Nielsen Sports and ACNielsen, units of VNU, have released FANLinksB information, disclosing new insights into the purchasing behaviour of Major League Baseball (MLB) fans.
FANLinks combines research on consumers’ interests in sports with their purchasing activities.
As well as spending $348billion annually on consumer packaged goods, fans also spend $593million every year on just blades and razors.
The research shows that, while the percentage of blades and razors purchased by all consumers grew 10 per cent between 2004 and 2005, the category grew 17 per cent among MLB fans. Growth among Schick razors was especially strong, with the brand increasing 85 per cent among baseball fans from 2004 to 2005, compared to its 73 per cent average growth overall.
FANLinks also enables sports marketers to compare and contrast MLB fans against other sports fans. For example, Private Label blade and razor buyers have a higher than expected purchasing rate among NASCAR and professional tennis fans versus MLB fans. Conversely, MLB fans match Gillette’s Venus Razor buyers - a majority (59 per cent) of Venus Razor buyers are, in fact, fans of Major League Baseball.
Said Ann Marie Dumais, vice president of marketing, Nielsen Ventures: “FANLinks provides a more sophisticated approach to the planning and post analysis of sports sponsorship. For the first time, sports marketers have the ability to gain a much deeper understanding of true purchasing behaviours among specific types of sports fans.”
