3 mins
The Nations Cup in numbers
After the Nations Cup, we found out what people thought about the staging of the events in London and Leeds. We also carried out some research with under 24 year-olds to find out what they love about our events and what England Netball can do to enhance their netball experience even further.
NPS
Overall, the NPS (Net Promoter Score) was +81, with world-class equating to +70. The first day of Leeds was rated the highest (+86).
Purchasing behaviour
81% report buying food and/or drink during the event, while 38% purchased a programme, a slight increase on the South Africa series. 33% bought merchandise and 6% purchased a radio earpiece.
Partnership activation and brand loyalty
Many sponsors have seen a growth in awareness of them as partners – in particular Sky Sports and Gilbert. Gilbert were up to 67% and Sky Sports to 68%, up from 41% at the Jamaica series and 63% at the South Africa series. Nike was at 62% and Vitality stayed at 92%.
Fan profiles
Recurring attendees are the same as for the South Africa series at 77%
There was no change in the proportions of people coming with friends or children (36% and 42% respectively).
Marketing & Communications
50% of fans heard about the Nations Cup across England Netball social media channels, 38% from an England Netball membership email and 35% via the England Netball website.
Of those that heard about the event via England Netball social channels, 66% saw it on Instagram and 44% on Instagram Stories. While Facebook is still the second most common social media channel for promotion, it is declining – less than half had heard on Facebook (49%) compared with 54% for the South Africa series and 56% for the Jamaica series last year.
NETBALLHer
68% had heard of NETBALLHer.
60% had done something as a result of hearing about NETBALLHer – 37% had visited the website, 39% read an article, while 40% had done nothing.
Attending live netball in the future
79% of fans would consider attending a Vitality Roses international in the future and almost 1 in 2 fans 42% would consider attending weekly NSL games always or very often.
Fans are likely to make time to attend events with only 9% indicating lack of time as a barrier.
What they said
We interviewed children and their parents across the four event days and below we have laid out some of the quotes from the research.
Why young fans come to internationals…
“I think it was nice to have the discount off tickets for being a Member – it was definitely an incentive to attend.” Fan aged 23
“I love the crowd interaction at quarter and half time – it’s always great. It’s a very fun day.” Fan aged 16
“I come to watch the players and the speed of the game, I would say I like to play creatively when I play netball and a lot of the shooters do little tricks, especially Berri Neil, who does pop balls that I get quite inspired by and want to use in my game.” Fan aged 17
“It’s inspirational watching what the players are doing and then taking it back to your own training.” Fan aged 12
“I like how quick the game is and if it’s really close and dramatic at the end.” Fan aged 11
“I think it’s really special for people to be able to come and see their country play. I think that it’s such a good experience.” Fan aged 13
And what young people want from netball…
“To be more about fun and less about the competitive aspects. Everyone enjoys netball just playing it for fun; coaches sometimes make it too serious, and that’s what makes a lot of young people, my age specifically, quit.” Player aged 17
“I’d like my club to organise more days out, to Super League matches or just like fun days out like team bonding experiences.” Player aged 18
“I love that playing netball takes my mind off a lot of other things and it’s just fun.” Player aged 14
“I love netball. It’s a fun team sport but me and my friends don’t like playing in the cold!” Player aged 12
“I love that playing netball takes my mind off a lot of other things and it’s just fun.” Player aged 14