Every year, brand survey company Brand Keys conducts polls to test a consumer’s loyalty to a specific brand. There are a large number of categories, ranging from favorite allergy medicine to favorite hotels or airlines. The most intriguing, however, is usually Brand Keys Sports Loyalty Index, which is about fan loyalty of specific sports.
According to their Web site, “The Brand Keys Sports Loyalty Engagement Index® helps professional sports teams increase their broadcast, ticket and merchandise revenues by providing the precise loyalty rankings of fans in the home (and national) market. The Sports Loyalty Engagement Index gives an apples-to-apples comparison of the intensity with which fans support the home team vs. the corresponding values for the fans of the other teams in the market.”
The process of determining the most loyal fans occurs in four steps. These steps do not have anything to do with win/loss records, but it is safe to say that fans are more loyal when their team is winning. The first factor is the entertainment value, or how exciting the team is. It isn’t enough to simply win; you have to look good doing it. Second is how well they play as a team. Third is how well the players relate to the fans. If a player is a hero to many, he relates to the fans very well, and the team will score a higher mark on the survey. Finally, the team is looked at from a community standpoint. Are they involved with the community and do they have the same values as the people of that community? If so, they will score higher on the survey.
In years past, the National Football League has held the top spot pretty handily over Major League Baseball and the other sports in the survey. This year, however, the NFL and MLB tied for the top spot. Fans of baseball can be excited to know that America’s pastime is starting to live up to its name once more.
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