Consumers and advertisers alike are eagerly awaiting the return of live sports. The NBA, NFL, MLB and many other leagues are making plans for their post-COVID comebacks beginning late summer and early fall.

This creates a major advertising opportunity for brands looking to reach the sports fan demographic that has been out of range for so long, and an opportunity for the leagues and agencies seeking to broker existing partnerships and open up new ones.

Using E-Score Brand, we have highlighted brands with the strongest affinity among sports fans that could potentially benefit from getting back into sports early, or dipping their toes for the first time.

• Samsung dominates the Consumer Electronics category among sports fans with a 37 net Appeal which places the brand at the top of its category ahead of Google and Bose. Some of Samsung’s Appeal comes from its high Cutting-Edge score of 33.
• Doritos, known for its clever Superbowl ads, also has a 37 net Appeal, with some of its most notable attributes being Family Friendly and One Of My Favorites.
• Home Depot has the highest net Appeal among sports fans of the home improvement retailers in our survey. Their Reliable score of 31 pairs well with the traditions of sports.
• Fast Food & QSR/ Restaurants is one of the top advertising categories in sports and both Wendy’s and Ben & Jerry’s have strong affinity among sports fans with net Appeal scores of 29 and 26, respectively. Ben & Jerry’s has also made headlines by taking a stand in recent political issues as covered in our recent E-Score Brand post.
• Hanes, which was famously endorsed by Michael Jordan, has contributed positively to the COVID-19 pandemic by helping with the facemask shortage and is among the top apparel brands among sports fans with top attributes like Classic and Practical.

Sport-Specific Brand Opportunities

While our list is based on a broad definition of sports fans, E-Score Brand also measures affinity for 18 different professional and amateur sports, and is designed to help brands, leagues and agencies easily find fans of specific sports as well.

• For instance, Ben and Jerry’s ranks particularly well among Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fans, scoring a net Appeal of 39, 13 points higher than its rating among all sports fans.
• QSR brand Wendy’s leads the fast-food category with net Appeal of 29. However, they’re even more popular among fans of Major League Soccer (MLS), who give the brand a net Appeal of 38.
• As admired as they are by sports fans in general, Samsung is especially well-liked by fans of golf’s PGA Tour, with a net Appeal of 43, an increase of 6 points over their score with general sports fans. Samsung previously sponsored a tournament on the women’s LPGA Tour.

With unusual conditions in the sports and advertising market ahead, it’s more important than ever for brands and advertisers to have all the information necessary in building their strategies. E-Score Brand goes a step further in providing key measures among specific demographics and affinity groups making it an essential tool for ad buyers and sellers alike.

Resources

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