San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo 2013

Economic Impact Study

May 2013

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FOREWORD.

This research project is the outcome of a joint collaboration between the San Antonio Stock

Show & Rodeo and Trinity University. The research work was conducted and developed as part

of a Marketing & Business Research course during the spring semester of 2013. The research

tasks, efforts and teams were coordinated by Dr. Mario Gonzalez-Fuentes, Assistant Professor

of Marketing at the Department of Business Administration, Trinity University.

A total of 39 students participated in every stage of the project, from the design of the

questionnaire and the data collection efforts to the analysis and reporting of results. Their

names (in alphabetical order) are:

Megan Alexander Glenn Etienne Lauren Lewellyn Idarela Alvarez-Sierra Raza Faizi Linda Madden

Garrett Biel Robert Flannery Alessandra Madrid Tyler Block Sarah Gammon Megan McDonnell

Jacqueline Bruce Rachel Hahn Sofia Millan Krista Campolo Danielle Haub Nicole Powers Sean Cantarella Brian Hines Alana Ramos

Patrick Clendenning Amanda Hinh Valerie Rutan Maria Fernanda Coronel W. Trevor Holt Juan Manuel Saidi

Emily Covell Allison Huseman Amy Spence Richard Dolezalek Madison Kahler Brianna Tammaro Bradley Drenon Joseph Kozak Joel Van Essen

John Edel Shane Lannan Elizabeth Watson

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page # I. METHODOLOGY 4 II. REPORT HIGHLIGHTS 6 III. ECONOMIC IMPACT SAN ANTONIO STOCK SHOW & RODEO 2013 8

3.1 Economic Impact of Patrons 9 3.2 Economic Impact of Exhibitors 10 3.3 Total Economic Impact: Patrons + Exhibitors 13

IV. INTERNET PROFILING: USER’S EXPERIENCE WITH SASSR ONLINE MARKETING RESOURCES

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4.1 Patrons’ profile of interactivity with SASSR’s online resources by age

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4.2 Evaluation of SASSR’s website and social media 16 4.3 Drivers of connectivity with SASSR online and their influence on money spent in event-related activities.

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A N N E X 26

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I. METHODOLOGY.

The main objective of this study was to calculate the economic impact generated by the San

Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo (SASSR) on the San Antonio area (SA). For this purpose, we have

defined the potential economic impact of the event as the expected increase in general sales

attributed to expenditure generated by participants in activities outside the Rodeo but within

the San Antonio area1. Three main types of participants were identified: patrons, volunteers

and exhibitors. Within the latter category (exhibitors) an additional classification was used to

distinguish among Commercial2, Horseshow and Livestock exhibitors.

The research tool used for this project was the in-person intercept interview. For this, two types

of questionnaires were designed, one for patrons and one for exhibitors3. The design of these

questionnaires focused in delivering a structured research tool that would not significantly tax

the respondent’s memory so that a high level of accuracy of answers could be ensured. The

intercept questionnaire is appended to this report (see Annex).

The first set of questions in each type of questionnaire was intended to classify participants

either as residents from the SA area or from out of town. In addition to questions pertaining to

a participant’s expenditures, other areas were addressed in these questionnaires so that a

more detailed profile of participants could be extracted from the analysis. In particular, we

were interested in assessing the effectiveness of the online marketing strategy used by the

SASSR and to get an Internet-use profile from patrons.

A total of 610 patrons, 50 volunteers and 390 exhibitors were surveyed, bringing the total

number of useful observations for this study to 1,050. The margin of error attributable to this

sample size is ±5%, providing us with a confidence level of 95% for our estimates. The

interviews were administered to both types of participants during 10 days, from February 15 –

24, successfully covering more than fifty per cent of the total length of the event. The data

collection was performed at different times of the day, covering effectively morning and

evening hours. In terms of location, interviewers were distributed so that every one of the 6

main zones of the Rodeo grounds was appropriately covered: Livestock area, Horseshow area,

AT&T Center and Courtyard, Food Court, Wildlife Expo and Family Fair4.

Survey’s answers were keypunched into a database for their analysis. The statistical package

used for this purpose was SPSS. This software allows the researcher to easily screen out

1 This area includes the counties of Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kendall, Medina and Wilson.

2 Includes Wildlife exhibitors.

3 For volunteers, the exhibitor’s version of the questionnaire was used.

4 This included the Texas Star Marketplace at Freeman Coliseum.

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observations based on different characteristics (gender, from SA vs. out-of-town, etc.) so as to

provide a more precise picture of the event’s participants.

The following analysis is structured in two parts. The first focuses on the estimation of the

economic impact of the SASSR on the San Antonio Area. This estimation is presented separately

for both types of participants (patrons and exhibitors) as well as grouped together. The second

section explores the Internet profile of patrons, paying special attention to the assessment of

the online marketing resources and strategy used by the SASSR from the point of view of users.

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II. REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

HIGLIGHTS FOR THE ESTIMATION OF ECONOMIC IMPACT

The economic impact of patrons is estimated to be $78,190,604.

The economic impact of SASSR’s exhibitors of $76,877,763.

The total economic impact estimated for the SASSR 2013 on the San Antonio area

comes to a total of $155,068,367.

Livestock exhibitors alone account for more than 40% (40.47%) of this impact.

Patrons are responsible for more than half (50.42%) of the total economic impact.

Participants (patrons and exhibitors) from outside the SA area contribute with almost

three quarters (73.01%) of this impact.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE PATRON’S INTERNET PROFILE

Three out of every four (75%) patrons with ages 26-35 have visited the SASSR’s website

during the last 6 months, the largest connection rate of all age groups.

