Forward Momentum (Day 18 of 365)
I want to talk about the 2024 Ultiworld Disc Golf Fan Survey today.
This survey is managed by First Available Research(FAR).
They included Mint in this for the first time. That was nice to see, however I am not entirely sure the public understands why.
It is because they asked Mint to pay for "early access" to the see survey results. I get this effort needs to be funded, not a big deal honestly. We all need to make living.
I've worked in other industries though where these surveys are common. The down side is eventually all of these surveys and awards go down one path - capitalism.
The fan is the product here. I am the customer. The data has to cater to the customer. Once that data is given a monetary value, the survey is potentially flawed.
To the credit of FAR/Ultiworld, when I told them I would not pay for this(and explained why), they said it was ok and Mint would still be included in the survey.
Why do you think that is? Oh right my "competitors" still need to see where Mint lands.
Mint is also unique in how we are positioned. We are focused on Texas. We know our customers by name. We give them high fives and fist bumps every day. We spread that same vibe to our fans that aren’t from Texas.
Mint does not care what Innova is up to. I do not care that the Envy is one of the greatest putters ever made. I do not care who is the most popular player at a national level. Mint is not trying to compete with that.
So this survey might be pretty limited on customers as it caters to the national scene.
My hope is that FAR and Ultiworld read this and figure out a way to cater to all of their potential customers. Personally I think their intention is good and the service can be very valuable to some. Even if I don't want to pay for it, we need to be collecting data on the growth of the sport.
FAR is one of the very few entities doing that for disc golf. I do understand how it is valuable to others even if it’s not for Mint.
So far the FAR group has published 4 articles from the 2024 Fan Survey:
- The Survey Itself & Who Took It
- How Fans Feel About Disc Manufacturers
- Which Pros Do We Root For(And Against)?
- What Drives Fans to Root for Certain Players
Let's talk about the first one. I don't have time for all 4 today, but I'll slowly go through each over the coming weeks.
To be fully transparent, I have briefly skimmed a couple of these articles but not all. For the most part thought I am live reacting to these articles as I go.
1) The Survey Itself & Who Took It
We will go segment by segment(skipping some). I encourage you to leave right now and go read it first.
Please form your own opinions before you take in mine.
What is the Fandom Survey? (segment #1)
"At its onset in 2022, the Fandom Survey was a relatively modest endeavor to understand who fans root for and what affects their fandom. Currently in its third year, the Fandom Survey has expanded in scope. Now run by the team at First Available Research (FAR), the Fandom Survey amounts to a census of, and for, the disc golf community."
So it's pretty clear, the survey started as a way to collect data on fandom. Now it's supposed to be focused on community. So as I read each article I am curious how much they stick to this commitment.
Remember, I know they want to sell this to me. So my perspective is much different than yours. My opinions are skewed.
The rest of this segment also makes it pretty clear, the PDGA and DGPT had some influence on the questions FAR was asking you.
But how did respondents find out about the survey this year? (segment #2)
No surprises here. DGPT, PDGA and podcasts dominate how people heard about this. Over 80% of the fan found this survey from national outlets.
So who were the survey respondents?
I wasn't sure what exactly to expect here but I'm not totally surprised by Millenniums dominating this section. A lot of this generation now has disposable income and time. They also haven't started to age out like other generations before them. Millennials are also the generation currently running a lot of the popular brands in this sport.
Number of Survey Respondents in each US State (2024)
Well hello Texas. We are #1!
Mint's home base makes up the largest percentage of survey takers in the United States.
Imagine that.
I'll say it again, Austin Texas is the Disc Golf Capital of the World :)
"Are you a PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) member?"
I was actually surprised to see how many people were not PDGA members here.
40% of the users are either not active or not a member. Given that this survey was influenced by input from DGPT and PDGA, how do you think those two entities look at this?
Do you think the PDGA looks at that 40% as a potential new customer? Or something else?
I personally think a majority of this 40% has their mind made up. They are clearly involved enough in disc golf to find this survey. Afterall, a majority of the fans found this survey from PDGA, DGPT and Podcasts. But 40% of them don't want to pay for the PDGAs services. Something is off there. Fans aren't being heard.
If we go back to Segment #1(How did you hear about this survey?), roughly 83% of the fans came from platforms that a super fan would use: DGPT, PDGA, Jomez, Podcasts and Discord.
That's 83% of the users here that are following the sport at it's highest level, but only 60% of them are willing to pay to support it.
The PDGA is not for everyone. I knew that. So I don't view all of that missing 40% as a potential PDGA customer. They have their own reasons for not being members, and the PDGA will likely never be able to cater to all of them unless they find a way to reduce the cost to join the PDGA.
