The Lifestyle Segmentation Report is a supplement to the Superstudy® — the definitive annual syndicated tracking study that presents a comprehensive overview of sports participation in the U.S. The Superstudy® is designed to identify and analyze general patterns, trends, and relationships within a full range of over a hundred sports and activities.
The present volume augments the main body of research with an analysis of U.S. sports participation by 40 special lifestyle demographics which are defined on pp.iii-v. This analysis goes beyond the usual standard demography provided in Superstudy® volumes I, II and III and offers a richer and more colorful perspective which — by relating sports participation data to the imagery of commonly-recognized population segments — bring the data to life. This diverse panorama of the U.S. population endows the activity with a new texture, and provides the reader with a new dimension of analysis.
In contrast to the several well-known geodemographic clustering systems such as PRIZM™, ACORN™, etc. (which derive segments through multivariate statistical techniques), it should be noted that the present lifestyle data are based on an "a priori" segmentation, where the segments are defined in advance — derived purely from various combinations of known respondent demographics.
Each segment is based on some combination of available demographics: age, gender race, income, education, marital status, family type, lifecycle stage, geography and market size. Of all these variables, age is unquestionably the most powerful predictor of sports/activity participation, and generally, the segments composed of youthful demographics will reflect high indices.
Section I presents each of 118 sport/activity measurements analyzed by all 40 lifestyle demographics. Due to limited sub-samples deemed insufficient for this level of detailed analysis, several of the smaller sports/activities in the Superstudy® have been omitted from the report. In section II the organization is reversed — each lifestyle segment is analyzed by all sports/activities.
The research was designed by American Sports Data, Inc. and fielded by NFO Research, Inc. the nation's leading consumer mail panel research organization, located in Toledo, Ohio. Data processing was conducted by Crosstabs, Inc. of Plainview, New York, with American Sports Data, Inc. performing the data analysis and report preparation.
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SUPERSTUDY® METHODOLOGY
The following section describes the methodology of the SUPERSTUDY® survey of January 2007, covering calendar 2006. The methodology of the survey conducted for 2006 — upon which this report is also based — is nearly identical.
Sample and Data Collection During the period January 4–5, 2007, self-administered questionnaires were mailed to a nationwide sample of 25,000 households from the consumer mail panel of NFO Research, Inc. One individual over the age of 6 in each household was pre-selected to complete a four-page questionnaire booklet. Where the designated respondent was a young child, the parent was instructed to fill out the booklet for him or her.
No incentives were offered, nor were reminder cards mailed to respondents. At the conclusion of the fieldwork, 15,176 booklets had been returned, for a response rate of 59%. A total of 14,617 usable individual questionnaires comprised the final sample, so each respondent in the study represents 18,835 people in the U.S. population of 265,124,000.
In order to ensure a minimally acceptable number of respondents for statistical stability in some of the smaller lifestyle segments, two databases were amassed in a single tabulation. The present report is based on surveys conducted in January of 2006 and 2007 for the previous calendar years, and reflects the average participation behavior of 29,689 individuals over the age of 6 who reside in the 48 continental states. Each respondent in this combined sample represents 8,806 people in the U.S. population.
An effort was made to skew the targeted sample toward respondents who were more likely to be active sports participants (i.e. younger males, etc.). A comparison of the final composition with U.S. population parameters is contained in Table #1.
Survey Instrument Each household received a 4-page 8" x 4" questionnaire booklet targeting one individual aged 6 or older as the designated respondent. For exactly one-half the sample the 103 sports/activities were presented alphabetically by category; for the other half the list was reversed. In addition to the 3-page battery of questions on sports participation behavior, the instrument also addressed health clubs and other topics relative to exercise and physical fitness.