Patrons with ages 18-25 show an indistinctive preference for PC/laptops (77.8%) and

smartphones (72.8%).

The tablet is more popular among those patrons 36-45 years old (35.4%) than among

the youngest (11.9%).

The highest penetration rate for SASSR’s social media occurs among patrons with ages

18-35. As patrons’ age increases, their participation and engagement with SASSR’s social

media efforts decrease.

Women display more positive attitudes towards how useful and easy-to-use the SASSR’s

website and social media platforms are. Men’s lower attitude scores may be improved

by promoting interactions or sharing information that will appeal or cater more to this

group.

San Antonio’s residents seem to evaluate the event’s online resources more positively

than non-residents. Lower scores displayed by non-residents may reflect beliefs that the

information on the website and social media caters more to a resident audience.

SASSR’s social media platforms are doing a better job at attracting people to attend the

event than what the website does. Yet, scores for this feature are relatively low.

The SASSR’s newsletter is being more effective than the website in engaging people

through social networks, in fact and more precisely, twice as effective.

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Social media channels are more effective in generating traffic to the SASSR’s website

than to its newsletter.

The average spending per person in event-related amenities is almost 40% (38.22%)

higher for users of SASSR’s website ($74.18) than for non-users ($53.67).

Those patrons who are website users spent on average $78.76 per person in concert

tickets, a figure 162% greater than the one displayed by non-users ($30).

Those patrons who are connected to the SASSR through social media spend on average

20.34% ($70.51) more on event-related amenities per person than those not connected

($58.59).

Patrons who are connected to the SASSR through its social media channels spent slightly

more than $70 in concert tickets per person. This figure is almost 80% (76.32%) higher

than the one exhibited by those who are not connected, $39.73.

Young patrons lag behind older ones in their party size while mature patrons show

lower connectivity rates and spending per person inside the event.

More mature audiences need to be encouraged to connect with the event via online

platforms and once there, different promotions to increase their spending per person

could be offered.

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III. ECONOMIC IMPACT SAN ANTONIO STOCK SHOW & RODEO 2013.

The designed questionnaires considered two major categories of expenditures:

Expenditures outside the event, within SA

o Lodging (only for out-of-town participants)

o Food/Beverages

o Transportation (gas, parking, taxi, etc. EXCLUDING AIRFARE)

o Shopping

o Entertainment (museums, nightlife, etc.)

o Miscellaneous

Event-related expenditures

o Concessions

o Merchandise

o Rodeo tickets

o Other

In order to determine the economic impact of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo in the San

Antonio area (SA), the first category of expenditures was used (outside the event, within SA).

Each respondent, regardless of whether they were from out-of-town or residents from SA, were

asked if they would have spent the amount of money declared under this category if the Rodeo

had not taken place at this time of year. Their answers to this question allowed us to screen out

those expenditures that were not originated by the SASSR per se. Thus, this type of

expenditures represents the amount of dollars people spend within the SA area as a result of

attending the Rodeo.

To calculate the average amount of dollars spent per visitor, every respondent was asked to

identify the number of people he/she was responsible to pay for. In this way, we could identify

the expected amount of dollars spent per visitor in activities outside the Rodeo and within the

SA area. This figure was then used, along with the final count of visits received by the SASSR, to

calculate the expected increase in aggregate regional sales attributed to the event.

According to the numbers provided by the SASSR organization, a total of 1,665,747 patron visits

were received during February 7 – February 24, 2013. In terms of exhibitors and volunteers, the

figures are5:

5 These numbers referred to the total number of exhibitors registered in each category. Each registered exhibitor

may be accompanied by other people (team members, relatives, etc.) that are not counted in these figures. See section 3.2 for a more detailed discussion of these figures.

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650 booths for Commercial and Wildlife

5,977 Horseshow contestants

17,287 Livestock exhibitors

5,379 volunteers

3.1 Economic Impact of Patrons.

Our survey’s results show that 69.1% of patron’s visits were made by residents of the SA area,

while the rest, 30.9%6, from out-of-town visitors. Given the thorough and random selection of

subjects during the time period of data collection (see Methodology) these percentages show

the likelihood of randomly selecting a resident from SA and an out-of-town visitor, respectively.

In other words, there was a 69.1% chance that a visitor selected at random any day at the

SASSR was identified as a resident from the SA area and, conversely, a 30.9% chance to be from

out-of-town.

Applying these percentages to the total number of visits (1,665,747) suggests that the number

of visits received by the SASSR 2013 originated by residents from the SA area was

approximately 1,151,031 and 514,716 from out of the SA area.

Furthermore, 51.8% of patrons from the SA area stated that they would not have spent the

amount of money declared in activities outside the event had they not attended the SASSR. This

represents a total of 596,337 visits. The corresponding percentage for out-of-town patrons is

65.8% or 338,147 visits.

6 All percentages presented in this report are statistically significant at the 95% and 99% significance level.

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Once we have screened out those patrons who would have spent the money declared in any

case, the average expenditure per visitor on activities outside the SASSR but within the SA area

can be estimated for both types of patrons. Each visitor from the SA area spends an average of

$56.49. For out-of-town visits this figure is significantly greater: $131.61. Multiplying these

average expenditures by the number of visitors determined in the previous step yields an

estimate for the economic impact of patrons of $78,190,604.

