Sporting consumers turn to Internet first

When it comes to favorite teams, statistics or game recaps, sports-minded consumers are turning to the Internet before looking to television, the local paper or radio. That, according to a new survey from Burst Media. What does this mean for marketers? Brands and businesses with a sports focus - shoes, beverages, apparel and even sports-medicine - would do well to focus a bit more time and energy in the online arena as well.

by Kristina Knight

The survey found that 36% of men and 31% of women look to online sports content hubs before television or other media. After the Internet comes local television (23.7%), national television (15%) and, surprisingly, sports radio ranks sixth with only 2.9%.

"It's abundantly clear that men and women of all ages are active consumers of sports content online," said Chuck Moran, Chief Marketing Officer for Burst Media. "This provides marketers an opportunity to expand the reach of their campaigns targeted to sports enthusiasts by adding an online component. Also, by utilizing a multichannel strategy of combining internet and TV, advertisers can surround their target audience with coordinated messaging for greater impact."

For online publishers this is good news, and for local media outlets as well. Those thinking ahead by updating the local sports pages early and often will likely benefit from this trend as marketers capture the sports market. For marketers, this is an indicator that doing research prior to big media buys is necessary. For example, buying a spot during a football or baseball game is a good start, but including daily run-of-schedule placements with online sports hubs - both local and national - will likely net the advertiser great ROI as the campaign plays out.

Tags: Burst Media, online content, sports advertising, sports content

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