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09/26/2012

Ideas For the Next 40 YearsSome key themes in our knowledge about women and sports

@EMMACNYC

Outsider perspective. Not an athlete/expert - but spend my days obsessed with 2 questions typically: how to get attention for something people tend to ignore, how to get people to care about it more. Both seem v relevant for women and sport

Monday, October 22, 12

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source: “As Title IX turns 40, legacy goes beyond numbers”, Nancy Armour, Associated Press. 2012.

the title ix effect

some amazing achievements post title ix .....


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“Were U.S. women their own nation, they would have finished ahead of every other country's total gold medal count except China and tied Great Britain.”

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source: USA Today


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source: Forbes

world’s highest paid athletes, 2011

But a very long way to go


source: Google Zeitgeist

1. Manny Pacquiao

2. Tiger Woods

3. LeBron James

4. Michael Jordan

5. Kobe Bryant

6. Tim Tebow

7. Kris Humphries

8. Aaron Rodgers

9. Derrick Rose

10. Peyton Manning

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most searched athletes, 2011


source: USC Center for Feminist Research

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los angeles sports news coverage by sex, 1999-2009

A vicious circle of less interest ! less coverage ! less investment ! less interest ! less coverage etc...


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More women

athletes

More women fans

More fans of women’s sports

The virtuous circle we’d like to see instead

My approach: some ideas/themes that might help..


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More women

athletes


More women fans

Start with female fandomwhat do we know about how we can get more women exited about sport - all sport, that played by men AND by women. ie how to spur more passionate female sports fans


The power of stories

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the theme that immediately comes to the fore..


“They might be big time athletes, but they are still women and deal with the same problems we do. We want to know how they deal with their problems and how their stories can inspire us…”

- Jean, mom, espnW qualitative research

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“We like to feel like we “know” the athletes… we like the backstory”

- Joanne, mom, espnW qualitative research

“I look for interesting stories in addition to sports. I like to know what’s going on behind the scenes in athletes’ lives…”

- Melanie, non-mom, espnW qualitative research


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•Topline stats

•Wants to know athletes as people

•Cares about “her” teams and “her” favorite players

•Cares about the “what”, “why” and “how”

in what way do women “fan” differently?

•Nitty-gritty stats

•Likes to know the athletes as numbers, fantasy, brackets

•Cares about the sport, the league, and the team

•Focused on the “what”


“Think about the story of the sport for women. Where is the reality TV show for women’s sport? Where is the ‘rise above the odds’ TV series or movie story?”

- Kate Muhl, Iconoculture

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A parallel example from a very different world...The life story of a major band or singer each week, and even if you didn’t like the musical genre of that singer/band, their story could be riveting, deeply engaging...


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Provocation of course...but doesn’t the approach have potential??


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Room in market for a sports mag/site that is specifically and exclusively about the LIFE of athletes? their background, family, training, values, hopes, daily struggles etc. Sort of mid-way point between ESPN mag and People mag?

Power to appeal to many, but esp women??


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The principle in action.... part of a great campaign with storytelling about athletes at the core


Star power

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81.5 million readers 71.6 million readers

source: US Media Pack, People Media Pack, InTouch Media Pack, OK Magazine Media Pack, Star Magazine Media Pack, National Enquirer Media Pack, TMZ.com, E Online, Gawker, PerezHilton.com

No prizes for spotting America-s - esp American women’s - seemingly insatiable appetite for content about celebs and stars. Maybe not always a palatable phenomenon - but a powerful one. Exploitable for women’s sport?


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From my childhood - the phenomenon in action. Two great athletes, roughly equally matched - beat each other an even number of times. But only one star - McEnroe of course....often annoying but always compelling, stimulated talk and attention


“Personalities matter, popularity is not just about talent. When Shaun White is competing, more people watch, they just do. Same with Lindsey Vonn.”