3.2 Economic Impact of Exhibitors.

The results for exhibitors and volunteers show the following distribution for out-of-town vs.

residents from SA area participants:

Commercial and Wildlife: 42.4% residents of SA area; 57.6% from out of town.

Horseshow: 35.8% residents of SA area; 64.2% from out of town.

Livestock: 19.8% residents of SA area; 80.2% from out of town.

Volunteers: 65.4% residents of SA area; 34.6% from out of town.

When asked about their intentions to spend the money declared had the event not taken place,

the response among exhibitors from out of town was more unanimous than for those from the

SA area. An overwhelming majority of out-of-town exhibitors declared they would have not

spent the money declared if they had not attended the SASSR. More concretely:

Commercial and Wildlife: 89.5% (out-of-town); 57.1% (residents of SA area).

Horseshow: 85.3% (out-of-town); 57.9% (residents of SA area).

Livestock: 86.0% (out-of-town); 75.9% (residents of SA area).

Volunteers: 94.7% (out-of-town); 92.3% (residents of SA area).

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Using these sets of percentages, along with the total number of volunteers and registered

exhibitors reported by the SASSR, allows us to compute the base totals for the economic

impact’s estimation.

The nature of the information reported by the SASSR organization about the total number of

volunteers and exhibitors/contestants participating in 2013 is different to the one reported for

patrons. In particular for patrons, the number of visits (1,665,747) already account for different

party sizes as well as multiple day-visits to the Rodeo grounds. In that case, there was no need

to adjust the estimation of patron’s economic impact by those factors.

In contrast, as it was briefly noted earlier, the number of exhibitors reported by the

organization takes into account only the registered exhibitors/contestants in each category. A

registered exhibitor/contestant is the person whose name was used to register the animal,

booth or team, etc. These exhibitors could be participating by themselves or, alternatively, be

accompanied by other people (team members, relatives, etc.). For this reason, the exhibitor’s

questionnaire asked the respondent to define their immediate travel party.

In addition, since the length of an exhibitor’s participation in the SASSR depends on the nature

of their exhibition, we inquired respondents about the length of time they were planning to

exhibit and stay in the SA area.

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Thus, to calculate the economic impact of volunteers and exhibitors/contestants to the SA area

we need to apply the following formula:

Economic Impact of Exhibitors or Volunteers

=

# of volunteers or registered exhibitors

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x

Average daily expenditure per person on activities outside the Rodeo

x

Average # of people accompanying the volunteer or registered exhibitor

x

Average # of days volunteering or exhibiting at the Rodeo

Having screened out those exhibitors that would have spent the money declared on activities

outside the SASSR had the event not taken place, the estimates for each element of the above

equation yields an economic impact of SASSR’s volunteers and exhibitors of $76,877,763.

7 More concretely, registered exhibitors who stated they would not have spent the money declared on activities

outside the event had the SASSR not taken place.

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3.3 Total Economic Impact: Patrons + Exhibitors.

The total economic impact estimated for the SASSR 2012 on the San Antonio area comes to a

total of $155,068,367. In terms of the type of participation, half of the economic impact comes

from Patrons. This type of participants is responsible for 50.42% of the expected increase in

regional sales attributed to the SASSR 2013. Exhibitors are responsible for 47.29% of the SASSR

2013’s economic impact. Within this category, Livestock exhibitors stand out as the ones

showing the highest importance of the three categories considered. This category of exhibitors

is responsible for 85.58% of the economic impact attributed to SASSR Exhibitors/Contestants.

Furthermore, and from a more general perspective, Livestock exhibitors alone account for a

little bit more than 40% (40.47%) of the expected increase in regional sales attributed to the

event.

Participants from outside the SA area contribute with more than 70% (73.01%) of this impact.

In other words, approximately $3 out of every $4 of expected increase in regional sales could

be attributed to the expenditure of visitors from outside the region. In contrast, participants

who are residents of the SA area contribute with approximately $1 out of every $4 or 26.99% of

the economic impact.

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IV. PATRON’S INTERNET PROFILE AND EXPERIENCE WITH SASSR ONLINE MARKETING

RESOURCES.

4.1 Patrons’ profile of interactivity with SASSR’s online resources by age.

Summary of most important Internet profiling features

Age group

18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 Over 65

General Participation in Social Networks

Facebook 91.2% 84.3% 78.9% 74.1% 60.3% 50.0%

Twitter 53.5% 30.6% 22.9% 12.1% 13.2% 5.0%

Google Plus+ 21.9% 21.3% 10.8% 12.1% 11.8% 5.0%

MySpace 14.0% 5.6% 4.2% 1.7% 4.4% 0.0%

YouTube 51.8% 38.0% 29.5% 18.1% 17.6% 5.0%

Yelp 7.9% 10.2% 4.2% 1.7% 1.5% 0.0%

GroupOn 23.7% 32.4% 18.7% 9.5% 11.8% 0.0%

Living Social 20.2% 16.7% 12.7% 8.6% 2.9% 0.0%

Instagram 49.1% 26.9% 17.5% 4.3% 5.9% 0.0%

Visits to SASSR online resources (last 6 months)

Website (sarodeo.com) 61.4% 75.0% 65.7% 67.2% 64.7% 35.0%

Facebook 28.1% 24.1% 24.7% 18.1% 14.7% 10.0%

Twitter 7.9% 3.7% 2.4% 0.9% 2.9% 0.0%

YouTube 1.8% 0.0% 2.4% 2.6% 4.4% 0.0%

Pinterest 0.9% 0.0% 0.6% 4.3% 0.0% 0.0%

Instagram 4.4% 0.9% 3.6% 1.7% 2.9% 0.0%

Newsletter 2.6% 1.9% 5.4% 6.9% 7.4% 0.0%

GroupOn Deals 3.5% 0.9% 1.8% 0.0% 4.4% 0.0%

Currently connected with SASSR through Social Media 22.8% 23.1% 19.9% 17.2% 11.8% 0.0%

