How to boil down the matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners this weekend? Nose tackles? Quarterbacks? Temperture at game time? Punt returns? Or is it between who shops at Bonobos vs. Men’s Wearhouse?
Huh? The Ticket’s Bob Sturm or Norm Hitzges are too scared to break down statistics like that, but Fort Worth’s Buxton will.
According to Buxton research, the differences between the rival college football factions extend to their respective brand choices.
There is virtually no overlap in the top 10 restaurants, clothing retailers, department stores and hotels that followers of the Big 12 powerhouses are more likely to visit than the average college football fan, according to an analysis of foot traffic generated by mobile devices by Buxton, a provider of customer analytics based in Fort Worth.
Using its Live Mobile Insights platform, Buxton analyzed two years of location data to determine how often fans of each program visit various retail and dining locations compared with the average college football fan. The insights generated by combining the data with other key inputs allow brand owners to build a more accurate profile of their real customers. That, in turn, helps them to make significantly better decisions about where to add outlets or invest in remodels, while also improving the effectiveness of marketing at existing locations.
Named for the waterway that marks the border between Texas and Oklahoma, the fabled Red River Showdown is among the most storied rivalries in US college sports. Texas leads the series that began in 1900 with 62 wins to 47 and enters the Oct. 12 game at the iconic Cotton Bowl in Dallas ranked 11th with a 4-1 record, while the No. 6 Sooners are seeking to improve to a 6-0 mark.
Compared with the average for college football, the Sooners demographic may skew slightly toward young families, with clothing retailers including OshKosh B’gosh, Motherhood Maternity and The Children’s Place all more likely to be visited by fans of the team, along with youth-centric stores such as PacSun, Brandy Melville and Justice, which targets tween girls.
Data show markedly different choices for Longhorns with a top 10 that includes plus-size outfitters Avenue and Lane Bryant, jeans retailers Lucky Brand and Levi’s Outlet Store, and brands that target younger consumers such as upscale designer Tory Burch, Urban Outfitters and outdoors focused Title Nine.
Male Sooners are represented by Walmart unit Bonobos and Men’s Warehouse, while Longhorns favor Al’s Formalwear, which counts 39 of its 49 locations in its native Texas.
Texas fans have a preference for upscale department stores and are most likely to be found shopping at Nordstrom compared with the average fan. Next is Neiman Marcus, which was founded in Dallas and is headquartered there, followed by Dillard’s, which currently has more stores in the Lone Star state than any other. While Dillard’s is the department store more likely than any other to be visited by Oklahoma fans, their list includes more discounters such as Ross, JCPenney and Kohl’s.
Accommodation data indicate that Longhorns like to play in the Texas Hill Country. Top of the lodging category is The Other Place, on a bend on the Comal River in New Braunfels south of Austin, while another favorite is the nearby Maricopa Riverside Lodge, on the banks of the Guadalupe. Also among their top preferences are Motel 6 and Travelodge, both of which have New Braunfels locations, and WoodSpring Suites, which has sites in Austin and San Antonio.
Budget options are sprinkled throughout the Sooners choices through brands such as Candlewood Suites, La Quinta and Studio 6, along with mid-market offerings such as Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham and Embassy Suites by Hilton.
When it comes to dining, Sooners and Longhorns have a tendency to favor local and regional brands over large national ones. With Oklahoma, not until No. 8 do you find a recognizable brand in Andy’s Frozen Custard, which operates in 10 states, while the bottom 10 includes such names as Dunkin’ Donuts, Jamba Juice, Baskin-Robbins, Steak n Shake, Which Wich, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Dickie’s Barbecue Pit.
It’s a similar story for Longhorns, with Waffle House, Jamba Juice, Dunkin’ Donuts, Steak n Shake, Arby’s and Burger King all near the bottom of the table, while local offerings such as The Office Lounge and Short Stop north of Austin dominate the top.
For the analysis, Buxton defined a fan as someone whose device was geolocated at a home football game during the past two seasons and who also lives within 50 miles of the Oklahoma or Texas football stadiums. The results were then compared against those for the average fan, defined using the same parameters, of teams in nine major college football conferences and were adjusted to reflect the presence of a brand within 50 miles of each school’s respective stadium, to ensure accurate comparisons.