What was included in this year’s survey?
Respondents of the 2024 Fandom Survey answered an array of questions on five main topics:
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- Player Perception - Your view of Pro Players
- Entertainment from the Sport - How you engage with the sport as a fan
- Engagement with the Sport - How you engage with the sport as a player
- Sponsor Perceptions - How you view sponsors
- Participant Profile - Who is the community?
Who would benefit the most from knowing your views on Pro Players and Sponsors?
Who would benefit from knowing how you are entertained and engaged?
Those are categories and questions built to cater to businesses who will buy your data. The people running this survey also were very clear that their original focus in 2022 was to collect data on sponsors and players. The entire purpose of FAR is built around that original mission.
That data does not improve disc golf for you.
It improves my bottom line as a business.
They also added this important detail:
"This year, the Fandom Survey also utilized personalized surveys for all respondents. How was this different from past years’ surveys? All questions were filtered based on a respondent’s previous answers. For example, only respondents who indicated that they were PDGA members were asked about their view on current PDGA membership benefits. In this way, we were able to remove impartial or non-applicable respondents from specific questions throughout the survey, and every respondent only spent their time answering the questions that were the most applicable to them. Additionally, survey respondents were able to choose the length of survey they were willing to take."
So, the questions asked in the survey will vary based on your answers.
Yet the example given above is the PDGA membership diversion; of which 40% of the survey responders don't currently support.
Potentially 40% of the users were diverted from answering questions about the PDGA. My assumption is "impartial and non-applicable" respondents means they don't want to collect a bunch of negative feedback.
Why would they not want to hear why you aren't a PDGA member?
So the data for the PDGA in this survey is driven solely by active PDGA members, and the survey itself was influenced by the PDGA. The PDGA data didn’t care about you if you said you were not a member.
My brain goes in few directions with this information:
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- Did FAR and the PDGA already know that 40% of the users were non-members when they made the choice to offer personalized surveys?
- If FAR and the PDGA did not know this, was this a flaw in the survey's design?
- If the PDGA expected this result before hand, then that means their focus is to improve the benefits and their communication towards the 60%. They care more about retaining 60% than going after the 40%.
I have no idea how the PDGA actually influenced this or what they want. This is just my brain working backwards to assume how they are thinking about the industry.
My assumptions and opinions aren't always right, but I would like to think my perspective and experience point me in the right direction on some of this.
My final thoughts on this.
There was another pretty shocking number, the DGN subscription rate among survey users mirrors the PDGA’s numbers.
About 60% subscribe to DGN and 40% don't.
That's 40% of the fans here saying they don't subscribe to the PDGA and DGPT.
That's something you can’t ignore. That's huge.
It's not a great number to see.
The article also completely glosses over these details. They post the numbers and then do little to discuss what these numbers actually mean collectively.
Why? I am the customer. DGPT is the customer. PDGA is the customer. Ultiworld is the customer.
Not you.
Turns out it did matter to me.
the business side of disc golf has been a confusing mess tbh. i realize that the growth requires money, and i support the growth, thus i provide the money. but as the cost rises, the change my money is helping fund doesn’t truly feel tangible. By and large, a lot of the experience is “oh okay, i’m getting what i got last year, but it’s just slightly more expensive—— if you divide the cost monthly, it’s barely a big expense, right?” at best, and at worst it’s “i’m getting less, and it cost more” 🤨.
i don’t want to abstain from supporting disc golf, but i sometimes feel like im duped or guilt trip into support disc golf, as opposed to being excited to buy in to whatever they’re offering.
Just my millennial brain – but when I look at the PDGA membership I just think, “is it worth that much?” Same for the the DGN. It’s not that I don’t want to support either but my brain says I need to get bang for my buck. Yes, I know the the PDGA membership supports growth and things that we don’t see day to day. But, for whatever reason this is where my thought goes. I’m sure I’m not alone. The question might be asked, if I’m not playing about of sanctioned tournaments is it worth the membership fees?!? Again, I know where the money goes… but I’d imagine that, lack of interest from the covid boom, and people struggling with inflation has largely lead to the PDGA losing members. Perhaps that is why they’re more concerned with losing what they’ve got than gaining the lost?!?
Great blog! I’m really enjoying reading these!!!
I would be interested in the amount of survey takers in 23 who were PDGA (active) and DGN subs. To your point though if (as I would assume) they lost subscribers YoY (specifically DGN) what that would make selling ad space a tougher ask and less valuable so probably not worth including in this “informational” survey.
Great blog! Thanks for doing these!