Facebook 19.3% 21.3% 19.3% 16.4% 11.8% 0.0%

Twitter 4.4% 2.8% 1.2% 0.9% 2.9% 0.0%

YouTube 0.0% 0.0% 0.6% 0.9% 1.5% 0.0%

Pinterest 0.0% 0.0% 0.6% 3.4% 0.0% 0.0%

Instagram 1.8% 0.9% 0.0% 0.9% 0.0% 0.0%

Types of devices used

PC/Laptop 77.8% 82.1% 82.2% 88.9% 88.4% 87.5%

Smartphone 72.8% 73.8% 69.5% 51.9% 53.5% 37.5%

Tablet 11.9% 22.9% 35.8% 20.2% 7.3% 1.8%

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Four different features of patrons’ internet profile are depicted in the table above: general

participation in social networks, contact with SASSR’s online resources in the last 6 months,

penetration of SASSR’s social media outlets and types of devices used to connect with the

SASSR online.

Younger crowds tend to be more connected or in contact with SASSR’s online resources than

more mature ones. For example, three out of every four (75%) patrons with ages 26-35 have

visited the SASSR’s website during the last 6 months. Almost 3 out of 10 (28.1%) of those

patrons aged 18-25 have visited the event’s Facebook page compared with only 14.7% of those

in the 56-65 age bracket, or 10% of those over 65 years old. Among the rest of online resources,

the Newsletter shows a significantly low contact rate among young patrons (1.9-2.6%), with

older crowds showing to be 2 and 3 times (5.4-7.4%) more prone to use the Newsletter as a

source of information.

In terms of the devices used to access these online resources, distinct and insightful profiles

emerge for both young and mature. Patrons with ages 18-25 show an indistinctive preference

for PC/laptops (77.8%) and smartphones (72.8%). They seem to use both types of devices

interchangeably. The usage gap between these two devices widens as age increases, being

more popular the PC or laptop than the more ubiquitous smartphone. For instance, while

almost 9 out of 10 patrons over 65 years old had used a PC/laptop to look for information

about the SASSR online, only less than 40% (37.5%) use a smartphone. Conversely, the

difference in the penetration of these two devices among those aged 26-35 is considerably

lower: 82.1% for PC/laptop and 73.8% for smartphones. Surprisingly, the use of the latest

technology is not always a thing of the young, at least in terms of patrons’ usage of tablets.

This device is more popular among those patrons 36-45 years old (35.4%) than among the

youngest (11.9%). In other words, doubling the age of a patron (36-45 vs. 18-25) increases the

likelihood to use tablets to connect with the SASSR by 3.

The highest penetration rate for SASSR’s social media occurs among patrons with ages 18-35,

with a little less than a quarter of them (22.8-23.1%) following the event through social

networks. As patrons’ age increases, their participation and engagement with SASSR’s social

media efforts decrease. By type of outlet, the highest penetration corresponds to Facebook

with a rate closely matching the overall penetration of SASSR’s social media resources for all

age brackets. The rest of outlets (Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest) show very low

penetration rates when compared to the one for Facebook or even the overall result.

However when these penetration rates are analyzed along with patrons’ general participation

in social networks (top box of the table above), the potential for increasing patrons’

engagement with the SASSR becomes clearer. When asked about whether they have a profile

or account in the most popular social networks, between 79% and 91% of patrons aged 18-45

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stated being Facebook’s members. The corresponding participation ranges for Twitter, YouTube

and Instagram among those 18-45 are 23-54%, 30-52% and 18-49%, respectively. The distance

between the penetration rates exhibited by patrons in the SASSR’s social media resources and

these social networks’ participation rates show significant room for expansion. As the graph

below shows, patrons aged 18-45 represent 64% of the SASSR’s audience. Thus, a strategy

oriented to increase the engagement of this segment of patrons through social media tools will

very likely produce fruitful returns in terms of the growth expected in penetration rates.

SASSR’s audience distribution by age group

4.2 Evaluation of SASSR’s website and social media

Our survey included a set of questions aimed at measuring the attitudes that patrons had with

respect to the information found on the SASSR’s website and social media resources. The

approach used for this purpose is the Multi-attribute Model (MAM). This approach understands

that behavior is a function of intention, which in turn, is considered a function of attitudes.

Attitudes are considered a function of a person’s beliefs about some attribute. These beliefs

are, in turn, weighted by a person’s evaluations of how important he/she considers those

attributes to be. For this research we were interested in measuring the attitude of patrons

towards the information found on both the SASSR’s website and social media outlets. In this

sense, the more positive a patron’s attitude is about this information, the more likely he/she

would be to use these resources in the future.

18.8% 17.8%

27.4%

19.3%

12.5%

4.1%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 Over 65

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For this purpose, the survey included a series of statements (Questions 18 and 19) aimed at

assessing a patron’s beliefs about the information found on the website and social media

platforms with regards to various attributes. These attributes are classified in 3 categories:

Ease-of-Use, Usefulness, and while only for social media outlets, Interactivity/Sharing. The

respondent task was to evaluate using a 5-point Likert Scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Neither

Agree nor Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree) a series of statements related to these 3

attributes.

