A study conducted recently by Scarborough Research yielded interesting insights about a segment of sports fans often taken for granted: females. A tendency exists to automatically think of 18-34 year-old men as a lucrative market, but women are often lumped into the family segment rather than viewed as a distinct customer group. The Scarborough study examined the demographic and consumption characteristics of female college football fans. The Southeastern Conference garnered the most interest among females who are avid college football fans; 19% of this group has attended an SEC game.
Scarborough’s indexing methodology compares a customer segment to the population. Among the findings that compared avid female SEC fans to the general population, they are more likely to be African-American, hold white collar positions, own their own home, have HDTV, and installed a home security system. Companies in many different product categories that use sports as a marketing vehicle may be surprised by the opportunities to reach women through college football.
While the findings of the Scarborough study may not give definitive direction to marketers in terms of keys to success for reaching avid female college football fans, the results should serve as a reminder to look beyond preconceived notions about who your customer is. In the case of college football, the number of women who are avid fans may be smaller than men, but their passion for the sport and buying power should not be overlooked. It is not always a men-women or young-old issue; the point is there may be a group of customers for which you do not fully recognize or appreciate their potential. Look beyond the usual ways customer segments are defined; what you may find could surprise you!
Center for Media Research – “Avid Female College Football Fans”
