Fan Engagement and Motivating Factors to Attend Live Basketball Games Among Generation Y and Z Consumers : Case Kouvolan Kouvot ry

Kouvolan Kouvot has been one of the most successful basketball organization in Finnish basketball for a long time, and the organization has gained a strong fanbase over the years. In its’ own area in the city of Kouvola, Kouvot is one of the most known sport organizations and it offers activities to all age groups. On the highest competitive level of men’s basketball, Kouvot has participated several decades and won multiple championships and other medals. Even though, the fanbase has been strong, Kouvot have not had the success of gaining the interest of younger customers like the organization would have wanted, and has led to aging spectator groups, which might be a problem for the future. The purpose of the thesis was to collect up to date data of the consuming behavior and offer new fea-tures to attract the interest of younger generations towards Kouvolan Kouvot and organization’s game-events. In addition, thesis provides information about the awareness and interest towards Kouvot among younger generations and their interests towards basketball game-events. The focus groups of the thesis were generation Z and Y consumers in the area of Kouvola. Based on the topic the type of the thesis was selected to be a case study, so there an opportunity to study the con-suming behavior and interests of a single consumer and compare those with each other. Based on the results of the study, interests and motivations in game-events have changed because of the rise of social media and digitalization. Interaction and different types of extra features during the game-event have increased the level of importance among younger generations. Kouvolan Kouvot was given suggestions on, how to improve and increase the interest level among generation Z and Y cur-rent and prospective customers