The Partner

Netball Australia is the driving force behind one of the nation’s most beloved sports, leading the game from grassroots to the global stage –  home to the world’s best netball league, Suncorp Super Netball.

The 2025 Season was one for the record books, drawing in the biggest crowd and widest reach the league has ever seen:

• 386,455 total season attendance - the biggest in SSN history
• 15,013 fans at the Grand Final in Rod Laver Arena - the largest crowd ever for an SSN match
• Most-watched game ever on Kayo Sports and Foxtel
• Finals Series viewership up 26% year-on-year

Fans filled the stands, tuned in across more platforms than ever (Foxtel, Kayo, SEN, Netball Pass, AWSN, Inverleigh - and for the first time, BINGE), and brought an unmatched energy to every round.

For all their success on the court and in the stands, Netball Australia saw an untapped opportunity: using a digital fan survey to go deeper into who their fans really are. 

The opportunity: With a rapidly growing audience, SSN wanted to go beyond attendance numbers and broadcast stats. They wanted to know who their fans really were - and how to connect with them in more meaningful ways. 

The Goal

Netball Australia’s fan survey aimed to gain a deeper read on who their audience is, and was conducted as part of their marketing plan to reach new audiences and grow commercial outcomes.

• Map their audience beyond game-day attendance
• Understand habits, passions and motivations both in and out of netball
• Use those insights to shape content strategy, sponsorship alignment, and fan engagement tactics

• What kind of off-court content do you love?
• Do you play netball yourself?
• What social causes do you care about?
• Which live events do you like to attend?

They aimed to continue producing high-quality editorial and on-court content to keep netball top of mind and support key messaging, while embracing off-court culture-driven content tailored to new audiences and their interests outside of sports.

The Strategy

The team launched the Suncorp Super Netball Fan Survey during the middle rounds of the season, running it for one month.

To boost participation, they:

1. Offered a great prize: A free year of Kayo, Australia’s leading sports streaming service (appealing to all sports fans, not just netball diehards).
2. Distributed Promotion: Organic and paid media across SSN social, email, and league channels with some promotional support from individual SSN clubs. 

“We wanted this survey to improve our understanding of our current fanbase while also attracting new audiences,” said Stephanie Smarrelli, Communications Specialist.

“Securing a prize that would appeal beyond netball was crucial. With SSN continuing to prosper and the Netball World Cup in Sydney in 2027, these insights will help shape our plans moving forward.”

The why behind the Suncorp Super Netball Fan Survey was also clear:

“We pride ourselves on centring all of our content and campaigns around the fan, and needed a way to better understand consumer behaviour to deliver deeper, audience-focused initiatives,” said Olivia Newman, Digital Marketing Specialist.

The Results

Netball Australia proved that a digital survey is an effective way to engage fans. They walked away with rich new fan profiles in their CDP, actionable insights into behaviours, platforms and interests, and data to guide both casual fan nurturing and diehard fan engagement.

• Over 4000 fans completed the survey
• 70% of fans who viewed the campaign promo entered it
• 88% of entries opted in for future marketing communications
• 42% of respondents were entirely new to their CDP

“The fan survey gave us better insight into where our fans are spending their time when they’re not watching netball, which ultimately helps us build channel-specific tactics. For example, Spotify ranked as the third most used app by respondents, which prompted us to increase marketing spend there,”  said Olivia Newman.

Why it Worked

Most fan surveys stay surface-level. The Suncorp Super Netball Fan Survey didn't.

This survey worked because it asked the right questions, questions that reveal not just how  fans interact with the sport, but who they are outside it. That gave them a 360-degree view of their audience, including:

• Engagement Level - casual viewers vs core fans
• Platform preferences  - where fans are, and where to spend ad dollars
• Lifestyle insights - to fuel content and sponsorship ideas

• Tailor communication by fan segment
• Plan marketing around proven interest points
• Build stronger partnerships with sponsors wanting to interact with those audiences

Overall, the incentive was attractive, the timing was strategic, the questions were insightful, and the distribution channels were diverse enough to reach both core and casual fans.

Key Takeaways

• Ask beyond the obvious. Fans’ non-sport interests can unlock fresh partnership and content opportunities.
• Make the prize irresistible. Choose incentives that widen your reach beyond your existing base. The Kayo prize was a strategic choice because it tied in all sports fans, not just netball.
• Segment for precision: separate fans by their level of engagement, which platforms they use, or what messages they resonate with to tailor your comms strategy.
• Leverage your clubs. Fans often follow their favourite teams on socials, so make sure to get your clubs involved in the distribution too
• Act on the data. Focus on what you’ll do with the data (i.e. keep the end in mind). Turn survey answers into sharper content calendars, ad targeting strategies, and sponsor pitches.

Ready to know your fans like Netball Australia does?

Get in touch with our team and we'll show you how to design, launch and activate a fan survey that delivers on insights and revenue opportunities. 

Let's talk fandom.