For the first attribute (Usefulness) the following two statements were used:

The information found on [the SASSR website/SASSR’s social media] is pretty much what

I needed to carry out my tasks

The information found on [the SASSR website/SASSR’s social media] is accurate

For the second attribute (Ease-of-Use) the following two statements were used:

The information found on [the SASSR website/SASSR’s social media] is presented clearly

The information found on the [the SASSR website/SASSR’s social media] is easy to

understand

For the third attribute (Interactivity/Sharing) the following statement was used:

The SASSR’s social media allows me to share information with other people with similar

needs than mine

In addition, respondents were prompted to use a simple rating scale to evaluate how important

(or unimportant) they consider each one of these characteristics to be (Question 14). The scale

used was 1 through 5, where 1 meant “Not at all important” and 5 meant “Very important”.

The statements that respondents were asked to rate were the following:

Usefulness Finding the Information I need to carry out my tasks (on the Internet) is… Finding Information (on the Internet) that is accurate is…

Ease-of-use

Finding clearly presented information (on the Internet) is… Finding easy-to-understand Information (on the Internet) is…

Interaction Sharing information (on the Internet) with other people with similar needs than mine is…

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Attitudes were then calculated by multiplying each belief by its evaluation and transforming

those scores into an index (0-10), ranging from negative attitudes to positive ones. Average

results for the attitude score index are presented in the table below. These results are broken

down by gender, age group and whether or not they are residents of San Antonio.

Patrons’ attitude towards SASSR’s website and social media platforms

Website Social Media Info. Influence in

Attending SASSR 2013

Usefulness Ease-of-Use Usefulness Ease-of-Use Sharing Website Social Media

Gender

Male 8.12 7.72 7.83 7.83 5.98 2.84 3.13

Female 8.26 7.95 8.4 8.76 7.12 3.25 3.76

Residency

San Antonio Area 8.36 7.97 8.26 8.54 6.72 3.33 3.51

Outside SA 7.84 7.61 7.85 7.88 6.43 2.54 3.46

Age

18-25 8.11 7.54 8.01 7.99 6.88 3.26 3.54

26-35 8.62 8.12 8.63 8.99 6.89 3 3.31

36-45 8.33 8.03 8.1 8.28 6.97 3.01 3.53

46-55 7.77 7.95 8.27 8.78 6.67 3.19 3.62

56-65 7.77 7.26 7.29 7.24 4.96 2.84 3.56

Over 65 9.14 7.74 NA NA NA 2.71 NA

In terms of gender differences, women display more positive attitudes towards how useful

and easy-to-use the SASSR’s website and social media platforms are. This difference is

especially prominent in the evaluation of the latter. In particular, the gap between men and

women widens when assessing the SASSR’s social media’s interactivity/sharing capabilities.

Women’s attitude score (7.12) for this feature is about 20% higher than men’s (5.98). The

second largest difference between genders is found in Ease-of-Use. Women’s attitude score

(8.76) for SASSR’s social media regarding this issue is 12% higher than the one for men (7.83).

The average scores obtained for the website’s information also display the same direction in

gender differences, although more moderate in size.

San Antonio’s residents seem to evaluate the event’s online resources more positively than

non-residents. Their attitude scores are 4.5%-8.4% higher than those of visitors. Since the

statements used in the survey aimed at evaluating information found online, these results may

be pointing out to specific areas of improvement for SASSR’s online communications. For

instance, compared to women, men do not think highly about the interactivity/sharing

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capabilities of SASSR’s social media. This means that the way SASSR promotes the sharing of

information among its social media’s followers is less appealing to men as it is to women. Since

in terms of capabilities, both men and women face the same conditions, this could be due to

the nature of the information being shared. Men’s lower attitude scores may be improved by

promoting interactions or sharing information that will appeal or cater more to this group.

Compared to residents, the lower scores displayed by non-residents may reflect beliefs that the

information on the website and social media caters more to a resident audience. According to

the results, non-residents find this information less useful and easy-to-use than residents.

Perhaps if information related to lodging or other amenities in town that could enrich a visit to

San Antonio is shared, non-resident’s evaluations regarding this issue could significantly

improve.

Finally, in terms of age, younger audiences show better attitude scores than more mature ones

for both the website and social media. Again, the attitude scores for Interactivity/Sharing are

significantly lower than for the rest of categories (Ease-of-Use and Usefulness), although the

gaps are not as pronounced as the ones for gender and residency status.

The last two columns in the table above display the scores for two statements intended to

assess the extent to which the information found on the website and social media has

influenced attendance to the event (Questions 18 and 19, statements E and F, respectively):

The information found on [the SASSR website/SASSR’s social media] has influenced my

decision to attend the event this year

Differences in terms of gender, residency status and age group are observed in the same

direction as for the evaluation of Usefulness, Ease-of-Use and Interactivity/Sharing. Women,

residents of SA and young audiences seemed to think the information found online have

influenced their decision to attend the event more than men, non-residents and mature

audiences. These gaps are slightly more pronounced for the information found on the website

than for the one on social media. In fact, social media resources show slightly but significantly

higher scores than the website in the influence these have in the decision to attend the event.

It can be inferred from this evidence that SASSR’s social media platforms are doing a better

job at attracting people to attend the event than what the website does. Yet, scores for this

feature are relatively low when we note all of them display a value less than 4, in a scale where

the maximum value is a 5.

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4.3 Drivers of connectivity with SASSR online and their influence on money spent in event-

related activities.

