Alter Agents Explores Sports Fandom with Snapchat

Snap Sports Header Image

Alter Agents Explores Sports Fandom with Snapchat

By Roxanne Benoun and Lauren Cline

In a new post for their business blog, Snapchat announced that “Sports fandom is back” after the pandemic cancelled games and matches for months and left fans out of stadiums and ballparks. We’re excited to present some of the findings from our study with the platform on the nature of sports fandom on Snapchat!

 

Our global research study explored the relationship Snapchatters have with sports, both as fans and participants. Our goals were to define the unique nature of sports fans and athletes on Snapchat, develop personas of those sports fans, and demonstrate the value of Snapchatter Sports Fans and reveal their ad engagement, spend, brand affinity, fandom levels, AR interest, accessibility, and more. With the sports market projected to be worth $761 billion by 2028, this is a valuable segment for brands and advertisers.

 

Methodology

We conducted a 20-minute online survey from April 14 to June 1, 2021 in eleven countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Respondents were between the ages of 13 and 39, owned a smartphone, watched or were interested in sports, and had a role in purchase decisions. We had both Snapchatters and non-Snapchatters among our respondents so we could draw meaningful conclusions about the segment.

 

Key Findings

  • The most avid sports fans are also Snapchatters. In the US, sports fans comprise 60% of the general population ages 13-39, and about half of them are on Snapchat every day. 
  • Snapchatters watch more hours of sports per week than Non-Snapchatters do. And engagement doesn’t stop at just watching sporting events – Snapchatters are also engaging with sports socially amongst friends and making related purchases.
  • Snapchatters’ sports viewership increased due to COVID-19, with 46% saying that they started watching a new sport during the pandemic. 
  • Snapchat offers a unique sports content experience. A strong majority of Snapchatters – 85%! – engage with sports on Snapchat. Snapchat also makes sports more fun. In fact, 98% of Snapchatters feel positively when looking at sports-related content on the app. Compared to other platforms, Snapchat is a favorite when it comes to sports. 
  • Sports fans are interested in sports-related AR capabilities on Snapchat. For 89% of Snapchatters, sports-related AR experiences are comparable to or better than stadium experiences! The pandemic has created a new realm for sports viewership and fans want these capabilities on Snapchat.
  • AR sports content is now a purchase driver for many. Fans are likely to purchase through these experiences and want them to be shareable. 

Read more: Our research on augmented reality

It’s clear that Snapchatters are a uniquely valuable segment of the global sports fandom. They’re interested in engaging virtually, socially, and with cutting-edge AR experiences in a mix that represents the modern sports experience.

 

Interested in conducting a study on your key audiences and shoppers with Alter Agents?

 

Contact Us

About the Authors

Roxanne Benoun is an Associate Research Director at Alter Agents, a strategic market research consultancy based in Los Angeles. Supported by a team of rockstar researchers, she helps give companies and brands insight into their customers so they can address specific market needs and answer business questions. Utilizing her background in research psychology and statistics, Roxanne helps uncover underlying trends in shopper behavior and perceptions. In her free time, she enjoys making pottery and being out in nature. She earned her Masters Degree in General Experimental Psychology from California State University, Northridge and recently completed a Data Science program through General Assembly.

Lauren Cline is a Research Analyst at Alter Agents, a strategic market research consultancy based in Los Angeles. In her work, she’s particularly focused on identifying patterns in the data to drive analysis that illuminates respondents’ sentiments. She completed her Master of Management Studies from Duke University while representing them on the volleyball court.

Thought Leadership Updates

Get updates in your email.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More Posts