August 23rd, 2023, Lesley Simeon
Energy drinks brand Celsius has partnered with Major League Soccer (MLS) to come on board as the latter’s official energy drink partner. The deal, which is Celsius’ first national sports partnership in the US, will see the brand become the presenting partner of extra time in MLS and find a spot on field-level LED boards during matches. Additionally, the drink brand will have integrations within MLS matches on Apple TV, consumer experiences and brand activations at select matches and events.
We look at YouGov data to see which sports current customers of the brand or those who would consider purchasing the beverage (i.e. Celsius’ customers) watch/follow.
According to YouGov Profiles - which covers demographic, psychographic, attitudinal and behavioral consumer metrics - nearly half (45%) of Celsius’ customers watch/follow football (i.e. NFL). Close to three in ten consumers in this group (27%) watch/follow basketball, followed by baseball (24%) and ice hockey (16%).
As for soccer, 11% of Celsius’ customers watch/follow this sport.
We also look at the kinds of beverages soccer fans in the US (i.e. those who watch/follow the sport) consume.
Profiles data shows that 8% of soccer fans in the US usually consume energy drinks. By comparison, 5% of the general US population usually drinks energy drinks.
A majority of this group (72%) usually drinks coffee or tea, followed by soft drinks (60%) and juices (58%).
We also explore YouGov data to see what MLS’ audience as well as Celsius’ current customers think about advertising.
Profiles data shows that 64% of MLS’ audience feels that “sometimes the brands that sponsor sports don’t make sense.” A similar proportion of Celsius’ customers (63%) share this sentiment.
Nearly half of both, MLS’ audience (46%) and Celsius’ customers (48%) agree that they “take notice of who sponsors the sporting events (they) watch.” By comparison, a little over a third of the general US population (34%) agrees with this statement.
Finally, 45% of MLS’ audience feels that “as a sports fan, (they) deserve special discounts from the sponsors.” Celsius’ audience (38%) and the general American population (30%) are less likely to feel this way.
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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for the US is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.
Photo by Tareq Ismail on Unsplash