Questions 15 and 16 asked patrons about their contact with the SASSR online and their

engagement with the event through social media. In particular, question 15 asked patrons to

identify the SASSR’s online resources they have used in the last 6 months. This list included the

website (srodeo.com), multiple social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) as well as the

SASSR’s Newsletter and GroupOn deals. On the other hand, question 16 asked patrons to

identify those social networks they were currently using to follow the event. The list of

alternatives included all social media channels where the SASSR has a presence: Facebook,

Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.

The analysis of the way these two questions are interrelated bears fruitful insights regarding

how effectively the SASSR is using its online resources. On the one hand, the cross comparison

of these two features allows us to assess the extent to which the SASSR is using, for example, its

website, to create engagement in social media. On the other hand, we can also use this

information to infer how effectively social media resources are being used to generate traffic to

other online resources, such as a website or a newsletter.

The tables below show, from two very different perspectives, the relation between being

currently connected with the SASSR through social media and being a user of its website or

newsletter. The first uses the total number of patrons that are users of its website (or its

newsletter) as a base to calculate the probability that a patron is currently connected through

social media. In other words it calculates how likely a patron is to be connected through social

media with the SASSR given that he/she is a website or newsletter user. The second table uses

the total number of people currently connected through social media to calculate the

probability that a patron is a website (or newsletter) user. That is, it gauges how likely is a

patron to be a website or newsletter user given that he/she is currently connected with the

SASSR through social media. The difference may be subtle but it uncovers very interesting

insights. In sum, the first table measures how effective the website and newsletter are in

engaging patrons through social media while the second assesses social media effectiveness in

driving patrons to the website and newsletter.

Only less than one quarter (23.7%) of those patrons who have used the website in the last 6

months are currently connected with the SASSR through social media. In contrast, a little bit

more than half (51.9%) of those patrons who have received the newsletter in the last 6 months

are currently connected through social media. This shows that the newsletter is being more

effective than the website in engaging people through social networks, in fact and more

precisely, twice as effective. More promotion of social media channels, as well as their

21

amenities, through the SASSR’s website could potentially bear fruitful results in increasing

patron’s engagement with social media.

How effective are the website and newsletter in engaging patrons on social media?

Contact with website (sarodeo.com), last 6 mo. Contact with Newsletter, last 6 mo.

Yes No Yes No

Currently CONNECTED with

SASSR through Social Media

Yes 23.7% 9.9% 51.9% 17.3%

No 76.3% 90.1% 48.1% 82.7%

In contrast, the second table shows how social media channels are more effective in

generating traffic to the SASSR’s website than to its newsletter. While more than 80% of

patrons (82.1%) that are currently connected to SASSR’s social media have used its website in

the last 6 months, only 1 out of every 8 (12.5%) have opted-in to receive the newsletter.

How effective is social media in generating traffic to the website and newsletter?

Contact with website (sarodeo.com), last 6 mo. Contact with Newsletter, last 6 mo.

Yes No Yes No

Currently CONNECTED with

SASSR through Social Media

Yes 82.1% 17.9% 12.5% 87.5%

No 61.9% 38.1% 2.7% 97.3%

More promotion of the advantages of receiving the newsletter through social media channels

may prove successful in generating traffic to this form of online resource. The key is to make

sure that both channels, newsletter and social media, are perceived to have their own

individual advantages and do not substitute each other. Failing to differentiate between the

two channels creates confusion among the audience and fosters the marginalization of one of

them.

Crossing information regarding patrons’ spending patterns and their Internet profiles provide

another way to measure the effectiveness of online resources. In particular, the two bar graphs

below attempt to evaluate how effective the SASSR’s website and its social media are in

generating sales in event-related activities.

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Our survey defined all the money spent by patrons in concessions, merchandise and concert

tickets as event-related spending. When the money spent per person in all event-related

activities is compared for those who are website users and those who are not, a significant

difference is revealed. As is shown in the first graph, the average expenditure per person in

event-related amenities is almost 40% (38.22%) higher for users of SASSR’s website ($74.18)

than for non-users ($53.67).

The data allowed us to compare average spending in each category for both website users and

non-users. Only one out of the three categories, concert tickets, displayed a significant and

sizable difference between these two groups of patrons. The table below shows that those

patrons who are website users spent on average $78.76 per person in concert tickets, a figure

162% greater than the one displayed by non-users ($30).

How effective is the website in generating event-related spending?

The second graph addresses the level of effectiveness of social media in generating spending in

event-related activities and concert tickets. The resulting gap in both types of spending is more

moderate than for the case of the website, but still sizable. Those patrons who are connected

to the SASSR through social media spend on average 20.34% ($70.51) more on event-related

amenities per person than those not connected ($58.59).

$78.76

$74.18

$30

$53.67

$0.00 $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $60.00 $70.00 $80.00 $90.00

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ies Did not visit sarodeo.com in the last 6 mo.

Visited sarodeo.com in the last 6 mo.

Visited sarodeo.com in the last 6 mo.

Did not visit sarodeo.com in the last 6 mo.

23

However, the greatest effectiveness of social media in generating spending is again displayed

within the category of concert tickets. Patrons who are connected to the SASSR through its

social media channels spent slightly more than $70 in concert tickets per person. This figure is

almost 80% (76.32%) higher than the one exhibited by those who are not connected, $39.73.

How effective is social media in generating event-related spending?

In sum, both the website and social media resources show a high level of effectiveness in

generating spending in event-related amenities. Its impact is more pronounced and visible in

the category of concert tickets but still sizable, and worth of our attention, for the overall

spending per person in these activities.

