E-Newsletter   |  SEPTEMBER 2019
OBSERVATIONAL/ETHNOGRAPHIC FINDINGS ENHANCE SPORTING GOODS EVALUATION RESEARCH
For over a decade, the SLRG team has provided insights to sporting goods manufacturers looking to gain a candid perspective on the efficacy of their products from the eyes of the target customer.  Be it through surveys, longitudinal tests or controlled experiments, we create a customized approach to product testing.  Recently, a client was launching a new product that was not only a departure from their typical offerings, but required evaluations from a particularly elusive customer segment.  Our research team deployed a stringent set of recruiting criteria and validation to assure that those testing the product matched the desired profile.  More significantly, the research team developed an ethnographic or observational component to the product test, that provided an important window for researchers and client alike to observe product usage firsthand.  This added an important layer to the findings that went beyond simply eliciting consumer evaluations and reactions in the moment. We can do the same for you! [CONTACT US]
INSIGHTS INFORM NEW RESORT CAMPAIGN AMIDST AGGRESSIVE COMPETITIVE MARKET
How does a long established resort property refresh and reinforce its brand image in the face of both new and established aggressive competitors?  For one of our clients, the answer to this question could be found through a timely and comprehensive brand audit, designed to inform and enhance a new set of advertising creative. Targeting both their own recent guests, those of competitive properties and others with awareness and anticipated trial of a new entrant to the market, this client and our research team developed and executed a brand blind "acceptor/rejector" study that included advertising exposure and evaluation as well as several brand essence alignment batteries.  The research not only provided an early read on target guest reactions to current category communications messaging, but helped to identify the underlying points of differentiation to be emphasized and amplified in its own campaign. Cutting the data across a variety of behavioral and demographic variables, added to the actionable insights that allowed the client to further refine highly targeted digital marketing efforts at various segments.  Let us do the same for you.
 [CONTACT US]

CONFERENCE CORNER
SLRG TO AGAIN PROVIDE SPORTS TRAVEL INSIGHTS TO TTRA MARKET OUTLOOK FORUM
The Travel and Tourism Research Association's annual Marketing Outlook Forum (MOF) will be held in Bethesda, Maryland on October 7 - 9, 2019.   The program will examine trends and forecasts for the U.S. economy and for consumer behavior related to travel, as well as provide updates on key sectors, traveler markets and some innovative new sessions on Hotel Marketing, Culinary Tourism, Women in Travel, and Overcoming Destination Obstacles to Meet Marketing Goals.  Among the many presentations and whitepapers to be provided to attendees will be Sports and Leisure Research Group's annual look at key trends and insights regarding sports related travel, culled from our annual omnibus study and other category specific research. The whitepaper will also be posted to the SLRG website  download section and linked from the next issue of this newsletter.
 
For more details or to register for the MOF, please visit: https://ttra.com/mof/2019mof/
A FRESH LOOK AT GOLFERS AS CUSTOMERS, KICKS OFF GOLF INC. STRATEGY SUMMIT
How are the demographics, needs and service expectations of golfers changing?  As the market evolves, there is ample debate regarding what actually defines a golfer.  In this keynote session, golf industry leaders will look at the latest research and its implications for segmenting the marketplace and how leading organizations are seeking to expand their share of customer. 

Sports and Leisure Research Group Pr esident Jon Last will present a meta analysis of 11 years worth of golfer demographic, attitudinal and behavioral data and moderate a lively opening keynote presentation at the 2019 Golf Inc. Strategies Summit, September 23 at the Ritz Carlton, Reynolds Plantation Georgia. 


The 1:30pm session will also feature,Jim Hinckley, CEO of Century Golf Partners and American Golf, Sal Syed, CEO/Co-Founder of Arccos Golf and Jason Becker, CEO of Golf Life Navigators. For more information or to register for the conference (Sept 23-25), CLICK HERE

COMPLIMENTARY DOWNLOADS
FULL NEWS & VIEWS ARCHIVES ALWAYS AVAILABLE ON SLRG WEBSITE 

You never have to miss an issue of our News & Views newsletter.  All of Sports and Leisure Research Group's whitepapers, POVs and extensive content on sports, travel and media trends are available for complimentary download on our always evolving web site.  Driven by our extensive research within these verticals, you can easily access all of the past issues of this newsletter, at any time.  Just click HERE to get started discovering an abundance of complimentary content provided to help our friends and clients stay on top of their industries.
POV
SOMETIMES AD RECALL IS DERIVED VS DIRECT

Long time readers of this newsletter know that we are big proponents of utilizing elements of experimental design in advertising or activation efficacy research. As readers of Briggs and Stewart's seminal book, What Stickslearned, consumers lack the ability to cognitively ascertain whether a specific advertisement or marketing activation prompted them to buy or consider a particular product. Experimental design mitigates that by examining the variance in competitive brand awareness, perceptions and attitudes of two otherwise identical sample populations--one exposed to the brand messaging and the other excluded.  But it's equally important, to measure multiple components of ad effectiveness to eliminate false positives or false negatives.
An example from some of our recent work involved a challenger brand that had just completed a significant flight of advertising in several key markets.  Our research included a target consumer pulsing in both exposed and unexposed markets that blindly tested ad recall and various brand alignment measures.  Interestingly, trends in the specific recall measures were underwhelming on the surface, though this phenomenon was observed across the full competitive set.  Where things got interesting, and more insightful, were when examining the test brand's association with various key message points and attributes.  Here meaningful gaps emerged both between exposed and unexposed populations, and across competitive brands.  Clearly something had to be driving this positive movement, and that was likely the advertising.  Had we relied only upon the more difficult to differentiate, recall measures, the full picture of the impact of the advertising would not have been apparent.

SLRG IN THE NEWS
MLB's 2020 'FIELD OF DREAMS' GAME IS GREAT SPORTS MARKETING
The lead item on Media Post's August 13, 2019 Marketing Insider, is SLRG President Jon Last's take on how the recently announced MLB Field of Dreams Game is a great example of effective sports marketing. Research shows lack of access to athletes and events can adversely affect sports fan engagement. Last month I spoke to [...] READ MORE
The lead item in Media Post's July 10 Marketing Insider includes an SLRG research informed primer on those elements most essential for creating a compelling event based sports app.
 READ MORE
Golf, sports and leisure marketing professionals can gain more research driven perspectives from SLRG President Jon Last's weekly column featured in Swing U's weekly Strategies newsletter. Last's column look's at consumer trends and other marketing strategy issues.  Here's what you may have missed over the past eight weeks...

POSTED:   September 32019

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