This summer’s games in Paris represent an extraordinary opportunity to connect with sports audiences on a global scale. As we anticipate this momentous event that happens once every four years, it’s clear that the passion and excitement surrounding sports are more vibrant than ever. With one billion viewers expected to tune in, now is the time to take advantage of the fervor of sports fans and tailor your strategies to resonate with this audience.
In this blog post, we’ll explore audience segments that can maximize the impact of sports and influencer marketing campaigns, drawing inspiration from the anticipation of this summer’s games.
What separates Experian’s syndicated audiences
- Experian’s 2,400+ syndicated audiences are available directly on over 30 leading television, social, programmatic advertising platforms, and directly within Audigent for activation within private marketplaces (PMPs).
- Reach consumers based on who they are, where they live, and their household makeup. Experian ranked #1 in accuracy by Truthset for key demographic attributes.
- Access to unique audiences through Experian’s Partner Audiences available on Experian’s data marketplace, within Audigent for activation in PMPs and directly on platforms like DirectTV, Dish, Magnite, OpenAP, and The Trade Desk.
What are the benefits of advertising in sports?
Before we explore these audience segments, first let’s review three benefits of advertising in sports.
Increase product awareness
Sports viewers are less likely to skip commercials, so you can increase product awareness by reaching more engaged consumers. Reach current customers during sports games to remind them of your products and inspire more purchases.
Build a strong connection with dedicated fans
Fans exhibit unwavering loyalty to their teams, staying dedicated whether their team wins or loses. This loyalty is highly beneficial for brands, as loyal fans are not only enthusiastic spenders but also form lasting, meaningful connections with the brand.
Improve audience targeting
Live sports are now available to watch on many streaming services like Peacock and Amazon, allowing marketers to better choose and target audience segments across connected TV (CTV) to deploy more personalized ads – something that is limited with traditional TV sports broadcasting.
When you work with Experian, you work with the #1 ranked data provider that gives you access to demographic and behavioral targeting that allows you to reach consumers based on who they are, where they live, and what they do.
To fully take advantage of the benefits of sports advertising, here are the audience segments we recommend targeting to drive engagement and conversion.
Sports fans
Harnessing the enthusiasm of sports fans can drive powerful engagement and brand loyalty. Align your campaigns with major sporting events, teams, or athletes to tap into the emotional connection fans have with their favorite sports or countries.
Here are 10 audience segments that you can activate to target sports fans:
- Likely to be a sports enthusiast: Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Activities and Entertainment >
- MLB Enthusiasts
- NASCAR Enthusiast
- NBA Enthusiasts
- NFL Enthusiasts
- NHL Enthusiasts
- PGA Tour Enthusiasts
- Travels to see professional sports: Travel Intent > Activities > Professional Sports Event
- NEW! Pickleball enthusiast: Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Sporting Goods, Apparel > Pickleball Enthusiast
- NEW! Wilderness sports and camping enthusiasts: Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Outdoor Activities > Wilderness Sports and Camping Enthusiasts
Worldview
WorldView offers immediate access to essential demographic and consumer data using advanced satellite technology and machine learning. Marketers planning campaigns ahead of this summer’s games can use WorldView to understand their audience, optimize distribution, and identify untapped market areas across 90 countries. With WorldView, you can benchmark performance, visualize customer data, and create a consistent global audience strategy for digital activation. This comprehensive solution provides valuable insights for location planning, data enrichment, and targeted digital advertising, without relying on personal information, making it ideal for geo-targeted marketing approaches.
Sporting events and travel beyond this summer’s games
While this summer’s games are a major draw, there are still many sports fans who may prefer events that aren’t connected to the summer games during this time. You can pair our Travel Intent > Activities > Professional Sports Event audience with our Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Sports and Recreation > Sports Enthusiast audience to target individuals who have expressed interest in attending sporting events or traveling for sports-related activities.
We can deliver our syndicated audience segments to 30+ activation platforms, which means we have a solution however you want to consume and use our data.
Sports spectators
Enhancing the experience of sports spectators can create memorable moments and lasting impressions. Target individuals interested in attending sporting events, promote ticket sales, VIP experiences, and exclusive merchandise to elevate their game-day experience and foster a sense of belonging within the sports community.
Here are 7 audience segments that you can activate to target sports spectators:
- Interested in sports: Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Sports (FLA / Fair Lending Friendly)*
- Baseball (FLA / Fair Lending Friendly)
- Football (FLA / Fair Lending Friendly)
- Visits sports venues: Mobile Location Models > Visits >
- College Sport Venues
- NFL Stadium Visitors
- University Stadium College Football Visitor
- MLB Stadium Visitors
You can also develop targeted advertising campaigns promoting travel packages or hotel deals around Paris. Highlight proximity to this summer’s games, special experiences, or exclusive offers for travelers during this summer’s games season. By targeting specific travel preferences and behaviors, you can capture the attention of individuals planning trips around this summer’s games. When you work with Experian, you work with a single data provider that gives you access to audiences across multiple verticals and categories like travel and retail.
