Ocean’s head of insight Steve Bernard outlines the findings of two consumer studies conducted during Paris 2024.
This summer provided the nation with some incredible sporting moments. Whether it was England’s strong showing at Euro 2024 in Germany, Carlos Alcaraz successfully defending his Wimbledon title in dominant fashion, or the incredible performances of our Olympians and Paralympians, there was something for everyone.
Rising to the challenge, Ocean went the extra distance, working alongside Team GB and ParalympicsGB to present 15 Official fan zones, aiming to bring as many people together as possible to share in the live sporting action.
The production of these fan zones nationwide was a collaborative effort undertaken with Team GB and ParalympicsGB, our landlord partners and the official sponsors who executed interactive brand activations at the more extensive fan zones in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
With so many fan zones developed on such an unprecedented scale, it was important to measure visitor experience, the value visitors attributed to the fan zone being ‘Official’, and potential outcomes for the brand sponsors.
Understanding the visitor experience
Ocean worked with two research agencies to bring this study to fruition.
Opinium for the Team GB Olympics fan zones at Battersea Power Station, Spinningfields in Manchester and St James Quarter in Edinburgh.
Savanta for the ParalympicsGB fan zone hosted by Battersea Power Station.
Both studies were conducted during the course of each Games. The methodology took the form of face-to-face interviews of visitors in the various locations. It was testament to how positively people felt about their visits that over 1,000 interviews took place.
How positive did people feel?
*Over 90% of Team GB and ParalympicsGB fan zone visitors had a positive experience.
*On average, the interviewees spent two hours in the fan zone area, a huge dwell time when compared to conventional advertising opportunities.
*92% and 79% of interviewees said they would recommend the Team GB and ParalympicsGB fan zones (respectively) to friends and family, so a significant word of mouth marketing opportunity was also being generated.
Time and again, interviewees spoke of the fan zones as family-friendly, an oasis of relaxation in the middle of a big city and a welcome opportunity to share the experience of watching live sport with like-minded people.
Key Team GB findings
One in three visits were planned
One of the key findings was that one-third of our interviewees were planned visitors, meaning they had specifically come to the location for the fan zone.
Most significantly, just under half (43%) of these planned visitors were unfamiliar with the location beforehand. This shows the fan zones pulled new audiences to these locations, and these people then spent 2 hours+ imbibing and experiencing what else the location had to offer.
35% of the planned visitors had heard about the fan zone from friends and family (which speaks back to the word of mouth potential), and the rest from a mix of online marketing activity and social media.
With 1 in 5 posting their experience on social media, there is a significant ‘social amplification’ element at work here to recruit more and more people to these activations.
60% of respondents believed in the importance of the fan zone being ‘Official’, and the added layers that come with this. Athlete visits for example added a depth to the experience which is not the case at unofficial popups of this nature.
82% of spontaneous visitors had their perception of the location enhanced, and 53% said they’d come back again. So the serendipity value is high; in a world in which much of the content we consume is algorithmically served to us, fan zones are a welcome place to discover something new in a hugely positive way.
Strong brand recall and consideration
For the brands undertaking activations at the fan zones, there was an increase in the number of people willing to consider them in the future. There were also very strong recall levels for those brands specifically undertaking big activations which involved and engaged visitors.
ParalympicsGB fan zones inspire and raise awareness of disability sport
Two specific objectives for the ParalympicsGB fan zones were to raise awareness and inspire visitors to get involved in sport.
*36% of those with disabilities said their time at the fan zone has inspired them to get more active.
*73% of all interviewees said they now had an increased understanding of inclusive sport. This increased to 82% of 16 to 25s.
Conclusion
Fan zone experiences, when curated by Ocean Labs, bring new people to locations, enable them to share great moments with like-minded people, and are of immense value to the sponsoring brands and content partners. A true example of how Ocean and our partners are turning Spaces into Places™.
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