My first exposure to netball was after a late night flight from London to Paris. I remember sitting in my hotel room, watching a game on the TV screen. I was in awe. The match was from the early stages of the recent Netball World Cup (NWC) in Sydney, Australia, and my late night fascination led me to dive a little deeper into the subject, especially as the next World Cup will be held in Liverpool in 2019.
Following the final, we at Arc London ran a bespoke study on netball with our research tool, Sponsor DNA, which measures awareness, fan attitudes and perceived sponsorship fit. The study found that netball has a highly-regarded event image and a passionate fan base.
First, our findings indicate that netball caters for a niche audience, with only 7% of our sample (UK adults between 16 and 65) claiming an interest in the NWC. However, looking at the event’s future potential, it ranks second overall on “momentum” as our surveyed participants recognised that the sport is gaining more popularity. The number one event on this dimension is the Fifa Women’s World Cup – another strong example of the ever-increasing popularity of women’s sport in the UK. The NWC is perceived above average on nearly all dimensions and even ranks in the top three of all events measured in terms of being innovative, local and ethical.
Perhaps the event’s grass-roots heritage means it has an increased sense of community, because its fans are above all one thing: passionate. Netball fans have the third highest passion score of our studies overall, leaving behind such established events as the Fifa World Cup, the Champions League and the Six Nations.
This is in line with our previous findings that the higher the interest in an event, the lower the passion of the fans, as the event also attracts a fair amount of casual observers. The netball audience on the other hand is a highly engaged one, which is further corroborated by the face that 25% of respondents stated that they have attended a netball event in the past 12 months.
In addition to being passionate, netball fans are also very likely to be a family audience. As our research uncovered, fans of the sport are nearly four times as likely as the average to watch the World Cup because their children are interested in it. Not surprisingly, 83% of respondents agree that the NWC provides a good role model for children, ranking the event in the top 10 of all events measured.
Sponsor DNA allows us not only to measure event awareness, momentum and perceived image of the event, but also sponsorship awareness and appropriateness of brands. Our data indicates that the sport’s high momentum also seems to drive sponsor awareness. For instance, 50% of people could identify the NWC’s main sponsor Asics. While this figure could arguably be higher, one has to bear in mind that the event is only broadcast on pay-TV in the middle of the night in the UK.
So there is definitely room to grow awareness for sponsors like Asics, especially since the research showed the brand to be a good fit with the NWC - nearly 80% of respondents agreeing. Other non-sponsor brands with an excellent correlation are financial institutions (BNY Mellon, Virgin Money, Barclay’s), Omega, Waitrose, Viagogo and Jeep. On the other hand, the sport appears to be a tougher case for potential alcoholic drinks sponsors, for which the appropriateness level is less than 50%.
With the next NWC taking place in the UK, the sport is set to continue making its mark. Ranking high on momentum and offering a highly engaged, passionate family audience, netball provides plenty of potential for brands looking for interesting new sponsorship properties. With England winning a bronze medal at the 2015 event, the sport’s upward trend in the UK is likely to continue.
Florian Kogler is an account manager at Arc London
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