Appealing to the Female Fan Prepared By Alexa

Appealing to the Female Fan Prepared By: Alexa Schnoor

The Female Fan • Females make up 45% of the NFL’s 150 million fans • Female apparel is the fastest-growing aspect of sales: $337 million or 11% of the $3. 1 billion dollars in retail sales of the NFL (cbsnews. com) • Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases • Women are more likely to watch the NFL than any other sport • Women buy on behalf of their immediate and extended families as well as other people they know • It is necessary to invest in the female fanship not just their spending

What Works • • Keeping women engaged and communication consistent Making things quick, convenient, and accessible Aligning values of the NFL with the values of women Acknowledging that women can know and understand the game of football and love the sport

What the NFL is Doing • NFL Women’s Resource Initiative: “want to engage the women of football to share their stories, voice their opinions, find resources, and participate in broader discussions on social and community issues. • NFL Women’s Summit: “"In the Huddle to Advance Women in Sport" will bring together prominent leaders from sports, government, media and a variety of other fields—all of whom believe in the power of sports to support the future success of young women both personally and professionally. ”

Current Women’s programs in place • • • Texans: Battle Red Ladies Colts: Blue Ladies Broncos: Crush 49 ers: Faithfulistas Titans: Titan True Giants: Giants Women’s Club Buccaneers: RED Jags: Jaguars Women’s Club Ravens: Purple Redskins: WOW (Women of Washington) Packers and Cowboys both have women’s associations that involve the players and coaches wives and girlfriends

Alternative Ways to Reach Out to Women • The Packers, Steelers and Patriots all have larger female fan bases than male (Sportingnews. com) • These teams do events like “Ladies Night Out” or “Women’s Day at Training Camp” that provide specific focus on their female fans while also giving them unique experiences • Packers have PWA (Packers Women’s Association) as well as the Cowboys with the CWA (Cowboys Women’s Association) that provides the player’s coaches and wives with volunteer and community service opportunities

Efforts for Moms • Create family-friendly environments at games that could include: • Adopting TSA accommodations for kids • Example: allowing milk and formula bottles • Family-friendly tailgates • Apps that monitor bathroom lines at stadiums • Focus on safety concerns: • “Female fans, particularly those with children, may become decision makers about participation in football. ” (New York Times) • Mom’s clinics put on by teams to inform them of safety rules and regulations and ways to prevent injuries or long-term damage

Event Ideas • Fantasy football: • Event where a player explains the workings of fantasy football • Have analysists providing insight information • Do this event pre-season to drum up excitement for the season • Have experts do a mock draft going through first round and explaining their process and • Trivia night: • Good for people with all levels of knowledge of football. You have the ability to ask a variety of questions ranging from basic questions about rules to in-depth team history • Can have giveaways and raffles for winners

Event Ideas Continued • Flag football Tournament: • Have an all day event that is a flag football tournament allowing people to sign up as teams or free agents • Have players or coaches be the referees • Hold event on team’s practice or stadium fields • Leadership and Career Panels: • Have female team executives speak about their career paths and how they got to the position they’re in • Highlight career and leadership advice • Open up a question and answer session • Provides opportunity to reach out to local women’s and young professional networking groups

Event Ideas Continued • Fitness boot camp: • Have strength and conditioning coaches lead a boot camp like workout session in team gym and on practice fields • Run various drills • Have nutrition advice • Private training camp day: • Allow a day that is dedicated towards women • Have autographs available • Give women chance to run through various drills and live the day of a player • Cooking with the team: • Have tailgate inspired cooking competitions • Have coaches and players be the judges

Event Ideas Continued • Bingo Night: • Have players run the bingo game by passing out cards, calling numbers, etc. • Opportunity to win variety of prizes including VIP experiences, game tickets or autographed items • This event could be used as a fundraiser for a non-profit the team works closely with or simply just a fun event for the women

Miscellaneous Ideas • Interview series’ : • Feature different people every month • Can be players, coaches, wives, special members of the club or notable contributors to the organization • Behind the scenes with team/ local reporter: • Give women the opportunity to ask questions to the reporters • Chance to record a segment that they can have emailed to themselves

Levels of Membership • Free memberships: • • • Newsletters Emails with upcoming information Pre-sale on events Special event access Contest consideration Discount on team store items • Paid Membership: • • • Ranges from $50 to $75 dollars a year Everything in free membership Personalized membership kit including t-shirt, hat, bag, etc. Pre-game flag holding opportunities Possible free game tickets

Sponsorships Opportunities • Most events have the opportunity to engage a sponsor • Provides sponsors with the chance to market to an unique and quickly growing demographic • Sponsors will be featured on social media platforms exposing them to large audiences • Create networking opportunities for sponsors with a dedicated and passionate group of people • Positive media coverage showing they support the NFL efforts for women • These can lead to increased sales in the sponsor’s product as well as publicity and positive word-of-mouth advertising • Women rely and trust heavily on the word of their friends so by making a positive impact you are positively developing and growing your brand

Domestic Violence • 77 players across 27 of the leagues 32 teams have been arrested for domestic violence since the year 2000 • 1 in 3 women physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence) • 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence) • There needs to be a continual effort working against domestic violence, not just a one-season PR campaign

What We Can Do About It • Develop relationships with local domestic violence organizations and finically support their organization • Create volunteer events that women who are apart of the team’s women’s groups can attend and be a part of • Educate employees, players and women in the group on how to recognize or prevent and seek help in regards to this issue • Hold fundraisers or events that involve the women and children • Ex: Back to school backpack drive, winter coat drive

Conclusion • The NFL has a wide growth opportunity when it comes to appealing to female fans • Women’s programs, when done correctly, can be a great way of connecting with their female fans and forming relationships which can lead to increased fanship and ticket sales • Sponsorship opportunities are plentiful through events and women’s programs • There are various levels of membership options available • The NFL can make strides in the fight against domestic violence through individual teams and also league wide