- Ron Semiao, founder/creator, The X-Games

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Parallel learning from the world of action/extreme sports - a sector of the sports landscape that grew exponentially in recent years.


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SymbolismSupremacy

Beauty

Charisma


Lifestyle

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one final theme in area of potentially increasing female fandom...


“It was more than just a sport, it was a lifestyle, it was culture.....There clearly was a look to it, not everyone wanted to be a pro skateboarder or snowboarder but everyone wanted to look like one. It was a badge you wore.”

- Ron Semiao, Founder/Creator, X-Games

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“This category didn’t really take hold till the late 80s/early 90s when someone called it all ‘extreme sports’. They introduced the concept that it was all about athletes and sports ‘taking it to the next level, taking it to an extreme’.... When it becomes a lifestyle, that’s when it becomes big growth.”

- Scott Bowers, Oakley

Learning from the action sports experts again....For women, sport is and can be not just something they do or something they watch - but something that represents who they are, what they believe in. ie Lifestyle branding - cultivating a brand that makes a statement about the kind of life you lead.


source: espnW

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her favorite sports activities tend to be “fitness-centric” and non-competitive !

top 10 sports currently participating in (%’s 1+2)!

31!

56%$

46%$

40%$

35%$

35%$

31%$

Gym workouts!

Running!

Yoga!

Swimming!

Hiking!

Weight lifting!

Q4: which best describes each of the following sports activities for you? !

!  Tennis ! - 21%!!  Basketball - 21%! !  Volleyball - 19%! !  Softball - 17%!

definite probable possible

75% 57% 54%

64% 52% 41%

51% 47% 35%

53% 39% 31%

47% 38% 31%

45% 31% 28%

likely0to0use0espnW

women’s sports participation

Sport as lifestyle more than competitive arena for most women....


source: espnW quantitative research, August 2010

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women’s top reasons for participating in sports

To stay healthy

To stay in shape

To relieve stress

To maintain/lose weight

Because it’s fun, even though it’s not my top priority

Love of the game

To stay centered/balanced

Because it will help me later in life

To bond with other people

85%84%

77%68%

66%66%

59%57%

81%


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A great example of a brand taking advantage of this theme: powerful lifestyle identity with no dilution of authenticity/integrity...


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More women

athletes

More women fans


Themes that may help boost interest in women’s sport - whether this is men or women becoming more interested in women’s sport....


Dads and daughters

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Fathers - and grandfathers - as a ‘soft target’ for boosting general population interest in, and support for, women’s sport..


source: Wall Street Journal, March 9 2011

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“A 2011 study found that if a CEO’s first born happened to be a daughter, the company’s wage gap between men and women lowered by nearly 3 percentage points.”

indication of the powerful the influence of paternal love and paternal involvement with their daughters can be..


source: Women’s Sports Foundation

Only 28% of girls credit their fathers with teaching them “the most” about sports (vs.46% for boys).

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A way to go...


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Indicator and optimizer of this opportunity (my daughter’s shirt - my husband is a diehard Man City soccer fan)...


“What’s new is the more co-operative approach to household tasks. There’s been a huge increase in men’s participation in child-rearing. Dads change diapers, give baths etc….It used to be that a guy could live through his son’s achievements but not his daughters, but now that’s not true, it’s daughters too.”

- Traci Croft, Iconoculture

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“In a general sense, people are living a much less gendered existence…..it begins with how households function: more than 60% of married women today are breadwinners or co-breadwinners.”


source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008

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A dramatic shift in a relatively short period of time, need to harness this trend. It’s a powerful lever to pull


The power of story-telling (redux)

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Power of story-telling as a force to change even a whole society’s attitudes and values? Relevant in a society still tending to think of sport as inherently male and ‘masculine’?...


