Sports, Entertainment and Media Marketing A
Individual Assignment -1
Abhinav Yadav
0385/55
Research Methodology
This research is aimed at finding how one becomes a sports fan, what factors and
triggers are at play.
The methodology adopted is in-depth interviews of self-proclaimed sports fans to
understand their journey of becoming a fan.
Participants
Anchit Singh Sekhon (8101447613, [email protected])
Avijit Singh (9667300776, [email protected])
Devashish Gupta (9415417614, [email protected])
Shashwat Yadav (8376009367, [email protected])
Utkarsh Lohiya (9434353873, [email protected])
Sources of background photos
https://allthatsinteresting.com/20-famous-sports-photos
https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/iconic-sports-photographs-in-history/
https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/vvs-laxman-recalls-281-against-australia-says-never-played-for-others-expectations-1948433
https://www.indiatimes.com/sports/10-years-ago-abhinav-bindra-shot-his-way-to-an-olympic-gold-and-created-history-351057.html
https://www.scoopwhoop.com/sports/iconic-photos-cricket/
Interview 1 - Profile
Anchit Singh Sekhon
Age – 26
Mumbai
Consultant
Plays Football, Squash
Favourite Teams/Players
Indian Cricket Team
Kings XI Punjab
Manchester United
Golden State Warriors
Rafael Nadal
Mohammed El Shorbagy
Interview 1 – Response Summary
Q1. When did you become a sports fan and which sports it was?
Anchit: The first sports event that I followed was FIFA World Cup 2002 when I was 10 years old.
Q2. How did you become a sports fan?
Anchit: Being from an Army family, I had a natural inclination towards playing sports. I started watching sports from quite a young
age. I was a fan of particular players like David Beckham and started with watching England football team in the FIFA World Cup
2002.
Q3. Why this sports and also something about other sports you got into?
Anchit: Football was a fast paced game which I thoroughly enjoyed both, watching and playing in my childhood. Apart from this, I
used to play Tennis, Squash and Cricket also. In terms of watching, I had keen interest in Tennis and F1.
Q4. Why do you call yourself a fan?
Anchit: I am an ardent supporter of the game as well as a particular club. I don’t miss any matches of my team and generally watch
all big games apart from that. I have also spent a good amout of time studying the game as a hobby.
Interview 1 – Key Findings
Initiation
It started because of
he played football as a
Age child and liked it’s fast Influencing factors
paced nature.
At the age of 10 years old His general inclination to
when the FIFA WC 2002 sports was thanks to his
was aired. army background
Affective Cognitive
Sense of accomplishment He spends a good amount
and pride when his team of time reading about the
wins or performs well. Behavioral game and trying to deep
dive into the nuances of
Passionately
the game.
supports his
favourite teams
and players.
Interview 2 - Profile
Avijit Singh
Age – 27
Noida
Financial Analyst
Plays Football, Snooker
Favourite Teams/Players
Indian Cricket Team
Manchester United
Golden State Warriors
Roger Federer
PV Sindhu
Interview 2 – Response Summary
Q1. When did you become a sports fan and which sports it was?
Avijit: I started watching cricket in early 2000s and was driven towards football during FIFA World Cup 2006
Q2. How did you become a sports fan?
Avijit: Joined a new school and made new friends who were actively into sports. I started playing with them. They had discussions
in school about matches which drew my interest towards watching live matches.
Q3. Why this sports and also something about other sports you got into?
Avijit: Cricket was a natural choice because one, it’s like a religion in India and two, my father’s interest in the game. I was driven to
football because of my friends and also because of the intensity of the game.
Q4. Why do you call yourself a fan?
Avijit: I follow all the matches of my team, always very exited to watch them play. I am support my team even in a bad time.
Interview 2 – Key Findings
Initiation
Joined a new school,
made new friends who
Age were interested in Influencing factors
sports
Started watching cricket New friends and Father
at the age of 7.
Affective Cognitive
Very excited about every He spends a good amount
Manchester United of time reading about the
match. Behavioral game and trying to deep
dive into the nuances of
Support his team
the game.
irrespective of the
results.
Interview 3 - Profile
Devashish Gupta
Age – 27
Gurgaon
Product Manager
Plays Cricket
Favourite Teams/Players
Indian Cricket Team
Rahul Dravid
Interview 3 - Response Summary
Q1. When did you become a sports fan and which sports it was?
Devashish: I started watching cricket during the Cricket World Cup 2003. I was glued to the television for all the matches.
Q2. How did you become a sports fan?
Devashish: The most crucial factor was that my father is a huge cricket fan. Another thing he was the euphoria in my
neighbourhood regarding the Cricket World Cup which drew my attention to the game.
Q3. Why this sports and also something about other sports you got into?
Devashish: Cricket was a natural choice as I said because of my father. Another aspect that drew me towards the game was the
unpredictability of the result across all formats of the game.
Q4. Why do you call yourself a fan?
Devashish: I follow all the cricket matches of India irrespective of the format. Always try to involve in meaningful discussions about
the game with fellow fans
Interview 3 – Key Findings
Initiation
Cricket World Cup
2003 had created a
Age great frenzy in the Influencing factors
neighbourhood
Started watching cricket Father was a huge cricket
at the age of 10. fan and thus the
inclination towards the
game.
