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Research Strategy
Research Strategy
Questions:
How is concession food a factor for fans?
Are attendance levels low across the board?
Do high ticket prices deter fan presence?
The questions I am asking will help me understand how ticket pricing and availability of concessions and extras at games can affect the turnout of fans and average levels of attendance at FC Cincinnati games. Analyzing the ways that pricing can affect ticket prices could possibly give me more insight on if attendance levels for FC Cincinnati games are low and how the cost of watching a game can deter or help fan involvement. Providing higher quality opportunities and stadium goods could reflect a higher attendance rate as well as keeping fans more involved with watching the team in games.
To research my questions, I will primarily be using immersive research by joining reddit fan groups or other chat groups to understand what dedicated fans of the MLS value in a team and the ways they believe the league as well as its teams can be improved, eventually focusing in on strictly FC Cincinnati fan chats and gaining an understanding of their values on ticket pricing, concessions, and overall fan involvement. I will use some conversational research to gain information from groups that are less involved in the MLS as a whole and gain an understanding of the reasons why they choose to deter FC Cincinnati and what it would take to get them more involved and become more of a fan. Finally, I intend to use some observational research as well. For my observational research, I plan to investigate the average ticket prices of each MLS club across the league and compare that data to the amount of average attendance each club receives to see if the numbers hold any correlation. Searching online for concession reviews of MLS clubs and learning how quality of concessions could promote fan involvement is a method I plan to pursue in my observational research as well.
Client Challenge: Empathy Research on Miami Hockey Home Games
Miami Hockey and Empathy Research of Fanbase:
Sporting events excite the hearts of sports fans across the world, providing an exciting and unique experience for them to remember for the rest of their lives. Try to think of a time you went to a sporting event, whether you went as a fan or were dragged to the event by others. You may be thinking of the buzzing atmospheres, the action and adrenaline rush of the events of a game, and the culture that inspires fans to continue attending games and showing support for the teams they love. Have you ever thought of how these factors can contribute to the success of the sporting league and the ways in which attendance patterns for these games can be shaped? Well, these exciting experiences may have more implications than you may have imagined.
On October 29th, I decided to take a different approach on my research of the ways fanbases are drawn to attend sporting events and what defines a fanbase in general. I attended Miami University’s men's hockey game at home versus Denver University to gain insight into the structural elements of how fanbases are valued as customers in these main team events/games. The environment was filled with excitement as the Miami University hockey fans exhibited their enthusiasm and excitement for the performance that would be displayed in the night’s action. A majority of the fans attending the game consisted of students who attend Miami University, with the smaller minority being the true fans of the team as well as fans of the opposing team. To begin my research, I decided to analyze people attending the game as a way of gaining an understanding of the different ways the individuals of a fanbase contribute to the ways in which they are handled as customers by the university and the team. The first fan I focused on was a female college student attending the game with a group of friends. Although she was representing the home team, she interacted very little with the key moments of the game and had no reaction to the trailing home team for a majority of the game. The second fan I focused on was a more engaged and dedicated fan to the hockey team. He was an older aged male and was sitting next to what appeared as a friend at the game. In contrast to the first fan, he was very engaged with the events of the game, standing up for a majority and reacting to each of the pivotal moments of the game.
The two fans were analyzed following the concept of an empathy map displayed below, focusing on assumptions of the feelings, actions, and surrounding sounds and environment as perceived by the fan themselves:
Helpful Interviews Providing Insight to Research:
To further my research and understanding of the client’s challenge as well as fanbases in general, I interviewed people ranging from experts to avid professional sports fans to further my insight onto possible solutions for the issue of player performance in relation to attendance at MLS games and events.