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“TV [especially popular Indian soap operas] brought new ideas into isolated villages that tended to be very conservative and traditional….The effect was huge: ‘introducing cable television is equivalent to roughly five years of female education”

transformation of popular opinion by sitcom

Can’t recommend this book highly enough. This example about how the advent of TV in remote rural communities - via sitcoms - had power to unsettle ingrained prejudice against women’s rights to education, right to marry late/voluntarily, right to operate independent of husband/father etc


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More women

athletes

More women fans



Time Saving

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source: The American Psychological Association, 2012

Women historically have reported higher level of stress than men. On a 1 - 10 scale of little-to-no stress to a great deal of stress, women report stress at a level of 5.4 and men at 4.8.

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Busyness a constant issue for most adults today in developed world, but women esp report feeling overloaded and overwhelmed on a regular basis. There never seem to be enough hours....


source: PLoS ONE Journal, 2012 as cited by MSN

85% of women who have an equal socioeconomic position to their partner have more than half the responsibility for domestic work.

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“With so much going on in my life now, it’s sometimes hard to fit everything in. Exercise is still important to me and I have to make time. Sometimes I don’t have the luxury to enjoy it, but just need to get it done.”

- Karen, mom, espnW qualitative research

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Some businesses that have flourished as a result. To maximize further female sport participation (esp post school/college), can we also come up with ideas that make it quick and easy for women to participate?


21st Century C.S.R.

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source: Loannis Loannoy, London Business School & George Serafeim, Harvard Business School, August 2010

“Socially responsible firms receive more favorable recommendations in recent years relative to earlier ones, documenting a changing perception of the value of such strategies by the analysts.”

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source: Landor's CSR Branding Survey, 2010

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“Over two-thirds of consumers say that responsibility is important. 55% of consumers are more likely to choose a product that supports a certain cause when choosing between otherwise similar products.”


source: The Economist survey, 2006

“In a 2006 survey of executives and investors, 85% said CSR (corporate social responsibility) was a “central” or “important” consideration in investment decisions. That figure was almost double the 44% who responded similarly five years before.”

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All has potential relevance for women’s sport marketplace because of the incredible facts about the positive social impact that sports participation has for girls and young women.


source: The Women’s Sports Foundation Report, 1998. The Journal of Research on Adolescence, 1998.

Female athletes in grades 9 through 12 are less than half as likely to get pregnant as their non-athlete peers.

Female high school athletes of all races and ethnicities tend to have higher grades and significantly higher graduation rates than non-athletes.

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sports effect on girls’ success and self-esteem

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Her Emotional Contentedness is Evident in How Positively She Describes Herself

Caring 88% 92% A 94% AB

Fun 87% 90% A 93% AB

Hardworking 70% 85% A 89% AB

Funny 78% 79% 82% B

Active 44% 82% A 93% AB

Outgoing 60% 72% A 78% AB

Pretty 59% 70%A 77% AB

Confident 53% 71% A 79% AB

Competitive 45% 74% A 86% AB

Laid-back 68% B 61% 63%

Base: (501) (1001) (500)

Hardcore Athlete (C)

Athlete (B)

Non-Athlete (A)

A5. How well do the following words describe you? Letter indicates statistical significance at the 95% confidence level

! Athletes overall have a positive self-image of themselves, however, the hardcore athlete thinks even more highly of herself. They use positive, extraverted words to describe themselves.

! Most non-athletes do not see themselves as active, competitive, or confident.

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A Multi-Dimensional View of Herself: A Tough Leader and Girly Trendsetter


Athlete (B)

Non-Athlete (A)


! Hardcore athletes use the word tough to describe themselves, however, they are more likely than non-athletes to use the word girly as well.

! Non-athletes are more introverted and less ‘mainstream’. Words such as ‘quiet,’ and ‘laid back’ or ‘alternative’ and ‘rebel’ are more likely to describe a non-athlete.

