Sport & leisure market research

Competition within the sport and leisure industry is hot. Brands jostle to maximise sponsorship opportunities. They race to optimise participation rates. And they go the extra mile to enhance the experiences of those watching.

Steve King SVP Contact us

The type of sport market research project all depends on your audience and the issues you’re examining.

We can use our direct access panels to research nationally representative samples. We can use smaller groups to investigate attitudes and behaviours towards specific sports, brands or events. We can ensure sponsorship agreements work hard to generate true value for all involved.

Interested in promoting female sport? Us too. We want to drive participation. Boost viewing figures. And promote inclusivity, fairness, and cultural security for female athletes. Our cultural health research – from elite level to grass root participants – ensures organisations offer an inclusive, safe environment for all.

How we help

Accessibility and participation

Conducting research with hard to reach and vulnerable groups is an area of expertise for us. Let’s face it, everyone should be looking to ensure an inclusive, optimised offer. So, understanding the views of minority groups with very specific needs and wants from sport and leisure providers is vital. From conducting qualitative research through to targeted ad-hoc and “always on” research programmes, offering appropriate opportunities for all is something we’re passionate about.

Attitude and participation studies

It’s vitally important to look at data within the competitive context to understand how you are seen by participants, visitors and viewers. And how well you are competing for that all important leisure spend – money and time.

Cultural health

The media is constantly reporting on sporting bodies and organisations that have issues with their cultural health. This can have a massive impact on the health and wellbeing of participants, and knock-on effects on brand perceptions. It’s no good dealing with problems when they come to light. Too late. Research programmes are needed to identify the early stages of cultural health issues and provide opportunities to ensure localised issues don’t develop into systematic problems.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship investments are huge. Fast insight into the impact within a wider marketing campaign will help you understand how to optimise ROI across all channels. It’s important for the brand, but also for sports and broadcasters to maximise revenues. If you’re looking for an experienced partner to help you measure return, brand awareness and behavioural change, pick us for your team!

Visitor surveys

How are you performing for those visiting your sports event, and what can be done to improve this experience? Capturing insights from visitors can yield pure magic in the form of brand advocates, as well as increased revenue. Our visitor surveys help build customer experience programmes that generate great experiences, repeat visits and advocacy.

Report

Encouraging participation in sport

With massive investment in encouraging sports participation, research now plays a key role in understanding how to make a difference.

Read more below to find out how Savanta can help you.

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Sizing the prize for sport

Sporting events, policy makers, sporting bodies, local authorities and the media all want to understand the current levels of engagement to strengthen partnerships. The question is how?

Download our strategic guide below to find out!

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Case studies

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Fitness FirstRebranding

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ATPIGauging customer perceptions

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Performing arts centreAudience understanding

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Leading sports venueSpectator expectations

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"Any business needs to outpace its competitors and accelerate delivery of insights which can be used to grow performance and value. Virtually all customer-facing initiatives have been formed using this unique approach to customer tracking and subsequent performance analysis. The member trackers have given us an invaluable tool for assessing what our customers actually want, not what we think they want.”

Fitness First

“As a not-for-profit organisation, every pound counts, so it’s absolutely vital we get the most out of our ads to maximise their impact, with the media budget available. We already had a strong ad but what I found really useful about the approach was knowing which elements were working harder for us and why, and which parts less so – all of which helped inform what changes were required to really cut-through.”

Nuffield Health Head of Brand and Planning