Below are valuable lessons provided by conversations with these helpful individuals:
Interview: Richard Schenck
Professional Hitting Coach of Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Owner of Teacherman Hitting
Lessons from our Conversation:
Fans are drawn by good team performance, and teams cannot generate those performances without proper player coaching and an organized management system
Ticket pricing relates directly to team performance and fan atmosphere, meaning that ticket prices have a more stagnant effect if team performance is excelling, vice versa
Fans attendance is drawn to events by memorable performances and experiences with those events and teams, all of which lead to the culture that the team can build to reinforce a passionate fanbase and attendance record
Interview: Max Kleinman
Undergraduate Business Student, MLS and Philadelphia Union Fan
Lessons from Conversation:
Max is an engaged fan of the Philadelphia Union, and he believes the team fails to generate a presence on TV and social media due to lack of notable names and prominence of other leagues
Unavailability of MLS games on television in comparison to other sports could influence lack of attendance driven by a lack of prominence in the professional sports market
MLS should focus on building fan culture and soccer environments outside of player performance to increase attendance numbers and interest due to long-term process of increasing skill level across the league
Interview: Thomas Moore
Dayton Flyers Basketball Season Ticket Holder and Avid Ohio Sports Fan
Lessons from Conversation:
Fans are drawn to a welcoming, buzzing environment that can be characterized by the culture of the team regardless of their performances
Fans who focus on the event atmosphere rather than the game/performance itself could be affected by quality of concessions as well as increasing prices for those concessions
Ticket pricing plays a much smaller role in determining fan attendance as fans are more concerned by the performance of individual players that characterize a team
Helpful Insights contributing to the Client Challenge:
After reviewing my research and information collected from my interviews, I was able to draw five insights helpful to the process of solving the Client Challenge:
Player and team performance are the primary driving agents of determining fan attendance, but these can be negated if a team has a strong fanbase characterized by a positive culture and passion for the organization as a whole.
After observing the female college student who showed little interest in the action of the game, I found that fan engagement activities during games can be a strong way of improving attendance numbers and drawing in fans that do not have interest in the sport as a whole.
After discussions with Thomas Moore, I have found that concession and ticket pricing can have possible effects on the engagement and attendance of fans at home games
After discussions with Richard Schenck, I have discovered the importance of player performance and team performance in allowing fans to generate emotional and passionate connections to a team
Conversations with Max Kleinman have allowed me to realize how a lack of viewability of games and social media presence of an organization can play into the interest held by fans of a team and their desires to attend games.
Reflection on the Research Experience:
Researching fanbases and the ways they are treated as customers in the professional sports market was a much more interesting experience than I anticipated when I read the assignment description. Utilizing strategies of empathy research allowed me to make a personal connection with the ways fans perceive sporting events and how these perceptions have the ability to affect their attendance at their teams matches. Collaborating with fans and experts of the topic through interviews allowed me to generate a much larger understanding of the ways in which fans can be influenced to support their teams and the how different factors affect fans firsthand. Attending a sporting event with a focus on how the fan bases are valued as customers rather than for personal joy opened my eyes to the importance of fan atmospheres and cultures that contribute to the attendance and participation provided by those fans for their respective teams. Performing empathy research allowed me to gain an understanding of the joys and pains that influence the engagement that fans will have with a team and the personal connection they create with the event that contributes to their attendance. Being within the environment of my research and observing the fans first hand allowed me to generate understandings of where some teams may struggle to generate fan interest and what makes other fanbases so consistently popular. I was surprised by the difference in reasons that many fans may have for attending games, as well as the importance of a team being able to understand the culture of their city and fanbase that allows them to incite them to continue their attendance.
Personas and Insights
Fan Insights:
I’d like to attend FCC games so that I can socialize with people but don’t because I am uninterested in the sport
I’d like to attend FCC games so that I can become more involved with the MLS but don’t because I don’t want to spend money for and at the event
I’d like to attend FCC games so that I can watch a sports game but don’t because I do not understand the concept of soccer
I’d like to attend FCC games so that I can support my favorite team, but don’t because of the team’s performance
I’d like to attend FCC games so that I can have a fun experience, but don’t because I do not enjoy the atmosphere of the game
Personas:
Factors that Could Cause Personas to Attend FCC Games:
Exciting fan engagement and buzzing atmosphere with lots of social interaction
Better performance by the team to draw more excitement for sport
More personalities that draw fan attraction and engagement
Prevalence of the MLS on TV and in advertisement
Welcoming, family reserved areas within the stadium to avoid ruckus and overly excited fans
Lowering ticket pricing so that people with less money may attend
FCC engaging with the community outside of soccer specifically
Family engaging events during games to provide a family atmosphere
Youth camps and other ways for fans to interact face-to-face with players and build connections
Having a more buzzing environment surrounding the stadium to generate more fun and excitement
Client Challenge: Converging and Ideating (FCC Fan Zone)
Client Challenge: Converging and Ideating (FCC Fan Zone)
What is FCC Fan Zone?
