The Fan Project is Here
The Industry’s Biggest Names Get Behind New Initiative The Fan Project to Double the Investment in Women’s Sports
At Sports Innovation Lab, we have been working for the last four years to help the industry understand who their fan is. Today, we are celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day by launching The Fan Project, a data-driven campaign that will illustrate fan behaviors and rethink the way the industry measures engagement.
The goal of the campaign: highlight the fan enthusiasm behind women’s sports and make the case for why investing in the women’s sports community is a savvy business decision. “The same statistics around the high engagement and tremendous interest, but lack of coverage and lagging investment, in women’s sports continue to permeate the industry with zero impact,” said Sports Innovation Lab CEO and 4X Olympic Medalist Angela Ruggiero. “With The Fan Project we’ll be able to finally give those responsible for investing in broadcast rights and sponsorship of women’s sports data they simply can’t ignore.”
The Fan Project is asking all sports fans to download and share their social media archives, something that every Facebook and Twitter user has rights and access to as a result of GDPR legislation. Sports Innovation Lab believes these files hold the key to what sports fans watch, do, and buy. By securely and anonymously analyzing the files, they can produce a report that credibly proves the business opportunity for women’s sports.
“We know we have the best soccer players in the world competing in the NWSL, and our fans are amongst the most engaged in sport,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird. “The Fan Project will help us understand the fan at an even deeper level, and share the story of how valuable women’s sports are to the media and sponsors.”
Fans can feel confident their data is anonymous and secure, as Sports Innovation Lab’s technology removes and deletes all personal information when the files are uploaded. Sports Innovation Lab, along with the participating leagues and partners, expect to have the data findings and report published this summer. The Sports Innovation Lab will use the findings as a catalyst and an industry call-to-action to increase women’s sports coverage to 10% in 10 months from the date of report publication.
“In 2015 our audience started a movement on social media using the hashtag #GiveDivasAChance that trended worldwide for three days and hastened what WWE now calls the Women’s Evolution, creating equal opportunity for our female Superstars” said Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer. “The numbers and the sentiment from fans show there is a clear market for women’s sports, and it is up to brands, networks and media to invest and help move the industry forward.”
The Fan Project was created by the Sports Innovation Lab and is being supported by major leagues and foundations across the sports industry such as Athletes Unlimited, Goal Five, Goals, Just Women’s Sports, LPGA, NWSL, PWHPA, She Is, Support Women In Sports, Tucker Center, UFC, Voice In Sport, WNBA, Women’s Sports Foundation, and WWE.
For more information on The Fan Project and a full list of participating partners, please visit The Fan Project Website.