PROBLEM
Understanding our customer’s game-day habits – this helps us to cater our strategies in converting game watchers into more loyal fans via the use of our app.
DATA AND VISUAL TAKEAWAYS
We leveraged the data surrounding NHL game attendance fan mobile activity. Please click here to see the raw data: DPM Data Sets
REACHING TARGET MARKET THROUGH FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM CHANNELS WITH VIDEO CONTENT
VISUAL 1 shows us that 34% of game-attending fans are using their mobile to post on Facebook about the game, followed by Instagram at 17%. 34% is quite substantial compared to 2nd place of 14%. This shows us that Facebook dominates the social medium for game -attending posting.
As we begin to build content, we should work backwards in knowing that Facebook and Instagram are the target market’s channel of choice. What content works best on those platforms? Video dominates the content type on those channels, so we should aim to publish and push opportunities for video. On both channels we will be able to share links to the App store for download and detail how they can find even more content on our team exclusive app.
GAME-TIME MOBILE ACTIVITIES OF FANS: UNDERSTANDING TREND CONSTANTS & CHANGES
VISUAL 2 shows us the top and bottom performers year over year of mobile activities during a fan’s time at the game – comparing change from 16-17 and 17-18. The key takeaways are sections where we see continued growth – taking pictures at the game and checking scores of other games are at the top of mobile activity year over year. We can expect it to continue to grow over time. Instagram changed significantly between 16-18; from 16-17, we see there was a decline. Then from 17-18 it was an activity in the top 5 growth category. This indicates a sharp change in consumer habits and something to watch out for as potential continued growth.
As the greater environment is seeing a shift towards social channels such as Snap Chat and TickTock, we can see that the NHL market is still a primary user of Facebook and Instagram. Understanding the target market’s use style is important. We should continue to meet our market on the channels they engage with, while keeping in mind that the landscape may change over time. This will impact where we invest resources and maintain a social media presence, as well as where we choose to spend on paid media.
TAKING PICTURES & TEXTING OTHERS ABOUT THE GAME IS A TOP FAN ACTIVITY WHILE ATTENDING
VISUAL 3 focuses on what fans are using their smart devices for while attending games. We can see that taking pictures, communicating with friends/family about the game, checking stats for the game being attended, and posting to Instagram about the game are some of the top activities.
As our app is focusing on being a community engagement tool, we must think about how we can make the process of sharing even easier. Features in the app such as the fan feed, exclusive, shared content, and stats section were created to do just that.
NHL ATTENDANCE FREQUENCY IS INCREASING WITH THE RISE OF TECHNOLOGICAL CONNECTIVITY
VISUAL 4 shows us the average NHL attendance change from 2011-2018. The dotted line shows the total attendance trend in millions. We can see a shift from attendees coming mostly just once a year with a steep drop and a small group of fans coming 2-3 ties per year and 4+ a year changing to a more passionate fan base of those attending 2-3 times and 4+ rising to almost an equal amount of the once a year fans. Overlaid information such as sport social following, social media use while attending games, and the use of smart phones for game related purposes have increased over time as well. This can be seen as a correlation to fans feeling more connected to teams with the rise of technology (smart phones and social).
We can leverage this trend analysis by understanding that community engagement and mobile connectivity is important in obtaining market value and that passionate connected fans translate to increased revenue. By understanding that the more mobile is used for activities related to attending the game creates a positive shift in more attendance, we can circle back to visual 3 to see how people are interacting via mobile today and incorporate that into our app to foster this positive attendance. By making those activities happen in a more fun way and in a seamless way through our app, we will see an increase in attendance.
WHO IS IMPACTED AND HOW WE WILL PERSUADE CHANGE
The social media strategy and engagement team will be directly impacted by the consumer social media habits report. They will need to recognize the shift in mediums used so that they use the correct channels when sharing content with the target market.