News & Views | DECEMBER, 2024

Voice of the Leisure & Sports Consumer

A Lifting of the Malaise Bodes Well for Consumer Spending

In our latest Consumer Barometer, we are seeing a twelve month low in budget consciousness and perceptions of recessionary conditions that haven’t looked this good since before the pandemic. (CLICK HERE FOR A QUICK INFOGRAPHIC)

YOLO Nation!  People are More Apt to Live For Today 

Another factor that has us bullish on short term leisure spending and actualization are attitudinal trends that prioritize impulsiveness. (SEE MORE).

With the Election Behind us, Americans Need a Vacation

It doesn’t matter who you voted for or how old you are, a significant majority of consumers are feeling a desire to get away from it all. (SEE THE DETAILS)

SLRG’s Jon Last and David Klein go inside the golf industry with their regular podcast for The First Call.  Here are the most recent episodes.

DRIVER$: Why Branding is About So Much More than a Great Logo

December 11, 2024

Sports & Leisure Research Group’s Jon Last and David Klein, co-host of “DRIVER$”, sit down with Derek Sussner, founder and executive creative director of SUSSNER, to unpack how and why golf facility branding is at the heart of golf’s increased resonance with a broader audience. LISTEN HERE

DRIVER$: Propelling the PGA of America into a New Era

November 8, 2024

Augusta Ranch Golf Club owner Don Rea Jr., joins Jon Last and David Klein to share his personal and professional journey, along with his enthusiastic and energetic vision for the PGA of America upon his inauguration as the association’s 44th president. LISTEN HERE

DRIVER$: John Bryan’s Commitment to Youth and Player Development

October 22, 2024

U.S. Kids’ John Bryan has led PGA sections and helped to foster player development for decades.  He joins Sports & Leisure Research Group’s Jon Last and David Klein to reflect on making a difference through golf and where the game needs to go. LISTEN HERE 

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Sports and Leisure Research Group President Jon Last regularly shares insights driven perspectives in Media Post’s Marketing Insider, on the second Tuesday of each month.  Here are his latest columns:

Positive Outlook For Sports Consumption, Spending

December 11, 2024

December is the time of year when market researchers like myself look to synthesize our observations about consumer sentiment to think about the year ahead. From a sports marketing standpoint, I like what I am seeing. A Break in the Malaise? Sports has always been seen as an oasis from the stresses of daily life.

READ MORE »

Organized Sports’ Battle For Share Of Youth Has Marketing Implications

November 14, 2024

In Media Post, SLRG President Jon Last shares new insights with implications for the marketing of youth sports.

READ MORE »

How to Avoid Respondent Fraud in Qualitative Research

How sure are you that your focus group and face to face research participants are really who you want them to be?  In the new Winter issue of QRCA Views, we offer up actionable recommendations to address a growing issue in qualitative research.  Read it HERE

SLRG’s Jon Last is a past President and current marketing chair of Market Research Institute International, a thought leadership group and partner with The University of Georgia in offering the leading global online certificate programs, supporting the career development and education of market research professionals.  SLRG is also a proud sponsor of the Institute.



MRII ‘s podcast series offers compelling discussions with industry leaders.  Last is one of the hosts of the series.  Be sure to take a listen to these recently released episodes.

What Does Leadership Look Like Today and Tomorrow

December 11, 2024



In the latest episode of MRII’s Insights & Innovators, SLRG President Jon Last dives deeply into current and future definitions of leadership with Crispin Beale, CEO of Insights 250 the organization that recognizes and promotes those visionaries transforming the insights profession. (LISTEN HERE)

Research at the Strategy Table with Brett Townsend, Quester

November 8, 2024

SLRG President Jon Last sits down with Quester’s Brett Townsend to discuss the state of the insights industry and how Brett’s new book diagnoses critical success factors. Is Research on the Brink? That’s the title of the new book from Brett Townsend, SVP of Strategy at Quester. (LISTEN HERE)

Learn more about MRII HERE

There’s a lot to be thankful for as SLRG’s sixteenth year in business was also its most successful.  Reflecting back on this incredible journey and what hopefully lies ahead, only reinforces my often used answer when people ask me what drove me into the research profession, and that is in large part, the pursuit of truth.

More than ever we are surrounded and inundated with a blurring avalanche of data, information and all too often opinion posing as fact.  To be the most effective marketers, we need to understand what is really happening behind the sizzle and sound bytes. That’s what continues to motivate us to work with our valued clients to draw out actionable insights in the right way, avoiding the pervasive quick fixes that often pose as research, and to understand what is truly driving consumer behavior and perspective.  It never gets old, and as the years fly by it seems to become increasingly interesting as our world concurrently becomes more complex and more impetuous.

To those who have been and continue to be part of this endless pursuit, thank you for making it fun and enlightening at the same time.  May you all enjoy a meaningful and joyous holiday season, and let’s continue to make it happen together in 2025!