Factors Contributing to Consumers Decisions to Attend a Sporting Event

Previous research on consumer attendance patterns has explored the impact of single factors on desired outcomes. This is problematic because people rarely have a single motive behind their decision making to attend a sporting event. This study aimed to determine which factors were the most important to college students when deciding to attend sporting events. Using a cross-sectional survey, the research found that desire for excitement, geography, and social media all had statistical significance in influencing decision making. Contradictory to existing research, on field promotions, level of fandom, and consumer emotion were not found to be tied to their decision to attend an event. Marketers of sport should therefore promote their events on social media and highlight game excitement in their marketing content. INFLUENCES ON ATTENDANCE 3 Factors Contributing to Consumers Decisions to Attend a Sporting Event Imagine it is a beautiful summer day in mid-July. The sun is out, there are blue skies as far as the eye can see, and you have nothing to do. The local baseball team in your city has a game tonight at 7:05 and they are expecting a large crowd. What would convince you to attend the game? There are a variety of factors that can have an influence on a consumer’s decision to attend a sporting event. These factors are different for all individuals and can even vary based on the organization or the sport. However, one thing remains constant, consumers know what they want and expect from an organization. It is because consumers know what they want from an organization that these factors are so influential for consumers, because they set high standards and expect organizations to reach them. Organizations, especially in the sport industry have to take it upon themselves to get to know their target audience and consumers and understand what it is that drives them to their games. In the sport industry, it is particularly important for organizations to understand exactly what it is that drives people to their games. Without a consistent fan base, any sport organization would fail. This is exactly why buyer behavior is necessary for organizations to understand. If sport organizations can begin to recognize how consumers think and what factors actually have the most effect on consumer decisions, they will be better off in the long run. In order to get consumers to games, we must first understand what actually persuades that consumer to purchase a ticket to the game. Previous research has been conducted on the topic of consumer behavior and purchasing decisions when attending sporting events. Most research has only grazed the surface on consumer behavior, hitting on a certain factor but not expanding upon it (Boyd INFLUENCES ON ATTENDANCE 4 & Krehbiel, 2003). Research on a variety of factors that affect consumer decision making, and dive deeper into which factors stand out more than others, would be more beneficial. Recognizing the factors that actually persuade consumers to a purchasing decision could be very important to increasing attendance for many sports organizations Literature Review Promotional Factors Many factors can have an influence on a consumer’s decision to attend a sporting event. Factors can include anything from marketing of the event and event satisfaction, to social media or word of mouth influence (Peden, Upright, Hey & Jordan, 2015). Due to the fact that there are so many different elements, it is important to be familiar with each one. There is a growing need to understand the factors that might increase game attendance (Boyd & Krehbiel, 2003). One of the most influential elements when it comes to fan attendance is promotions. A primary objective of sport marketers is to develop strategies to increase game attendance, which includes utilizing promotions (McDonald & Rascher, 2000). Promotions and special events are offered as a motivation for fans to attend a sporting event (Howell, Klenosky & McEvoy, 2015). Promotions can include anything from the actual promotions that take place on the field of play, to price discount promotions or value added promotions. The study conducted by Howell, Klenosky and McEvoy found that “an additional price promotion can be expected to yield at least 975 more fans preseason, while an additional merchandise promotion is predicted to generate 1,568 extra fans over a season” (2015, p. 3). The different types of promotions can clearly be significant to an INFLUENCES ON ATTENDANCE 5 organization and need to be looked at in order to address the idea of fan attendance and what it is that drives fans into a stadium. Price discount promotions can be defined as the act of offering a lower price temporarily, in order to enhance the effectiveness of product sales (Shapiro, Drayer & Dwyer, 2016). Price discount promotions include discounts on tickets, concessions or merchandise. Some examples of this during a game are two for one night, senior night or family night (McDonald & Rascher, 2000). This would mean that organizations would give discounted tickets for senior citizens, or discounted tickets if you buy a certain amount of tickets, say for a family. Price discount promotions seem to drive in more attendance because it is clear that fans love discounts, especially on tickets. Boyd and Krehbiel found the effects of price discounts to be significant (2003). The level of fan attendance increases dramatically when there are price discounts being offered. Shapiro, Drayer & Dwyer discovered that discounted games increased attendance and led to more sellouts of games (2016). As an organization in the sport industry, it is crucial to recognize that price discounts are important to use. However, it is also important to recognize that overusing this method could result in fans not recognizing or taking advantage of the promotion. “Price discounts that run on weekends seemed to draw a significantly larger amount of fans to games than price discounts offered during the week” (Boyd & Krehbiel, 2003, p. 180). Price discount promotions are sometimes more beneficial at certain times rather than others and that should be taken into consideration. Value added promotions involve the enhancement a company gives its products or services to be more appealing to customer. As far as value added items go, this can include fireworks shows, giveaways or family oriented events, which has been found to be a INFLUENCES ON ATTENDANCE 6 significant factor in increasing attendance. According to Howell, Klenosky & McEvoy, giveaways and fireworks were among the top most significant factors reported as reasons for fan attendance at a sporting event (2015). Giveaways are always seen as a significant reason for consumer attendance. For instance, the Rochester Red Wings always have bobble head give away nights, and every time they have one the lines waiting at the gate are crazy. The Red Wings are a good reference when looking at value added promotions because there is always some kind of give away before the game to the first people who enter through the gate (M. Cipro, personal communication, June, 2016). People will wait for any amount of time when they know they are getting value added for their time and effort. According to Boyd and Krehbiel, giveaways have been found to be the most efficient promotion (2003). This is interesting because there are so many different types of promotions that can have an influence on consumers. On field promotions tend to be an additional element to add to the overall entertainment of the game. For instance, between innings at a baseball game there is usually some kind of on field promotion occurring. Basketball games usually have some kind of on court promotions as well. An example of an on field promotion could be a mascot race around the field or a tug of war competition. On average, a promotion that will occur during a game increases attendance by 14% (Boyd & Krehbiel, 2003). However, for this to be the case, “on field promotions need to be creative in order to attract fans to pay attention to them (Eden, Upright & Hey, 2013, p. 18). The whole point of on field promotions is to give the fans something to look at while the game or event is on a break. If the promotion is not entertaining people are likely to be annoyed and even be dissatisfied with the whole event. INFLUENCES ON ATTENDANCE 7 Within the last couple years in the sport industry, there has been a growing trend toward corporate sponsors, which can include sponsored on field promotions. This means that corporations with sponsorship packages use their promotional nights to distribute a product, or giveaway to the fans in attendance (McDonald & Rascher, 2000). A specific example of a sponsored promotion could be the way in which the Genesee Brew House sponsors beer and other promotional nights for the Rochester Americans. Most recently, the Genesee Brew sponsored a happy hour before a Rochester Americans game featuring discounted beer and free music (C. LaFlair, personal communication, December, 2016). Sport sponsorship is a viable component in marketing strategies, and it should always be considered when thinking about promotions (Stutlar, 2004). Marketing of an event or promotion is key to getting consumers into the event. The marketing of the event consists of a diverse collection of tools and designs to stimulate quicker and greater purchase of a product by a consumer (McDonald & Rascher, 2000). A marketer’s job is to create unique ways to grab consumer attention. Due to the fact that consumers see tons of advertisements each day, it is important to come up with an advertisement that will make your organization’s advertisement stand out to them. We've gone from being exposed to about 500 ads a day back in the 70's to as many as 5,000 a day or more (Johnson, 2006). It is also very important to know your audience and who the message is being targeted at. According to Eden, Upright and Hey, knowing your audience