Every year, leaders in the sports industry convene at the 2014 IMG World Congress of Sports. Hosted by the SportsBusiness Journal in Dana Point, CA, this annual event attracts sports business executives from across the globe. They meet to reflect on the past year, current trends, and the future of sports at large.
I had the chance to listen in.
I’m all about #SBJWC. After attending multiple panels, interviews and presentations from the likes of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, NACSAR CEO Brian France and MLS Commissioner Don Garber (to name a few), I took away one key theme for the sports industry for 2014 and beyond… and it has to do with the millennial sports fan.
As I was listening to numerous speakers at this annual conference, the idea of how and why to tap into the millennial fan constantly resurfaced. How do we engage the millennial? How do we market to them? Questions were raised around Generation Y brand loyalty and the way they — or should I say we? — alter the landscape of the sports industry.
In my opinion, this topic merely broke the surface of the connection between sports and the millennial fan base. And if it were up to me, we need to first understand who we are talking about.
Claude Ruibal, Global Head of Sports Content for YouTube, raised a good point when he said that the sports industry is looking to the millennials to guide its decisions. But before they can do that, the industry needs to be able to talk to the millennials in their own language.
Brian France noted that the biggest story in sports in 2014 will be how to figure out the millennial fan. In a sport like NASCAR, they face the double-edged sword of engaging longtime, avid fans that are 40+ years of age, while trying to attract their children — the younger generation — and add diversity to the sport.
France described the challenge and history of older fans who are okay with watching race cars go in circles for six hours, but most teenagers with an iPhone are certainly not. I believe that NASCAR will make great strides in addressing this challenge, as the future of their business depends on it.
In a conference room packed full of 800+ people, I noticed that despite all this talk about the millennials, there were, in fact, only about 30 of us in the room. I propose that next year the SportsBusiness Journal designates a panel that features only millennials in the business, moderated by a more seasoned sports executive. This panel would let us share our voice and give perspective that enables all of the senior leadership to grasp a better understanding of our expectations and behaviors. Hey, I would be happy to sit on that stage next year (hint, hint).
As the landscape continues to shift, it will be interesting to see how sports brands, teams, leagues truly address the evolution of the millennial consumer.
– Stephen Mariucci works within Digitaria Sports account services and business development team at Digitaria’s San Diego office. Keep up with him on Twitter @stephenmariucci.