Lastly, we were interested in looking at how party size was correlated with being connected

with the SASSR through its social media. Our hypothesis was that groups with larger party sizes

would be more prone to do some research about the event, thus using a significant number of

sources of information, including online sources. In this sense, according to our hypothesis, we

should observe higher connection rates with website and social media the larger the party size

is.

However, the table below shows the opposite pattern, at least in the case of social media

channels. The connection rate for the website does not show the opposite pattern but rather

no particular pattern whatsoever. For social media, the percentage of people connected

$70.05

$70.51

$39.73

$58.59

$0.00 $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $60.00 $70.00 $80.00

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Not connected w/SASSR through social media

Connected w/SASSR through social media

Connected w/SASSR through social media

24

decreases as the party size increases. In other words, the smaller the party size, the higher the

likelihood of being currently connected to the SASSR through social media.

As we have shown above, a direct and positive relationship between being connected through

social media and spending in event-related activity exists. Thus, we felt compelled to further

investigate the relationship between party size and money spent inside the event. As it can be

inferred from the figures on the last column of the table below, the larger the party size, the

lower the spending per person in these amenities.

Party size and its relationship with connectivity, and money spent in event-related amenities

Party Size Contact with

sarodeo.com, last 6 mo. Connected w/SASSR through social media

$ spent per person in event-related activities

One 58.9% 25.0% $93.42

Two 69.5% 18.0% $64.52

Three 73.7% 19.7% $49.34

Four 62.7% 18.6% $48.95

Five 72.5% 15.7% $37.69

Six or more 58.9% 10.7% $37.23

Probing for an explanation to this pattern we found that the answer was in the demographics

that come along with party size, more precisely the age. That is, it is not a question of whether

party size is a contributory cause of low connection rates but rather a relationship between age

and connectivity through social media.

The table below shows the average party size for different age groups. Younger patrons tend to

attend the SASSR with small crowds while more mature ones with larger ones. In other words,

as age increases so does party size.

Average party size by age group

Age group Party Size

18-25 2.6

26-35 2.94

36-45 3.8

46-55 3.16

56-65 3.96

Over 65 3.16

25

The implications and relevance of this result for marketing strategy must be understood along

with the previously discussed findings for the link between connectivity and spending inside the

event. This set of findings may be pointing out to the design of distinct strategies for young and

mature audiences, each with a unique set of objectives.

On the one hand, we have that patrons’ connectivity with SASSR is associated with larger

spending in event-related activities, especially in the case of concert tickets. On the other hand,

we know that larger party size -a feature coupled with older patrons- is associated with low

connectivity rates and low spending in event-related amenities. Thus, this defines two distinct

marketing challenges for young and mature audiences.

Young patrons lag behind older ones in their party size while mature patrons show lower

connectivity rates and spending per person inside the event. Since young patrons already

show better connectivity rates, SASSR’s online resources could potentially be used to run

promotion campaigns to encourage them to attend the event with larger groups. An example is

group (4-6 people) discounts to encourage them to invite other couples to attend along. More

mature audiences need to be encouraged to connect with the event via online platforms and

once there, different promotions to increase their spending per person could be offered. An

example of promotional practices aimed at boosting per person spending in events is the

bundle or package offering. Separately, three items or amenities may seem like a big expense

but once they are bundled the customer’s perception changes to see it as an “all-or-nothing”

type of alternative.

26

A N N E X

27

Name of interviewer:____________________________

Interview date:_______/________/2012

Interview time:______:______ am / pm

1. Do you live in the San Antonio Area (Includes Atascosa/Bandera/Bexar/Comal/Guadalupe/Kendall/Medina/Wilson Counties)?

Yes No

2. What is your age group? 18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 More than 65

3. Respondent’s gender Male Female

VISITORS TO SAN ANTONIO AREA

4. How long will you be visiting San Antonio? Day(s)_______

5. Primary lodging while visiting San Antonio: Hotel/Motel Private home RV Park/Camp Other

6. Do you plan on visiting any other attractions in San Antonio during your visit? Check all that apply

Six Flags Fiesta Texas Sea World San Antonio San Antonio Zoo Museums (Ripley’s, Alamo, etc.)

Riverwalk Golf Other ________________________________

7. How likely is it that you would be visiting SA at this time of the year if the Rodeo weren’t taken place?

Very Likely Somewhat likely Neutral Somewhat unlikely Very Unlikely

ALL RESPONDENTS PLEASE COMPLETE

8. How many times have you/your party attended the SA Stock Show & Rodeo in past years? (0 if first-time) _______________

9. While visiting San Antonio for this event, how many people in your party will you be paying for (including yourself)? ________

10. While visiting San Antonio, how much do you plan to spend DAILY within the City of SAN ANTONIO for ALL members of your party on the following? (If expenditures are shared, please report only those which are your responsibility)

Amount Spent Daily (within SAN ANTONIO, outside of event)

Lodging [VISITORS ONLY] $

Food/Beverages(Daily spending on meals and alcohol/non-alcohol drinks outside the rodeo) $

Transportation (These expenses include gas, parking, taxi, bus fare, rental car.) $

Shopping (excluding spending inside the rodeo) $

Entertainment (Spending on museums, nightlife, etc. Exclude rodeo ticket costs) $

Misc. (tips to valets, service staff, other) $

Event-Related: (spending within the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo)

Concessions $ Concert Tickets $

Merchandise $ Other $

11. If you were not attending the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, would you have spent the amount listed above in San Antonio?