Sporting goods shoppers
You can use Experian audiences to reach consumers interested in sports and fitness ahead of the summer games. Targeting individuals in the market for sports equipment and apparel can help you reach those actively seeking sporting goods. By focusing on this segment, you can increase conversion rates and optimize ad spend by reaching an audience already inclined toward sports and fitness shopping.
Here are 6 audience segments that you can activate to target consumers who are spending on sports apparel:
- NEW! Wears athleisure: Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Sporting Goods, Apparel > Athleisure Sportswear Apparel
- Women’s activewear high spenders: Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Apparel > Women’s Activewear / Yoga: Online High Spenders
- Men’s activewear high spenders: Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Apparel > Men’s Apparel (Clothing): Men’s Activewear: High Spenders
- Athletic footwear high spenders: Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Apparel > Footwear (Shoes): Athletic Footwear: High Spenders
- Golf equipment frequent spenders: Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Sporting Goods, Apparel > Golf Equipment, Apparel, Entertainment Frequent Spenders
- Sporting goods shoppers: Mobile Location Models > Visits > Sporting Goods Shoppers
Athletes
For brands catering to athletes and sports enthusiasts, targeting active players is crucial. Offer products, training tips, and motivational content that inspire and empower them to excel in their chosen sports.
Here are 5 audience segments that you can activate to target athletes:
- Likely to play sports: Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Sports and Recreation
- Plays Hockey
- Plays Soccer
- Plays Tennis
- Likely to play golf: Lifestyle and Interests (Affinity) > Activities and Entertainment > Play Golf
- NEW! E-motion riders: Retail Shoppers: Purchase Based > Outdoor Activities > EMotion Riders E-Scooters E-Bikes E-Skateboards
Influencer marketing campaigns
Collaborate with influential athletes or sports personalities to create sponsored content that resonates with sports fans. You can pair our Social media heavy user audience with our Likely to be a sports enthusiast and TrueTouch conversion channel audiences to reach those who are likely to be influenced by endorsements from celebrities or athletes.
Targeted advertising in sports with Experian audiences
By using Experian’s syndicated audiences in sports advertising, you can reach sporting goods shoppers, passionate sports fans, active players, and enthusiastic spectators. Our deep understanding of people in the offline and digital worlds provides you with a persistent linkage of personally identifiable information (PII) data and digital identifiers, ensuring you rich insights, accurate targeting across devices, improved addressability, and measurable advertising.
Just as athletes strive for excellence, with the right approach, your advertising in sports initiatives will stand out as champions in the arena of consumer engagement. Can’t find the audience you’re looking for or need a custom audience? Connect with our audience team for more information. Additionally, work with Experian’s network of data providers to build audiences and send to an Audigent PMP for activation.
You can activate our syndicated audiences on-the-shelf of most major platforms. For a full list of Experian’s syndicated audiences and activation destinations, download our syndicated audiences guide.
Check out other seasonal audiences you can activate today.
Contact us
Footnote
* “Fair Lending Friendly” indicates data fields that Experian has made available without use of certain demographic attributes that may increase the likelihood of discriminatory practices prohibited by the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”). These excluded attributes include, but may not be limited to, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, disability, handicap, family status, ancestry, sexual orientation, unfavorable military discharge, and gender. Experian’s provision of Fair Lending Friendly indicators does not constitute legal advice or otherwise assures your compliance with the FHA, ECOA, or any other applicable laws. Clients should seek legal advice with respect to your use of data in connection with lending decisions or application and compliance with applicable laws.
