Over the past decade, there has been a cultural shift from passive to active engagement with sports and athletics. Social media has enabled fans to actively participate in games by sharing updates and opinions. It has also increased participation in fantasy sports leagues. At the same time, athletes have increasingly marketed themselves as personalities and brands. Changes in media consumption, like streaming and multi-screen viewing, have further enhanced fan engagement. These trends have also influenced everyday athletics, with the rise of branded fitness communities, endurance events, and wearable technology that quantifies personal health and fitness.

1. CULTURAL
CHANGES TO
Sports and Athletics
SINCE 2004
Kristin Lowry
Friday, January 17, 14

2. changesto
Professional Sports
Friday, January 17, 14

3. THE SHIFT FROM PASSIVE TO ACTIVE
Over the past decade, there has been a cultural shift from passive to
active. People are no longer content to just sit back and be entertained.
They want to engage with what they are watching.
Friday, January 17, 14

4. Social media has made watching
sports an active experience. It
gives fans a live update that they
can’t get anywhere else. People
are no longer just idly watching
the game. They are actively
listening, updating and sharing.
Up to 80% of fans use social
media while watching a game on
TV. Up to 60% do so while
watching a live game.*
SOCIALMEDIAANDVIEWERSHIP
Text
* Laird, Sam. “How Social Media is Changing Sports.” Mashable, 26 April 2012.
Friday, January 17, 14

5. Social media has given fans a
voice. It has enabled them to
give and receive live updates,
vote for the All Stars, or contribute
to an athlete’s cause. Using
social media, fans now have the
power to make or break an
athlete’s career. Just look at
what #Linsanity did for Jeremy Lin.
SOCIALMEDIAANDVIEWERSHIP
Friday, January 17, 14

6. Fantasy spots started in 1960 by a
small group of fans who took the
scores and stats from each game
to create a fantasy league.
Social media and the internet has
made it easy for fans, especially
new ones, to actively engage
with sports. The popularity of
Fantasy sports only continues to
grow. Today 33.5M people
participate.
FANTASYLEAGUES
Yahoo is a good example for search trends as it is the most popular host
of fantasy sports.
* Subramanian, Pas. “5 Surprising Facts about Fantasy Sports.” Yahoo Finance, 4 September 2013.
Friday, January 17, 14

7. Historically, fantasy leagues have
been the domain of lifelong fans,
with a lot of knowledge, who
grew up playing or watching the
game.
These days, fantasy league
participation is bringing in sports
fans not, vice versa. This is
especially true for women who
now make up 20% of fantasy
league participants.*
FANTASYLEAGUES
* Subramanian, Pas. “5 Surprising Facts about Fantasy Sports.” Yahoo Finance, 4 September 2013.
Friday, January 17, 14

8. Fantasy leagues create a sense of
community among people
around a common interest. They
are a conversation catalyst, and
keep people in touch.
Once people start playing fantasy
sports, it becomes part of their
identity. They become loyal to
the activity and the relationships.
Most become lifelong participants
with no intention of giving up.
FANTASYLEAGUES
Friday, January 17, 14

9. Silicon Valley backed Fantex
Holdings announced that fans will
soon be able to buy stocks of their
favorite athletes, based on their
projected earnings. The first IPO
will belong to Houston Texans
running back Arian Foster.
Sports and entertainment is a
billion dollar industry financed by
consumers. Now consumers have
the ability to participate, seeing
return (hopefully) on their
emotional and financial
investment.
PUBLICLYTRADEDATHLETES
Friday, January 17, 14

10. THE DEMAND FOR INTEGRITY
In the last decade, the public has lost a great deal of trust in public
figures. As a reaction, we have become less tolerant of deceit and other
immoral behaviors. This is especially true for athletes, whom the
American culture has always tied so closely with morality.
Friday, January 17, 14

11. When athletes like Lance
Armstrong use performance
enhancing drugs, it is the
equivalent of insider trading. They
betray public trust by not being
forthright about their abilities.
Doping has quietly gone on for
years. However, social media
and the internet has made it
harder to hide from the
disapproving public. When
athletes get caught sponsors
distance themselves accordingly.
KEEPINGATHLETESHONEST
Friday, January 17, 14

12. CELEBRITY CULTURE
Reality T.V. and tabloid culture have created a rabid interest in the
personal lives of athletes and celebrities. This interest is based on a
mixture of voyeurism, aspiration and moral superiority.
Friday, January 17, 14

13. It used to be that the public only
saw athletes in the capacity of
being an athlete. Endorsement
deals were their main source of
secondary income.
Today’s athletes have seen that
there is money to be made in
branding themselves. They have
become the new reality stars.
Everyone from Ryan Lochte to
T.O. has their own show.
ATHLETESASPERSONALITIES
Friday, January 17, 14

