Sports Marketing's Unhealthy Obsession With Gen Z

Younger fans are the future of sport, but don’t ignore older generations who are its current backbone, says Simon Hanley, Head of Strategy at Dark Horses.

“The average fan of the British and Irish Lions was a 60-year-old retiree.” So said The Times’ rugby podcast The Ruck, while debating the future of the iconic ensemble touring team. Paradoxically, this comment highlights a broader trend in sport – an obsession with engaging Gen Zs. That logic is clear, as young audiences represent the future. But the fixation could be completely misguided and risk creating more harm than good.

Stating the obvious here, but the Gen Z narrative isn’t new. Industry reports and LinkedIn mavericks constantly tell us how “different” this generation is. Apparently, they have radically different priorities, they don’t consume sport in “traditional” ways, and, of course, they definitely don’t wear ankle socks. We’re told that live sport is under existential threat and that Gen Zs will never sit through a full live match. At face value, this sounds alarming. But is it as damaging as it seems? What if we asked ourselves: “Did young people ever regularly sit through live sport?”

From a personal perspective, I’m an avid Leeds United fan and happily dedicate weekends watching the mighty Whites fight for Premier League survival. But did I do this as a youngster? Not really. In my youth, I had sticker books, Harry Kewell posters, and regularly badgered my mum for Match magazine. I wasn’t less of a fan – it simply reflected who I was at that point in my life. I’d argue that how Gen Z engages with sport today isn’t a big revolution. It’s more of an evolution. The main difference is the channels. Swap Match for TikTok, posters for memes, and the behaviours aren’t wildly different.

This is the key point. As we grow up, our behaviours change. Groundbreaking, right? Let’s look at food. Many kids dislike vegetables, but in their twenties they don’t hide them under a jacket potato like they might have done as a six-year-old. By the same logic, a teen who was previously uninterested in cricket may now have a trip with England’s Barmy Army at the top of their bucket list.

The truth is that generational groups aren’t as polarised as we’re led to believe. Decades of marketing research show that while channels shift, core values like connection, belonging and entertainment remain broadly consistent. Attitudes evolve gradually. They’re not abruptly changed by generation. Yet this nuance often seems lost on marketers.

If some of this “industry insight” is followed to a tee, then it could create a real danger for brands, rights holders, and governing bodies. Radical changes to win younger audiences have the potential to damage what makes a sporting product so special. Imagine Test cricket reformatted into a Baller League spectacle. Authenticity goes out the window, heritage is destroyed and what’s left has lost all its magic. This isn’t unique to cricket. Take the British and Irish Lions. Few Gen Zs can afford a tour down under. Without the 60-year-old retirees, the series would look and feel very different, and arguably less of a sporting event. Yes, sport needs to modernise in places, but there needs to be careful consideration of how that’s done.

Politics offers another cautionary tale. In the 2024 US election, Kamala Harris placed huge emphasis on winning younger voters, who were reported to be the core “swing” constituency by some key media outlets. She courted Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and invested heavily in TikTok. Yet data showed that youth turnout was lower than in the previous election, and, as we all know, the strategy didn’t deliver.

Of course, this isn’t to say Gen Zs should be ignored. In some categories, like alcohol, brandy and cognac brands desperately need reinvention to shed their outdated image; attracting a younger base is not only desirable, but essential. However, it doesn’t mean this approach should always be the default. Strategy should follow circumstance, not the other way around.

Treating this generation as the only audience of importance undermines the complexity of fandom. Audiences are dynamic. A teenager consuming match highlights today may become the adult buying a season ticket, subscribing to a TV package, or joining the Barmy Army in the future. Engaging a younger audience is just one tool in the box and a brand that pivots too hard could find itself in deeper troubles than where it started. If the Lions were to alienate their older cohort, we’ll see some very one-sided stadiums, and I’ll be a very disappointed 60-year-old retiree.

Simon Hanley is Head of Strategy at sports creative agency Dark Horses. Read the full article here.