By John Ingoldsby
Engagement Insider
Football fans are a community, and the fastest growing segment of this population is women, a powerful group and a marketers’ dream.
Finding out what female fans really want is the key question.
“Women like connecting with the whole idea of community since they enjoy being in a tribe with one another, a whole group of people who really love their city’s team,” said Andrea Learned, co-author (with Lisa Johnson) of the 2004 book “Don’t Think Pink.”
Written originally to determine what really makes women buy and how to increase the share of this crucial market, Learned believes the book’s lessons fit in football as well.
“The book is about reaching women transparently, since they are the toughest consumers given that the way they think and make decisions is the highest standard. It isn’t about painting women who are interested in football pink, but recognizing that there is a passionate group of people, and asking what are they looking for and how can we make sure that they get it.”
Such as seeing just who is under the helmet, as well as who is around the game.
“Women want the competitiveness and all they love about football to be delivered in a way that resonates with them, such as the background of the actual people involved in the sport, not just players, but also the business people, media, etc.” she observed.
The more you know, the more you watch, according to the Seattle resident of two years.
“What I see here is a community of people where every week at a certain time they watch the Seahawks. It’s everybody, it isn’t just a men’s thing. There’s this old visualization of the guys in a room watching the game on TV and the women rolling their eyes, with the reality that back then maybe women liked football, but it wasn’t acceptable in the culture. But now that it’s more accepted and acknowledged that men and women love to watch the sport together, it’s a really fun thing since both are interested in stats and everything else going on.”
A scene that is quite familiar to Learned.
“I have always been interested in sports from a college perspective since I am a University of Michigan grad. I got right into sports there because when I was a kid, we went to football and basketball games, that’s just what we did. When I went to Michigan, it became my life.”
A life that has now landed her in an NFL city for the first time.
“I haven’t been in a community of people who every week at a certain time get together and watch their NFL team, but now that I am, I see myself becoming a Seahawks fan.”
A worthy cause, where she can study up close and personal the relevancy of her book as its 10th anniversary looms.
“The book has stood the test of time, and always has been a respected and well-regarded work,” exclaimed Learned. “My co-author and I were early in getting a marketing to women book out, and I am proud of it now because it can be applied to other things, as long as you dial in very specifically to your key market, learn community, be relevant and don’t put your audience in a box.
With these thoughts as a foundation, Learned is now going green, including in the field of sports.
“My career has now gone into sustainability, which is consumers making greener decisions and corporations getting more sustainable, so I am interested in looking at how pro sports is getting greener,” she stated. “With sports facilities focusing more on composting and waste, along with water & energy use as well, fans will notice when they go into these facilities.
Learned mention that she had a walk-through at a Seattle stadium, and noticed a change with fewer trash cans, where composting and bottle cans stand beside each other, to go along with differences in water use.
“People are doing these things personally, so when they see stadiums serving their values in recycling, waste and energy, it is really powerful for people,” Learned emphasized. “I see huge potential power in tapping the sports world’s energy, enthusiasm, and sense of community for the greater good of the planet.”