Some Old Statistics

New Projects

Wow.  Looking back, I did not realize it has been so many months since I last took time to catch up some on writing.  Since May, we have been busy working on a few new projects and have been in the planning process for a fairly large project to start next year.

Therefore, I have been scouring as many sources as possible to try to gather pertinent information that might be of interest to potential advertisers and partners for one of our school districts.  While there have been many changes in high school sports over the past few years, the amount of new research available is scarce; particularly in the marketing arena.

One company, Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, was commissioned to do a study nearly eight years ago and the following seems to be the most current data available on some of the subjects as listed:
    1.  83% agree that they would perceive a company as being active         in the community if they sponsored the local high school
    2.  77% of survey respondents agreed they are more likely to                 purchase from and support a company that supports high school         athletics. More than 21 percent of all males surveyed attended a         high school game within the last 12 months
    3.  75% think that high school sports has a greater community                 influence than professional, college, or other amateur sports
    4.  67% agree that they would feel more loyal to a company that             sponsors the local high school
    5.  77% agree that they would be more likely to purchase from and         support a company if they sponsored the local high school
    6.  74% feel that there is more integrity within the world of high             school sports when compared to professional sports
    7.  98% think it is important for a company to focus on integrity             when choosing where to spend their sports sponsorship dollars
    8.  67% think that sponsoring the local high school team would have         a greater positive impact on decisions when making consumer             purchases
    9.  87% would rather see a company spread dollars to as many high         schools as possible rather than a single professional sponsorship
    10. 69% think companies should utilize high school sponsorships in         order to have the greatest impact on brand awareness                         (Turnkey Intelligence, August 2007 Independent Survey.)

Further data reflects:

• 49.5% of high school audience is Female
  
• 50.5% of high school audience is Male
  
• 19.8% of all Females report attending a high school sport in the past 12 months
  
• 21.4% of all Males report attending a high school sports event in the past 12 months
• The average high school sport fan attends 4.78 events per year (Scarborough Research 67 Market Study. August 2006- February 2007. Surveyed Adults ages 18+)
• 74% of Youths are more likely to pay attention to a company’s message if the company has a deep commitment to a cause
  
• 89% of Youths are likely to switch from one brand to another if the second brand is associated with a good cause
  
• 70% of Youths believe that companies are not doing enough to support the causes that they care about                               (The 2006 Cone Millennial Case Study, May 2006. Surveyed Youths ages 13-25)

So, as we embark on the upcoming year, we want to make sure that local companies recognize and understand the value of sponsorships of "hometown" programs and events.  Companies, whether national or local should recognize the value of starting brand awareness and loyalty early with high school students, athletes and parents.  Should you want to know more about how you can become involved with local high school sports marketing programs, feel free to contact us.  We look forward to working with you.