Leader 48% 69% A 79% AB

An influencer 51% 59% A 67% AB

Tough 44% 53% A 63% AB

Popular 37% 55% A 66% AB

Girly 44% 49% 52% A

Intense 38% 46% A 56% AB

Trendsetter 35% 43% A 49% AB

Quiet 47% BC 34% 35%

Alternative 41% BC 33% 34%

Rebel 36% BC 29% 29%

Base: (501) (1001) (500) 31

A Multi-Dimensional View of Herself: A Tough Leader and Girly Trendsetter


Athlete (B)

Non-Athlete (A)


! Hardcore athletes use the word tough to describe themselves, however, they are more likely than non-athletes to use the word girly as well.

! Non-athletes are more introverted and less ‘mainstream’. Words such as ‘quiet,’ and ‘laid back’ or ‘alternative’ and ‘rebel’ are more likely to describe a non-athlete.

Leader 48% 69% A 79% AB

An influencer 51% 59% A 67% AB

Tough 44% 53% A 63% AB

Popular 37% 55% A 66% AB

Girly 44% 49% 52% A

Intense 38% 46% A 56% AB

Trendsetter 35% 43% A 49% AB

Quiet 47% BC 34% 35%

Alternative 41% BC 33% 34%

Rebel 36% BC 29% 29%

Base: (501) (1001) (500)

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Caring 88% 92% A 94% AB

Fun 87% 90% A 93% AB


Funny 78% 79% 82% B

Active 44% 82% A 93% AB





Laid-back 68% B 61% 63%

Base: (501) (1001) (500)


Athlete (B)

Non-Athlete (A)




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Caring 88% 92% A 94% AB

Fun 87% 90% A 93% AB


Funny 78% 79% 82% B

Active 44% 82% A 93% AB





Laid-back 68% B 61% 63%

Base: (501) (1001) (500)


Athlete (B)

Non-Athlete (A)




source: espnW

Companies spend a fortune on csr programs - and know this is more important than ever. And encouraging/enabling women’s sport has proven positive social impact. So is enough being done to channel that csr spending our way?


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Important, in doing so, to recognize the shift to a more progressive form of philanthropy: more personal, more transparent, more innovative, more creative. Perhaps useful for women’s sport organizations to pattern these newer arrivals


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More women

athletes

More women fans


One last over-arching point...


Leadership

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Most people at this event are proven, impressive leaders. And leaders united in pursuit of a change agenda. Therefore maybe important also to consider the most powerful leadership qualities we may all need to deploy - qualities which may not all be intuitive to us as women.....


“When I came up with The X-Games, it was a polarizing idea: half the most senior execs loved it, but half hated it. I had to sell it really hard, I had to stick my neck out....There was lots of push-back from sport commentators, from experts.... There was ‘It’s not proper sports, it’s not what ESPN should be doing; we are like the New York Times of sport, this is The National Inquirer’.”

- Ron Semiao, X-Games Founder/Creator

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source: Sheryl Sandberg TED talk, 2010

Men: Success = Popularity

Women: Success ≠ Popularity

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I think we all have to be ready to deal with this equation; conscious and up for it if we are to step up as female leaders in a world hard-set to the male agenda


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“They (women) aren’t just bad at behaving like arrogant self-aggrandizing jerks.

They are bad at behaving like self-promoting narcissists, anti-social obsessives, or pompous blowhards, even a little bit, even temporarily, even when it would be in their best interests to do so.

Whatever bad things you can say about these behaviors, you can’t say they are under-represented among people who have changed the world.”

- Clay Shirky

Promoting the success and growth of the women’s sports marketplace is undoubtedly a tough, demanding challenge. We face lots of ingrained obstacles. It is a challenge that is about ‘changing the world’ - change, not just success. And I wonder if overcoming those obstacles therefore might sometimes require us to lead in ways that don’t come naturally to us - as collaborative, mutually supportive, consensus-building women...


In conclusion...

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• Tell stories

• Build stars

• Promote a lifestyle

• Harness dads

• Save time

• Emphasize social benefits

• Be brave. A brave jerk, if necessary.


title of slide.

source: here

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