14. CHANGES IN MEDIA CONSUMPTION
Over the last ten years, the economic decline has coincided with
technological advancements in media. Old methods of consumption
have improved and new ones have been introduced.
Friday, January 17, 14

15. In the current economy,
consumers consider stadium
attendance too much of a
“luxury.” Recent advances in TV
such as flat-screens, HD, and the
ability to connect to the internet
has made the at-home
experience much more
appealing.
In fact, stadium attendance had
been declining steadily since
2007.* Electronic purchases for
tablets and TVs have been on the
rise in recent years.
THEAT-HOMEEXPERIENCE
* David, Javid. “What the NFL Season Says About the U.S, Economy.” CNBC, 5 September 2012.
Friday, January 17, 14

16. While more fans are moving from
TV to streaming, multi-screen
viewership is still king. Last year, TV
viewership of sports decreased
from 96% to 94%, while online
increased from 56% to 63%.*
Mobile also increased from 21% to
35%.*
Multi-screen viewership gives
advertisers the opportunity to take
either a trans-media or more
targeted approach.
STREAMINGCONTENT
* “Sports Fans Slowly Move from TV to the Internet.” Adweek, 24 July 2013.
Friday, January 17, 14

17. changesto
Everyday Athletics
Friday, January 17, 14

18. BRANDED COMMUNITIES
Athletic apparel brands have always sold a concept of who people
could be. Now they are creating communities around that concept that
people can identify with.
Friday, January 17, 14

19. Nike has gone beyond the
apparel category with Nike+
FuelBand, amassing the largest
community of runners ever
assembled, at over a million
runners.
Nike + Fuelband motivates
people and hooks them in several
ways. When people see their
friends doing something they
want to join. Being watched
improves performance. It also
make a solitary activity social.
NIKE+FUELBAND
Friday, January 17, 14

20. Over the past decade, the world
has moved at a rapid pace. As a
result, there has been a
reactionary focus on mindfulness
and fitness as part of holistic
health. Yoga has gone
mainstream.
Lululemon has become the brand
for this movement. They have
created loyalty and authenticity
by immersing themselves with
local communities. They employ
popular instructors to teach
classes. They even host running
clubs.
LULULEMON
Friday, January 17, 14

21. ENDURANCE EVENTS
In the latter half of the decade, non-traditional running events have seen
a massive surge in popularity, especially among the under 30 set. They
are inherently social and present a chance to triumph over a personal
challenge. They also remind people how it feels to be present in a hyper-
tasking world.
Friday, January 17, 14

22. Non-traditional running event
participation has gone from 100K
in 2010 to 3M in 2013.*
The Color Run, a non-competitive,
non-timed event has become the
most popular in the world at 1M
participants in 2013.*
For many people, the Color Run is
an unintimidating introduction to
athletics. While it’s active, it is also
about getting together with
friends in a festive atmosphere
and doing something new.
THECOLORRUN
* Williams, Doug “Non-Traditional Runs Keep Growing.” ESPN.com, 23 October 2013.
Friday, January 17, 14

23. Unlike the Color Run, Tough
Mudder is much more about
challenging yourself and
accomplishing something you
never thought you could do. Not
surprisingly, it is on many people’s
20’s bucket list (the average age
is 29).
Tough Mudder is also more male
dominated and attracts a more
athletic crowd. Many see it as a
way improve their fitness.
TOUGHMUDDER
Friday, January 17, 14

24. FITNESS TRACKING
The obesity epidemic became a major cultural phenomenon in the early
2000s, when the surgeon general coined the term. Since that time,
Americans have become obsessed with getting healthy. We are
concerned with every calorie ingested and every mile ran.
Friday, January 17, 14

25. In the past few years, there has
been a lot of buzz surrounding
wearable tech. Some of the
major players are FitBit, Nike and
Jawbone.
There is a clear need and big
opportunity for fitness trackers.
Over 50% of people track health
indicators such as weight and
exercise.* However, it is still a very
young industry. Only 9% are
currently tracking their health on
a device or an app.*
WEARABLETECH
* Fox, Susannah “Few Americans Track Their Weight, Diet or Exercise Online.” Pew Research, 8 January 2014.
Friday, January 17, 14

26. When people track their fitness
indicators and see themselves
making progress, it sets up a
positive feedback loop. This leads
them to modify their behavior and
become hooked on the product.
The data from wearable devices
provides companies with
information they can use to
improve their products and
communications For instance,
Nike found that it takes 5 runs
before a user gets hooked. U.S.
runners also run more in winter.
THEQUANTIFIEDSELF
Friday, January 17, 14