U'S' Soccer, Philips, and TWIi

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U.S. Soccer, Philips, and TWIi
Website Research
University of Massachusetts-Amherst Sports
Marketing Research Team
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Presentation Overview

• Executive Summary
• Objectives
• Methodology
• Key Findings and Recommendations
• Demographics
• Soccer Avidity
• USSoccer.com
• Sponsorship/Purchasing Habits

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Executive Summary

• Site attracts a loyal following of hard core
  soccer fans
• Visitors happy with site
• Philips sponsorship well-recognized and
  respected
• International and womens soccer just as popular
  as U.S. Mens/MLS
• Fans looking to create more of a fan culture

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Objectives

• Demographic and psychographic profile of
  USSoccer.com visitors
• Evaluate visitors attitudes toward the website
• Consumption of Philips product categories
• Awareness of Philips U.S. Soccer sponsorship
• Recommendations to U.S. Soccer, Philips, and TWIi
  based on survey information

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Methodology

• Background Research
• Reviewed and evaluated USSoccer.com and other
  soccer-based websites
• Survey Research
• Survey design / revision consultation
• Solicitation of respondents
• 30,400 USSoccerfan.com members contacted via
  email
• Click-through button placed on homepage
• Sweepstakes
• Implementation
• March 27th, 2002 April 15th, 2002
• Final sample size of 2,377 responses

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Respondent Demographics/Key Findings

• WHO responded to the Survey?
• 80 of respondents were male
• 63.6 Between the ages of 25-44
• 40 Between 25-34
• Only 17.4 Between 18-24
• Highly Educated-70 have a college degree
• 52.9 have household income over 50,000
• Geographically diverse

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Respondents come from all over the U.S.
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MLS markets dominant
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Soccer Avidity

• Soccer Participation
• Attendance at Games
• Teams Followed
• Strategic Recommendations

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High of direct participation (players, coaches,
refs)
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Participation goes beyond the pitch

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Respondents go to great lengths to attend games
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Soccer Avidity / Key Findings

• Respondents listed several sources of soccer
  information 423 overall
• USSoccer.com, MLSnet.com, and ESPN.com/Soccernet
  most widely listed websites
• Soccer America most frequently cited magazine

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Soccer Avidity / Key Findings
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Soccer Avidity/ Key Findings

• Respondents are HARD CORE soccer fans
• The best thing that ever happened to U.S. soccer
  fans is the Internet.I am impassioned.
• Since WC 94, I have gotten back to my
  obsession.
• I love this site ALMOST as much as I love the
  game!
• USA! USA! USA! USA!

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Respondents go to surprisingly few pro games
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18-24 and 55 age group least likely to attend
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Teams Followed / Key Findings
OVERALL 1. Manchester United 26.3 2. USA MEN
24.3 3. Chicago Fire 23.1 4. DC
United 22.0 5. USA WOMEN 16.9
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Teams Followed / Key Findings

• NATIONAL TEAMS
• USA MEN 24.3
• USA WOMEN 16.9
• England 9.4
• Italy 4.2
• Brazil 4.2

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Teams Followed / Key Findings

• INTERNATIONAL CLUBS
• Manchester United 26.3
• Liverpool 11.6
• Arsenal 11.1
• Real Madrid 7.2
• Ajax 6.3

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Teams Followed / Key Findings

• MLS/WUSA
• Chicago Fire 23.1
• DC United 22.0
• Columbus Crew 14.8
• LA Galaxy 13.6
• NY/NJ Metrostars 10.0

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Soccer Avidity / Strategic Recommendations

• Acknowledge interest in international soccer
• Add international section to site
• Promote within ethnic communities
• Increase number of webcasts
• Promotion at the grassroots level, college age
  fans

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USSoccer.com / Key Findings

• Frequency of Visits
• Reason for Visits
• Access and Connection
• User Satisfaction
• Fan Interaction
• USSoccerstore.com
• Strategic Recommendations

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Most respondents visit a few times a week

•  

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Most go for national team news and schedules
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Access and Connection / Key Findings

• Most respondents accessed the site from both home
  and work
• Connection Speeds
• 57.1 use high-speed connections
• 38.2 use dial-up modem