FCC Fan Zone is an amusement arcade (similar to Scene 75) designed to encapture an FCC theme and rewards that are FCC themed. Users will pay to add money to a card, where they can use that card to swipe into arcade games, interactive soccer games, and other soccer themed events and games that allow them to earn Football points. Football points can be redeemed in the FCC Fan Zone to earn tickets to FCC games, FCC merchandise, FCC meet and greets with players and other opportunities to engage with FCC in the Cincinnati community and the area surrounding TQL Stadium.
AUDIENCE:
I feel that I can convince fan audiences in the younger-middle aged demographic (18-34 years of age) to attend more FCC games. This young audience is attracted to technological experiences as well as participation in fun activities and games that involve a system of rewards. These younger populations are much more likely to engage with amusement arcades than older populations
AUDIENCE MOTIVATIONS:
The benefit for the attendance of this younger demographic of audience is the long term opportunities for growth and expansion of interest in FCC. Instilling this audience into the FCC fanbase would increase the enthusiasm and excitement buzzing within the FCC game atmosphere. Engaging with the FCC Fan Zone to earn these tickets and then experiencing the game as a reward would reinforce the audience to continue visiting and competing to earn ways to attend FCC games.
FACTORS MOTIVATING ATTENDANCE:
Experiential - Gaining a fun and engaging FCC inspired experience to earn an opportunity to engage themselves in the buzzing environment of FCC games
Fan - Engaging with the sport while also enjoying a fun experience that leads them to become more interested in the team while building a more personal relationship with the team as well
OTHER RESEARCH
Amusement arcades across the United States have generated a significant amount of revenues, steadily increasing over the years.
Amusement arcades bring in over $2 million dollars in revenue across the United States as an industry, representing the amount of public amusement and engagement with them and their popularity amongst the national population. Incentivizing rewards to users can be a way of attracting them to further engage with the experience.
There is an extreme importance in providing fans with an enjoyable experience that they can remember and create personal connections with. Younger, technologically motivated audiences are interested in interactive and virtual experiences that enhance their attraction to and enjoyment of specific activities.
IMPACT:
The FCC Fan Zone will provide younger demographics with opportunities to earn tickets to FCC games as well as merchandise to drive their attendance in a direction that improves overall attendance at FCC games. Fans will participate in soccer themed games to become more engaged with the sport while also being able to participate in FCC themed events that motivate them to attend games and increase their desire to participate with the FCC environment and team as a whole. Generating awareness in the Cincinnati area while instilling the culture of FCC within younger audiences promotes family attendance at games and a continued personal relationship with the team as they become more involved and attracted to the team and fan atmosphere. The goal is to reinforce the long run success of the team through a targeted analysis of attracting a younger, enthusiastic audience.
Reflection
Reflection
In ideating for a solution to the client challenge, I assumed I would encounter difficulties trying to develop a unique solution that was not already somewhat implemented by the team. I was surprised by the many different ways that you can approach generating fan attendance for FCC and the variety of factors that play into the ability to do so. Analyzing a target demographic and generating an appealing solution that would have the ability to enhance FCC attendance was a challenging process, and finding scholarly work to enhance my analysis was the biggest struggle I noticed. Drawing comparisons between a variety of differing concepts to develop one primary idea was challenging due to the multitude of factors that play into those developments. In the process, I was able to discover the importance of developing a persona for the audience you wish to attract as it gives you insights to their mindsets and interests that influence their natural desires. Gaining a larger understanding of what motivates a demographic to engage with specific activities or topics compared to others allows us to personalize and enhance the development of our solutions in regard to the client challenge. Converging my ideas to focus on a wide range of ideas, from plausible to unrealistic, was beneficial to my ability to construct a unique and innovative solution to the problem statement of the client challenge.
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