Latest posts
With campaigns applied to seven major holding companies, Tapad continues to see healthy adoption with The Trade Desk clients NEW YORK, NY – August 23, 2017 - Tapad, now a part of Experian, the leader in cross-device marketing technology, today announced its ongoing momentum with The Trade Desk, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTD), a global technology platform for buyers of advertising. Tapad is providing cross-device segments from the groundbreaking Tapad Device GraphTM through The Trade Desk’s platform. Since 2015, Tapad has seen steady growth in the use of its cross-device data across The Trade Desk platform. This forward progress continues, as 1H2017 saw important milestones for Tapad. Seven major private and independent holding companies now apply Tapad’s data to their campaigns, in addition to more than 1,500 unique brands. Tapad’s proprietary Device GraphTM connects billions of devices, providing unified and insightful data for brands, agencies, and marketers across the globe. Several of these clients, representing varying industries from financial, to auto, CPG and retail, apply Tapad’s data across a number of key tactics and strategies, including: first party CRM extension, third party audience extension, cross-device retargeting, cross-device frequency management, and more. Clients in these verticals continue to rely on Tapad’s cross-device data, as Tapad saw the amount of usage by financial and retail clients grow by four times over the past year, and double for automotive and CPG clients. “We are pleased to offer our clients access to Tapad’s device graph”, said David Danziger, VP of Data Partnerships, The Trade Desk. “Their cross-device identification capabilities have been a powerful addition to our omnichannel platform.” “This integration is a shining example of the amplifying effect of two of the best platforms working together,” said Chris Feo, SVP of Global Partnerships at Tapad. "Clients leveraging Tapad's Device Graph in The Trade Desk platform have the potential to see higher returns and reach with access to substantial cross-device data, as well as a very effective media platform." Contact us today
Tapad Device Graph™ and Sojern’s mobile offering unify travel intent signals; achieve amplification rate of more than 600 percent NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 – Tapad, a part of Experian, the leader in cross-device marketing technology, is partnering with Sojern, travel’s direct demand engine, to provide marketers with an even stronger understanding of travelers as they research and shop across multiple devices. Combined with its 350 million global traveler profiles and billions of predictive purchase intent signals, Sojern utilizes the Tapad Device Graph™ to resolve the complex travel consumer journey, target travelers more precisely, and derive more actionable insights for its travel clientele. According to Sojern’s research, travelers visit hundreds of websites preceding their trip purchase, with some consumers reaching upwards of 450 touchpoints prior to booking. Sojern’s partnership with Tapad will help unify these touchpoints across devices, enabling travel brands to more effectively nurture and engage potential buyers during the purchase process, regardless of which device they use. “Sojern’s been focused on travel for over a decade, helping brands activate predictive purchase signals and leverage our traveler profiles into effective performance marketing campaigns,” said Mat Harris, Sojern’s VP of Product, Enterprise Solutions. “The cross-device insights we gain from the Tapad Device Graph provide a valuable tool for our customers to reach travelers across devices in real-time and at scale, on the right device.” Prior to selecting Tapad as its cross-device partner, Sojern surveyed several probabilistic and deterministic cross-device vendors and performed an extensive global test. The test was an examination of scale, match rate and several other factors, which enabled Sojern to learn as much as possible about each vendor. After examining the final test results, Sojern selected Tapad based on its excellent test performance, tried-and-true experience in the market and complimentary business model. To date, Sojern has already seen an amplification rate of more than 600 percent as a result of the integration, meaning that the Tapad Device Graph is connecting an average of six or more device and browser IDs for every one existing Sojern ID. “Not only is Sojern a compatible partner for our singular Device Graph capabilities, but they are also an incredible data partner to help expand our work in the travel industry,” said Pierre Martensson, SVP and GM of Tapad’s global data division. “Working with the team at Sojern allows us to solve a true challenge within the travel industry today: creating a unified view of customers so travel brands can better understand and access their key audiences at every point along their path to purchase.” Contact us today
Leading data insights and cross-device-powered services bridge mobile insights with connectivity to drive real-time consumer intelligence NEW YORK, May 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ – Tapad, now a part of Experian, the leader in cross-device marketing technology, has partnered with Resonate, a leading provider of real-time consumer intelligence and activation SaaS solutions. Through this partnership, Resonate will leverage the Tapad Device Graph™ to capture a deeper understanding of its mobile app audiences and provide brands with a more direct connection to their intended consumers. The integration of Resonate and Tapad's technologies equips mobile app brands with insights into their consumers' values, beliefs, motivations and purchase drivers. As a result, mobile app brands will better understand how to tailor messaging, drive advertising engagement, increase lift in performance across mobile consumers and ultimately boost revenue and returns. Utilizing the advanced data that the Tapad Device Graph™ provides, Resonate will create an Identity Service that connects mobile IDs to Resonate IDs for reporting insights both in-platform and out. To date, Tapad and Resonate have already driven incremental device connections for nearly 60 percent of customer profiles with an amplification rate of more than 120 percent, resulting in more than 400 million net new IDs within Resonate's user base. "After testing multiple partners over the course of 12 months, it was clear that Tapad was the partner for us, given their ability to provide cross-device connectivity for more than one billion unique IDs against our consumer base," said Joel Pulliam, SVP and chief product officer at Resonate. "In addition, Resonate customers have an inherent trust in Tapad's mix of probabilistic and deterministic mobile connectivity data to provide a unified understanding of their mobile audiences." "Partnering with Resonate will not only provide its brands with a more in-depth and actionable understanding of its consumers, but it will also allow our clients to connect with mobile consumers on a deeper level," said Pierre Martensson, SVP and GM of Tapad's global data division. "Resonate is not just answering the question of 'how' consumers are making purchases, but also tackling the more difficult question of 'why' they make certain buying decisions to best inform mobile brands about their audiences." Contact us today