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Satisfaction with website / Key Findings

• Generally, people are very satisfied with the
  site.
• Over 70 of overall respondents rated usability,
  information and updates either good or excellent

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High ratings overall for USSoccer.com
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Satisfaction with website / Key Findings

• Still, 77 of open-ended responses suggested
  possible improvements
• Speed of download
• More information
• More merchandise

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All aspects show room for improvement
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Satisfaction with website / Key Findings

• Respondent Comments
• Biggest Complaint-Speed of Download
• Among the slowest to download onto my computer
• Slowest related soccer site Ive ever been on
• Only downfall is speed of downloading
• Lack of Information
• News articles are barebones
• Articles dont seem to change very often
• I can get more current data from other websites
  

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Satisfaction with website / Key Findings

• Add Audio
• Do more interviews with players
• Add live audio of national team matches
• More conversations with players
• International Information
• A Yanks Abroad section
• More Premier League info and results

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Satisfaction with website / Key Findings

• Respondents generally dont participate in live
  chats
• Respondents seem eager to participate
• People want to chat with Bruce Arena and U.S.
  mens players

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Satisfaction with website / Key Findings

• REQUESTED CHAT GUESTS
• Bruce Arena 27.9
• Clint Mathis 17.3
• Landon Donovan- 11.1
• Kasey Keller-10.2
• Claudio Reyna- 8.6

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MatchTracker / Key Findings

• 50 of respondents have used MatchTracker
• 14.7 are unaware of the feature
• 20 of open-ended comments complained about
  reliability and functionality. Most common
  complaints
• -Crash Prone - Doesnt work
• -Trouble Connecting - Too slow

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USSoccerstore.com / Key Findings

• USSoccerstore.com
• 69.7 of respondents have visited

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Most purchase items from specialty stores and
catalogs
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Respondents want jerseys and NT apparel
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USSoccerstore.com / Key Findings

• Respondent Comments-USSoccerstore.com
• Selection/Price
• Jerseys from any pro/national side in the world
• Definitely not the new kits--they are so awful.
• Anything that isn't junked up and over priced by
  Nike
• Fan Gear
• Red Sam's Army shirts. We need a solid fan
  presence at games.

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USSoccerstore.com / Key Findings

• Sizes
• Child U.S. National Team Jerseys. I have to buy
  my 2-year old son ones from Europe because that
  is the only place they sell them
• XXXL Jersey-cause there are big people that
  like soccer too
• Availability
• Having the advertised stuff actually available
  would be a good start.

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USSoccer.com / Strategic Recommendations

• Consider more global focus
• Balance need for speed with desire for elaborate
  features
• Encourage fan culture

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Sponsorship / Key Findings

• Sponsor Recognition
• Purchasing Decisions
• Purchasing Behavior
• Philips, Norelco, and Sonicare Brands
• Strategic Recommendations

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Nike and Philips well-recognized

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Sponsorship / Key Findings

• 54.6 correctly identified Philips as website
  sponsor
• Awareness lower among ages 45 and over, highest
  among ages 25-34
• Recognition higher among frequent visitors and
  sponsor-loyal respondents

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Respondents more likely to buy from sponsors

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Sponsorship / Key Findings

• Sponsorship a strong factor across age groups
• Quality and price most important factors
• Price of greatest importance to younger groups
• Advertising less significant for older groups

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Tech savvy market with room for growth
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Most purchase electronics at a specialty retailer
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Sponsorship / Key Findings

• Philips brand well-received across the board
• Lack of awareness for Norelco and Sonicare brands

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Philips brand strong across the board
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Norelco brand awareness lacking
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Sonicare brand awareness lacking
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Sponsorship / Strategic Recommendations

• Create programs to affiliate Philips brand with
  sub-brands, such as Norelco and Sonicare
• Create subtle connection between Philips and
  USSoccer.com features

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Final Recommendations

• Reach out to tech savvy and sponsor-loyal fans
• Show that Philips gives fans what they want
• Gain credibility by giving credit where its due

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Final Recommendations

• Give this intense, knowledgeable fan base MORE
• Access to the worlds game
• Ways to show their support

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THANK YOU

• The UMass Team
• -Kelly
• -Joe
• -Takao
• -Tim