The 'Battle' for Audience Attention

In recent months (maybe years), I read many articles, blogs, posts and updates on the lack of interest in sports by Gen Z, the different consumption behaviours and the challenges to bring the younger generation to the events, the venues and stadiums. The general observations might be correct, but the conclusions drawn or the understanding of the 'Why' by many stakeholders in the industry, have been or are currently most certainly not the right ones!!!

I did study and compare my own experiences as teenager, the experiences of my friends and the incredible amount of conversations I have around the globe with individuals in their 30's, 40's, 50's and older. And ideally, the person I have the conversation with, does (also) have children in a teenager age or a young adult. And all of these discussions come to a similar result and experience:

The younger generation have exactly the same or an even higher interest in sports, because since 2014, 2015 and even more so nowadays, sports is actually overall much more accessible and easier to consume as it was in the 1980's, the 90's or early 2000. And this is justified due to the rise of social media and the technology evolution in sports, reaching audiences near and far, around the world.

At RESULT Sports we work with data, evaluating audiences, demographics, communities and content since 2010 and can fully confirm the fact, that the young generation engages, consumes and shares a lot of sports....

The interest, often driven or aligned by parents interest, for the young individual to try (or follow) a variety of sports and activities, which are recorded then by many grassroots clubs, federations and private organisations - the vast majority of young children are active in sports, but the biggest challenge is retention, when children becoming 13, 14, 15 or 16. Once these age groups are passed and the athlete(s) remains active in sports, they will do so until another major life change does appear (marriage, family, work, relocation and so on...).

What happens in these age groups and why do marketing experts, business organisations and even sports entities share their concern on the audience of the future or the missing audience of the future? Is there a challenge? And why do athletes leave the sports in their teenage years?

I would never pretend to have all the answers, but was intrigued by all the statements, concerns, matching them with our data points and benchmarks from the past and today. One conclusion for certain: A lot has to do with the human brain, more particular the dopamine and the serotonin in our brains.

Dopamine is a chemical produced by our brains that plays a starring role in motivating behaviour. Overall it gets released, for example, when we take a bite of delicious food, after we exercise, when we score a goal and, importantly in the online environment, when we have?successful social interactions. Dopamine rewards us for beneficial behaviours and motivates us to repeat them. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that mediates satisfaction, happiness and optimism.

Knowing these facts of science, I began my research on exact these topics. The human brain, today and in the 1980's! Scientists and researchers from universities where I lecture digital marketing have been consulted and provided relevant input. Additionally, peers and colleagues from Digital and Neuro Marketing were involved in discussions.

And now, I believe, it is the right time to share some of my early findings, which can lead immediately to some clear and precise conclusions. But more importantly, I wanted to share the context, the data, the research and bring them to your attention to increase the audience, the conversations and your input into these studies!

Lets begin with a look back: During the late 1980's, lets say 1988, an average teenager had throughout the day a total of 180 to 220 dopamine and serotonin pushes (hunger, thirst, happiness, homework, exercise, sporting success, watch favourite TV episode, playing with friends and so on) during the entire day. A teenager in the year 2023 (now) uses on average 45 minutes TikTok, and since the video lasts most of the for 15 seconds, triggers dopamine on second sixteen... which cumulates to 180 'triggers' after these 45 minutes - so, conclusion one: A teenager in the 1980's and 90's had about 200 dopamine pushes a days, now its 200 in one hour. The brain of the Gen Z is able to consume, absorb a much higher dopamine level!

A teenager in 1988 had times of boredom, which enabled sometimes phantasies and inspiration - a teenager in 2023 is rarely bored, but when it happens for a minute or so, picks up the smartphone, the tablet and lets content enable inspiration. Today's teenager therefore have much higher dependencies on their online environment, which risks manipulation, saturation and in a maximum way even addiction!

Now there is an explanation, why the children next to us at events, in venues and stadiums tip their fingers on the adult shoulders after 15 minutes of the game, stating "I am bored! Lets go home!"

It turns out?though that young people are making choices influenced by a very different set of chemical influences than their adult counterparts. For starters, the teenage brain appears to be more sensitive to the effects of Dopamine. You can imagine Dopamine as “molecules of emotion” because their levels in our brain have a lot to do with our mood. Dopamine is the “happy” neurotransmitter. The more dopamine is circulating in our brains the happier we feel.

We do also have an explanation now, why new leagues, like the newly established Kings League in Spain or Basketball 3x3 (and others), record quick audience impact - because the action on the court, on the pitch is fast(er), the game mode is changing quick, which triggers the brains of the audience... A goalless draw after 90 minutes (plus stoppage time) in football is the worst case scenario for the dopamine and especially the (young) brain...

The young adults and Gen Z specifically require motivators, triggers and action. On average, the mobile device is (easily) picked up 80 times a day (to use a 'buzz term') in the fear of missing out any important information. The consumption of sport is different, because the brain 'handles' more (and as the brain is used to, wants more) - so, while the stream of the live match is running on the tablet, the conversation is followed on the smartphone and particularly in social media. A normal scenario for the 'young audience' - the ability to 'require' more input.

With artificial intelligence the access to information gets even easier and the information will even much more, which will trigger (our) brains even higher... but at this moment in time, I truly recommend and require important measurements and actions!

And that's where EDUCATION comes into 'play'. Primary schools in the 3rd grade (when children are 9 or 10), should have lessons on "how the internet works"; "what it does with us (and our brains)" - not at all in a bad or risk environment, because the future of humanity will be more digital! Teachers should be guided by digital practitioners! Universities should build guarding rails, morale values and guidelines into the modules! But starting early, for the growing individuals knowledge, awareness, morale values and maybe guidelines are critically important!!!

I predict and I am optimistic with these (and a few others) initial steps, we will be able to face out or at least being able to better control discrimination and racism in social media, not related to betting and gambling - because if somebody looses their bet in the last minute, because of a late goal, the anger and frustration remains imminently high and social media remains as 'frustration release channels'... unfortunately!

US Sports have adopted this much earlier, have their game breaks, power breaks to 'entertain' the audience and spectators, which triggers dopamine and serotonin - to re-focus the audience in the event and arena. European Fan Culture is much more different, more heritage and cultural based, so change might be more 'tricky' - hence the statements from marketeers and industry experts of the upcoming generation requirements and expectation.

But having an early understanding of the why, which is and was my goal and objective with the above article, I am very eager and optimistic for the future of (live) sports.

Sports should always be very relevant! Not only a business or entertainment, but for much bigger reasons: Governments should endorse sports, because its a fact, that active sports in all ages keeps you healthy! A healthy society and public then is usually much happier, more satisfied and ambitious in their life. And these ambitions lead to being more productive in a competitive global market. Which consequently thought through, will make the country and government again more successful - its a logical circle.

I leave you with these findings, my thoughts and truly look forward to your feedback, comments and response! But I promise to continue the studies and involve more science and practitioners into the analysis and hopefully strong benefits for the future!