Audience research

Head of the project :
Dr. Hans Stollenwerk            

Period of research:
Since 1977 (ongoing) 

Content:
Until the beginning of the 1970s, little was known about the audience of sporting events. Dr. Hans Stollenwerk is a research pioneer, who developed this field scientifically. He and his team have investigated changes such as the composition, behavior, the motives and desires of sport audiences, as well as changing aspects of marketing of sporting events and put them in a general societal context. The studies are based on aspects of different sciences such as leisure research, sociology, social psychology and sports economics. Additionally, international sports events have been included in the investigations.

The objectives of the project include:

• Investigation of the demographic structure, the area of ​​entry, the reasons of attendance, the financial/emotional involvement of the visitors, aspects of interaction, assessment of the economic conditions, etc.

• To  support sport events and partners in the their ongoing development and improvement of the offerings and marketing

•  Accumulating comparable data, by continuous surveying of sporting event to measure the changes. To this end, basic questions are retained and new questions are added to current developments.

The individual studies are part of a comprehensive study of the sports scene in Europe, and are carried out and accompanied by the Institute for European Sports Development and Leisure Research (IESF). The individual investigations are usually carried out in writing by means of a random survey, supplemented by online surveys. Within the scope of the project, numerous qualification work, as well as project and research reports were produced throughout the entire duration of the project