A DIGITALIZATION OF SPORTS FAN’S EXPERIENCE: A CASE STUDY OF THE WNBA
The external shock of COVID-19 forced many professional sport organizations to cancel live sporting events, requiring sport organizations to engage consumers primarily through social media. This research uses the Sports Experience Design (SX) framework to explore how social media influenced the WNBA fan experiences in the 2020 season. In addition, principles of a relationship marketing approach were integrated into the SX to guide this investigation. To understand how the WNBA’s social media content fits into the SX framework the research examined engagement rates and how that impacts the user’s experience and organization’s strategy and off-season opportunities for the organization or players to remain relevant to their consumer base.
Sports management, Basketball, Digital sports marketing, Fan engagement, Social media, WNBA
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