By Ben Nicholson
December 20 – With the 2015 MLS season now over, the time for reflection on the league and its teams are upon us. Moreover, so is the time for commercial reflection. To aid the process, soccer marketing agency, Gilt Edge Soccer, has released its summary report, ‘Soccer in America 2015’.
The report was compiled by gathering information from 1,000 soccer consumers over the age of 13.
And of the self-reported consumers, there was almost a perfect split between males and females, with 51% reporting as male, suggesting that soccer is a sport that appeals across the gender divide in the US.
Just over a third of these consumers earn above $75,000 per year, which is happy news for the producers of the soccer product.
62% are Caucasian and 30% are Hispanic, which is disproportionate to the rough 17% of the US population that identifies as Hispanic.
Furthermore, Hispanic consumers more often identify as hardcore fans, and have more often attended games abroad, attended live games in the past 30 days, and have more often grown up playing soccer than their non-Hispanic counterparts. (Hence, why the MLS was so intent to change its salary rules in order to obtain the services of Giovani Dos Santos.)
The data indicates that soccer consumption in the US will rise in the future, given that 56% of the consumers reported as millenials, meaning born between 1980 and 2000. The likelihood is that this 56% contributes in significant proportion to the 60% that do not possess a college degree, and the 15% that are currently students.
62% of the generation Y and Z consumers reported becoming fans of the game before the age of fifteen, which is almost double the 33% of generation X consumers who reported the same. Generation Y and Z consumers also register higher percentages than generation X consumers in the hardcore fan category, attending a game abroad category and grew up playing the game category.
Perhaps most poignantly, generation Y and Z consumers rate their soccer passion, on average, at 7.3, while generation X consumers muster up a lesser 6.9.
Soccer in the US appears to be growing via the youth, and with youth persistently being created, the future of soccer, and its commercial opportunity, is bright.
Unsurprisingly this results in high percentages of consumers reporting as watching videos on digital media: 51% reported as watching a video made by a brand and 47% either liked, shared or commented on a brand’s social post, with Facebook being the most popular social channel.
It currently remains true, however, that the majority (31%) of soccer consumers in the US are merely “event seekers” – meaning that they identify as only really being interested in big events like the FIFA World Cup.
A strong 27% identify as fans of international soccer and the MLS. But MLS purists languish at 12%, just behind ‘Europhiles’, meaning those mainly interested in international soccer, at 13%, indicating that the MLS has substantial room to grow.
Overall, average interest levels in the MLS are 6.1 out of 10, which is less than the 6.4 given for international soccer, 6.7 for the US women’s national team, and the 6.9 for the US men’s national team.
The average consumer watched 8.8 games per month, and most often does so through the medium of television. The second most popular platform is the computer, while the bar is third most, phones and tablets fourth, and live at the stadium last.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734805668labto1734805668ofdlr1734805668owedi1734805668sni@n1734805668osloh1734805668cin.n1734805668eb1734805668