ECB’s focus on bringing players into the community to find those grassroots opportunities. Caz cited the ECB’s “My Way to Play”, a recent campaign aiming to democratise the way we play and enjoy cricket, “for people to start to really relate and open those doors of conversation with fans.”
Once more, with feeling
Next, the conversation turned to applying what we call the Fan Emotion Index to move these casual fans to devotion and action. This is our proprietary tool, which can pinpoint the emotional drivers behind sport fandom by looking at the needs and motivations of a specific audience.
Sophie Marsh spotlighted “simplicity” as a good place to start for brands and rightsholders. An on-and-off fan is not going to have the same sense of knowledge, historical appreciation, or tactical awareness about a sport as a passionate follower.
“So, through our marketing, how can we simplify the sport while engaging audiences? How can we demonstrate the nuances and level of skill that these athletes are showing us without turning people off with inaccessible technicalities?”
Formula 1 have done it with Netflix in their docuseries, Drive to Survive. By offering behind-the-scenes access to what many would see as a very technical, tactical sport, the show has transformed many an F1 dabbler into a die-hard fan – all by building a level of understanding, a sense of belonging and emotional connection.
Cross selling to the male sports fan
With 39% of male sports fans not currently following, but open to following, women’s sport in the future, this is an audience segment ripe for the picking. They understand the game, its rules, and the thrill of getting lost in the sport they love. The challenge now is identifying the key drivers that will convert them to women’s sport specifically.
For Caz and the ECB, the strategy lies in positioning a tournament like The Hundred as a double header, with the men’s and women’s matches inextricably linked in the schedule and the very DNA of English cricket.
Meanwhile, the RFU’s approach for women’s rugby has been at the opposite end of the scale according to Matt. Their decision to separate men’s and women’s rugby matches, comms and marketing channels, came from a push to give women’s rugby fans their own community and a safe space to interact with each other and the sport. This again comes back to building a group of die-hard followers – and providing the team and players with a separate platform to do this has worked incredibly well in that regard.
The perception misalignment
According to Sophie, the way to successfully cross sell to male fans is for brands and rightsholders to first and foremost address the “perception misalignment” in women’s sport fandom. Our research shows that the main barriers for those who don’t follow women’s sport – quality of play, competitiveness, and thrill of the game – closely align with the factors that attract existing fans. In other words, there’s a disconnect here that needs to be challenged.
This is, again, where the Fan Emotion Index comes in. It’s clear that these “barriers” to engagement and enjoyment can very easily become “drivers” of women’s sport fandom. The solution? Using our marketing to dial up emotional factors like “play”, “pleasure”, and “belonging” to change people’s minds about these rational reasons for disliking women’s sport.
A great example of this was the Orange Women’s World Cup ad, where the Telco used deepfake technology to showcase the skill of female football players, and scored 15 million views while doing it. This creative idea tackled the perception misalignment head on, showcasing the thrill of the women’s game, the level of ability at play, and the competitiveness of the sport.
Putting emotion at the heart of sports fandom
We’re just at the beginning of our journey with women’s sport in the UK. While visibility has increased exponentially in the last few years, the opportunity to grow is even bigger.
The way to do this for brands and rightsholders is not going to be a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, it’s key to look beneath the surface, going beyond rational reasons for fandom to the emotional drivers that make a novice into a fan, and a casual follower into a devotee.
The good news is that our recent report on “Women’s Sport, Fandom & the Untapped Opportunity” will help you do just that. This report digs deeper into the topics discussed by our panel, offering actionable insights into women’s sport fandom strategy. You can download it HERE.
If you have any questions, please reach out to the team at Sport UNLIMITED by dropping a line to our host: andy.walton@unlimitedgroup.com.