Affective Cognitive
Always look forward to Try to read a lot about
key clashes like Ashes, the game, listen to lot of
India-Australia, India- Behavioral analysis done by the
England series. experts.
Spend a good
amount of time
watching cricket
irrespective of
teams and format.
Interview 4 - Profile
Shashwat Yadav
Age – 23
Lucknow
Engineering Student
Plays Football
Favourite Teams/Players
Indian Cricket Team
Arsenal
Rafael Nadal
Lewis Hamilton
Interview 4 – Response Summary
Q1. When did you become a sports fan and which sports it was?
Shashwat: I became a football fan when I was 14 years old. It all started during the FIFA WC 2010 which Spain won. I started
supporting Arsenal after that World Cup.
Q2. How did you become a sports fan?
Shashwat: My brother had a great influence in that aspect. He was a massive football fan and it payed a important role in me
developing interest in the game.
Q3. Why this sport and also something about other sports you got into?
Shashwat: Football is a great sport to follow. You can't keep your eyes away for a single minute. Whole match is in pure motion.
Every second something interesting happens like a great pass or a nasty foul all can happen moment. So it's great to follow such
sport. I like Lawn Tennis very much. It's a good mix of skill, athleticism and strategy.
Q4. Why do you call yourself a fan?
Shashwat: Its been 8 years since I'm supporting Arsenal and this has been the hardest year in the club's history and for once I don't
feel disconnected to this club. It's the loyalty trowards a club during their hardest times make you a fan.
Interview 4 – Key Findings
Initiation
FIFA World Cup
2010 was of great
Age interest. Influencing factors
Got into watching Elder brother was a big
football at the age of 14 influence in terms of
inclination towards
football
Affective Cognitive
Emotionally involved with There were times when
the performance of my he had random
team Behavioral discussions with random
people and made good
Buys a lot of
friends just because the
merchandise of
were the follower of
the club that I
same team.
supports
Interview 5 - Profile
Utkarsh Lohiya
Age – 27
Bengaluru
Product Analyst
Plays Cricket, Basketball
Football, Badminton
Favourite Teams/Players
Indian Cricket Team
Liverpool
Derrick Rose, Steph Curry
Interview 5 - Response Summary
Q1. When did you become a sports fan and which sports it was?
Utkarsh: I am a cricket fan from as early as I can remember anything.
Q2. How did you become a sports fan?
Utkarsh: My whole was very passionate about cricket. There wasn’t a single which my family missed watching. This was the most
crucial reason for my inclination into the game.
Q3. Why this sport and also something about other sports you got into?
Utkarsh: I was highly into cricket due to my family inclination towards cricket. My father is a Basketball coach so I also played it but the
interest was more into cricket due to famous players like Sachin, Dravid and live match telecast which wasn’t the case with basketball.
Q4. Why do you call yourself a fan?
Utkarsh: I am very emotionally attached to the game and it’s affects me when my team loses or wins.
Interview 5 – Key Findings
Initiation
Joint family set-up
which was crazy
Age about cricket Influencing factors
Was into cricket from the Family especially father
age of 6 years old who was a sportsman
himself
Affective Cognitive
Emotionally involved with Have spent a good
the performance of my amount of time playing
team Behavioral cricket, developed a great
sense of understanding of
Passionately
the game which makes it
supports his
more enjoyable to follow
favourite teams
cricket
and players.
Overall Summary
Initiation
A big part of introduction
is mega-sports events like
Age FIFA World Cup, Cricket Influencing factors
World Cup
Most people get into In most cases family plays an
sports in the age group of important usually father or
8-14. Most get exposed to elder brother. This also develop
cricket at a younger age a inclination towards choice of
s compared to other sport.
sports like football
Affective Cognitive
Sense of pride, emotional Increased ability to process and
attachment to supporting analyse information. More
players. Feeling of Behavioral involvement in understanding
excitement. nuances of things one finds
Improved social
interaction with friends, interesting.
more active participation
in sports.
Recommendations
Family
Most of the sports fan have their first taste of sports between the age of 8 to 14 years. An important
aspect of this is the influence of family members especially father and elder siblings. Marketing the
benefits of sports in terms of physical fitness and discipline to parents will allow them to push parents to
actively participate in sports and get them to start following sports.
School
The target group of 8 to 14 years old is present in Schools which provide a great opportunity for targeted
messaging. Developing active Inter-School Sports Competition in this age group can play an important role
in developing an inclination towards Sports. Campaigns like “Marks for Sports” run by NDTV be pursued at
a more national level to encourage participation in Sports.
Society
Lack of open playing spaces has been a major constraint. Providing infrastructure to kids to play sports
can paly a crucial role in getting them out of their homes.
Recommendations (Contd.)
Sporting Brand Names
A number of kids are attracted towards sports due to stars athlete. A major emphasis should be put on
developing stars, mainly in non-Cricket sports to broaden the base. A huge of chunk of Indian fan base of
leagues EPL, NBA has been developed due to this.
Technology & Digitisation
Technology and Digitisation can be leveraged to a great extent to promote sports among kids and young
adults. Mobile Application Games can be developed to attract kids to experience sports digitally.
Active Engagement
Developing concepts like “Gully Cricket”, “5v5 Futsal” competitions across Tier-II towns can give major
boost to involve kids and young adults more actively into sport by experiencing it first hand.
