Male members of Generation Z (consumers ages 13 to 21) are following sports, just not the ones you would typically expect. According to a Whistle Sports study detailed by MediaPost writer Colby Graff, 52% Gen Z members follow nontraditional sports. Nontraditional sports include obstacle courses, extreme running, and physical skills competitions.

In-​Game Advertisements

Now, that’s not to say that this generation doesn’t pay attention to traditional sports as well. The problem is that 55% of younger males prefer simply looking up the final score and highlights of football, baseball, basketball, and such after the game has ended. Why? They hate the number of advertisements shown during the games. But, wait. Doesn’t that mean that they should also be annoyed with the advertising that takes place during nontraditional sports? No. About 69% believe that the advertisements on during nontraditional sports are non-​obtrusive.

How to Advertise

That leaves advertisers who target Gen Zers with ads surrounding sporting events with a few obvious choices. One: Stick to commercials during nontraditional sporting events. Two: Invest in pre- and post-​video advertisements that will run during the traditional sports highlights videos this generation will be looking up later. Both are lucrative. According to AdMall data, 57.7% of Gen Zers took action after seeing a TV commercial within the past year and 51.6% were driven to action by pre-​roll video ads. For more information on how to target Generation Z members with advertisements, check out their profile on AudienceSCAN from AdMall by SalesFuel. According to Whistle Sports, Gen Z is going to have one million more members than millennials within the next two years. They’ll have significant buying power and now you know what they enjoy in their free time. Make sure you keep your clients up-to-date.