Understanding Insights for Building Effective Marketing Strategies for Women's Volleyball
Abstract
Despites the success on the court, many women’s collegiate sport programs are consistently confronted by the issues of low fan attendance, budget constraint, and unsupportive gender stereotypes. This study examined college students’ perception of women’s volleyball and willingness for attending the competitions. A 24-question self- created survey based on literature (Bodenner, 2015; Imbriano & Downing, 2010Wann et al., 1999) were administered to 139 college student participants who were randomly solicited on campus or an online platform. The results indicate that volleyball is the most popular and attended female spectator athletic event. Participants’ perceptions of this sport are categorized by three main factors: (1) standard motivational factor, (2) socioeconomic and geographic concern, and (3) value and time constraint. Apparently, participants with athletic participation experience have a significant higher rating on the standard motivational factor than those who were non-athletes (p < .05). Participants who are affiliated with fraternity or sorority have a lower rating on standard motivational factor than who are not. Practical marketing strategies are drawn to promote and solicit attendance of various Greek student organizations by creating theme nights. More giveaways can be offered to reward more frequently attended and enthusiastic fans with athletic participation experience. Better and more direct marketing strategies can be used in order to draw fans to games. These strategies can be promoting the game around campus with side- walk chalk and flyers. It is best to remind student the day of the game, as college students do not tend to plan ahead.
Understanding Insights for Building Effective Marketing Strategies for Women's Volleyball
Despites the success on the court, many women’s collegiate sport programs are consistently confronted by the issues of low fan attendance, budget constraint, and unsupportive gender stereotypes. This study examined college students’ perception of women’s volleyball and willingness for attending the competitions. A 24-question self- created survey based on literature (Bodenner, 2015; Imbriano & Downing, 2010Wann et al., 1999) were administered to 139 college student participants who were randomly solicited on campus or an online platform. The results indicate that volleyball is the most popular and attended female spectator athletic event. Participants’ perceptions of this sport are categorized by three main factors: (1) standard motivational factor, (2) socioeconomic and geographic concern, and (3) value and time constraint. Apparently, participants with athletic participation experience have a significant higher rating on the standard motivational factor than those who were non-athletes (p < .05). Participants who are affiliated with fraternity or sorority have a lower rating on standard motivational factor than who are not. Practical marketing strategies are drawn to promote and solicit attendance of various Greek student organizations by creating theme nights. More giveaways can be offered to reward more frequently attended and enthusiastic fans with athletic participation experience. Better and more direct marketing strategies can be used in order to draw fans to games. These strategies can be promoting the game around campus with side- walk chalk and flyers. It is best to remind student the day of the game, as college students do not tend to plan ahead.