Insights from dentsu Sports Analytics' Decoding 360 platform shed light on CrossFit as a strategic partnership option for brands seeking fresh opportunities in a crowded market.

Revolutionizing Fan Receptivity Metrics

Over a decade ago, dentsu Sports Analytics and MKTG pioneered a shift from traditional sports marketing metrics by introducing the concept of Fan Receptivity. This approach goes beyond mere avidity and audience size, delving into consumers' attitudes towards sponsorship and engagement with sponsors to understand the true addressable audience of a sports or entertainment property for brands.

Source: dentsu Sports Analytics / MKTG

Receptivity is now embedded within our Decoding 360 Fan Receptivity & Profiling platform, which provides rich insights on fan behaviour across 12 global markets.

CrossFit – Leading on Fan Receptivity

Decoding 360’s demographic data already tells us that US-based CrossFitters skew younger with higher household income — an attractive profile for brands. Yet, what really distinguishes CrossFit is the high Receptivity of its audience. With over 60% being Receptive to sponsorship, double the overall US population, and an additional 35% being Selective, CrossFit presents a substantial opportunity for brands to connect with an engaged audience.

Unlike other major sports properties where 8-14% of fans disengage immediately from brand messages, 96% of the CrossFit audience remains open to brand messaging. This high level of Receptivity establishes a vast and engaged addressable audience, providing brands with a unique opportunity for meaningful interactions.

Source: dentsu Sports Analytics / Decoding 360

Category targeting with Decoding 360

Going beyond demographics and Receptivity, Decoding 360 also allows us to identify primary decision-makers in key categories within the CrossFit audience who are Receptive to brand messaging.

Source: dentsu Sports Analytics / Decoding 360

The data above shows the Top 10 categories where CrossFit participants over-index against the US general population in terms of being a primary decision maker. While there are some categories we might expect to be included given the nature of the property (Health/Nutrition, Healthcare), there are others that are less expected but potentially an even better fit for a partner to leverage.

For Investing, Real Estate, and Tax Preparation categories, nearly 75% of CrossFit decision-makers are Receptive to sponsorship, providing confidence that these hard-to-reach consumers can be found and engaged with by brands within the CrossFit environment.

For a category like Credit Cards, where many brands are already active in the sponsorship space, although the raw audience reach may not be as large as some of the other leading properties, the price point and openness of fans of properties such as CrossFit can offer a more efficient way to reach these consumers.

Optimizing sponsorship targeting with Receptivity insight

Regardless of the category, what is clear from the data is that CrossFit is a property that brands should be looking at and considering if they are not already. There are a lot of factors that need to align for partnerships to happen and even more to make them successful. However, an attractive audience that demonstrates an openness and willingness to engage with sponsors is a great place to start.

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