Yes No

INTERNET USE

12. How often do you use the Internet

Everyday Once every couple of days Once a week Once every couple of weeks Once a month Other

Note: If participant is a RESIDENT of the San Antonio Area, please skip to Question #8

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13. Do you participate or have a profile/account in any of the following networking sites (check all that apply).

Facebook Twitter Google Plus+ MySpace YouTube Flickr Yelp GroupOn

Living Social Instagram Other: _________________________

14. Please evaluate the following characteristics in terms of how relevant they are when surfing the Internet. Use a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 means ‘Very Important’ and 1 means ‘Not at all important’

a. Finding the information I need to carry out my tasks (on the Internet) is:______________

b. Finding information (on the Internet) that is accurate is:______________

c. Finding clearly presented information (on the Internet) is:______________

d. Finding easy-to-understand information (on the Internet) is:_____________

e. Sharing information (on the Internet) with other people with similar needs than mine is:____________

15. Which of the following online resources from the SA Stock Show and Rodeo have you visited/used in the last 6 months? (check

all that apply)

Website (www.sarodeo.com) Facebook Twitter YouTube Pinterest Instagram Newsletter

GroupOn Deals Other:_________________ None at all

16. Are you currently connected with the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo through social media? Yes No

16.1 If YES, through which outlet? (check all that apply): Facebook Twitter YouTube Pinterest Instagram

17. Which of the following devices have you used to access the online resources selected above? (check all that apply)

PC / laptop Smartphone Tablet Other:____________________

18. Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement, using the scale below, with each of the following statements: 5: Strongly Agree; 4: Agree; 3: Neither Agree nor Disagree; 2: Disagree; 1: Strongly Disagree

a. The information found on the SASSR website is pretty much what I needed to carry out my tasks ___________

b. The information found on the SASSR website is accurate ___________

c. The information found on the SASSR website is presented clearly ____________

d. The information found on the SASSR website is easy to understand ___________

e. The information found on SASSR’s website has influenced my decision to attend the event this year __________

19. Please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement, using the scale below, with each of the following statements: 5: Strongly Agree; 4: Agree; 3: Neither Agree nor Disagree; 2: Disagree; 1: Strongly Disagree

a. The information found on SASSR’s social media is pretty much what I needed to carry out my tasks ___________

b. The information found on SASSR’s social media is accurate ___________

c. The information found on SASSR’s social media is presented clearly ____________

d. The information found on SASSR’s social media is easy to understand ___________

e. The SASSR’s social media allows me to share information with other people with similar needs than mine ___________

f. The information found on SASSR’s social media has influenced my decision to attend the event this year __________

Note: If participant checks ‘None at all’ on Question #15, the survey can be concluded.

Note: If participant checked ‘Website’ on Question #15, continue with question #18.

Note: If participant checked ‘YES’ on Question #16, continue with question #19.

29

Name of interviewer:____________________________

Interview date:_______/________/2012

Interview time:______:______ am / pm

1. Type of exhibitor: Commercial (inc. Food) Horse Show Livestock Wildlife

2. Do you live in the San Antonio Area (Includes Atascosa/Bandera/Bexar/Comal/Guadalupe/Kendall/Medina/Wilson Counties)?

Yes No

3. How long will you be exhibiting at the SA Stock Show & Rodeo? Day(s)_______

VISITORS TO SAN ANTONIO AREA

4. Primary lodging while visiting San Antonio: Hotel/Motel Private home RV Park/Camp Other:__________

5. Does this visit to San Antonio replace any other past/future visit to exhibit in this area within the previous/next 12 months?

Yes No

6. Do you or anyone in your party plan on visiting any other attractions in San Antonio during your visit? Check all that apply

Six Flags Fiesta Texas Sea World San Antonio San Antonio Zoo Museums (Ripley’s, Alamo, etc.)

Riverwalk Golf Other _______________________________

7. How likely is it that you would be exhibiting in San Antonio at this time of the year if the Rodeo weren’t taken place?

Very Likely Somewhat likely Neutral Somewhat unlikely Very Unlikely

ALL RESPONDENTS PLEASE COMPLETE

8. While visiting San Antonio for this event, how many people in your party will you be paying for, including yourself? _______

9. While visiting San Antonio, how much do you plan to spend DAILY within the City of SAN ANTONIO for ALL members of your party on the following? (If expenditures are shared, please report only those which are your responsibility)

Amount Spent Daily (within SAN ANTONIO, outside of event)

Lodging (if applicable) $

Food/Beverages (Daily spending on meals and alcohol/non-alcohol drinks outside the rodeo) $

Rental Car (rate per day) $

Transportation (These expenses include gas, parking, taxi. Exclude air fare and rental car.) $

Shopping (excluding spending inside the rodeo) $

Entertainment (Spending on museums, nightlife, etc. Exclude rodeo ticket costs) $

Misc. (tips to valets, service staff, other) $

Event-Related: (spending within San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo)

Concessions $ Rodeo Tickets $

Merchandise $ Other $

10. If you were not attending the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, would you have spent the amount listed above in San Antonio?

Yes No

11. How many times have you/your party attended this event in past years? (0 if first time) _________

12. Why did you choose the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo to exhibit?

Location of the event Public attendance Level of competition Other _______________________

13. Has the SASSR influenced you to return San Antonio as an exhibitor in the future? Yes No

Note: If participant is a RESIDENT of the San Antonio Area, please skip to Question #8