The Sponsorship Channels Shaping The Future of Women’s Sport
Published on
by Dominic Mills
Women's sport continues its upward trajectory, with key metrics such as viewership, attendance, revenue generation and fan engagement all driving interest from brands looking for sponsorship opportunities.
In this feature, we explore three sponsorship channels that are proving to be particularly impactful for brands in women’s sport.
In this Insight:
A New Dawn
The rapid growth and increased investment in women’s sport is one of the most exciting trends in the sport industry today.
Recent times have seen major women’s teams, leagues and federations, including WNBA, LPGA, and a number of rights-holders across women’s football deliver landmark successes in meaningful metrics such as viewership, attendance, revenue generation and fan engagement.
These results have seen Deloitte estimate that women’s sport will generate approximately $1.3 billion in revenue in 2024, a more than 300% increase from their 2021 valuation.
Behind this growth is a new generation of women’s sport fans. Typically younger, more engaged and whose fandom is centred around a deep-rooted belief in levelling the playing field, these fans are proving to be an increasingly important audience for brands - but how do organisations best reach them?
In this feature, we explore three channels that are proving to be particularly impactful for brands in women’s sport.
$1.3 Billion
The estimated value of women's sport in 2024 (Deloitte)
Athlete Marketing
The sheer speed at which women’s sport has grown has undoubtedly had an impact on every aspect of the industry, but few have experienced as much change as the athletes themselves.
Although sports like tennis and golf have a longer history of providing platforms for female athletes, many of the current most popular women’s sports, including football and basketball have only in recent years reached the media exposure levels that have attracted major sponsorship deals for their athletes.
Athlete sponsorships have long been a lucrative avenue for organisations looking to position their brand alongside popular sporting figures, enabling them to connect with their fans and followers, but the market has historically been heavily tilted toward men’s sport.
The increasing popularity of women’s sports has however made more brands turn to female athletes. In addition to now having a greater platform, many female athletes are perceived differently to men. A Nielsen Sport study found that fans perceived female athletes to be more 'inspiring’, ‘competitive’ and ‘family oriented’, as well as less ‘money-driven’ than male athletes.
This likability can be crucial for brands looking to increase engagement with their audience, where female athletes’ relatability can help position the brand through meaningful storytelling.
Social Media
It’s not just the athletes themselves that have the power to reach and engage key brand audiences, it’s also their social media channels.
Social media is a key communication tool for most businesses today, but particularly so for brands looking to engage with women’s sports fans.
A number of surveys that have analysed women’s sports fans, including research from GWI, have found that those that follow women’s sport are more engaged on social media and use their phones more whilst watching sport, compared to other fans.
Any marketeer will tell you that engagement is a golden metric when it comes to social media, and although women’s sports fans are more engaged across social media channels, they also demand authentic and relatable content.
Partnerships such as FC Barcelona Femeni and Spotify have shown how this can be done, by seamlessly incorporating brand related content such as player playlists and pre-match music to their social media channels, thereby capturing fan engagement whilst keeping the brand central.
54 %
of women's sports fans follow pro sports leagues, teams and players on social media - compared to average sports fan: 40%
32 %
of women's sports fans listen to sports radio/podcast - compared to average sports fan: 21%
Hospitality & Events
One of women’s sports' unique selling points is its ability to create a sense of community and belonging.
A recent PwC survey found that it is precisely this sense of community that serves as a driving influence for fandom in women’s sport, with 33% of fans stating that they watch to connect with others.
There are a few ways in which brands can tap into fans’ desire for a sense of community, one of which is through hospitality and event experiences. Whether looking to host business contacts in a Hospitality setting or creating fan-centred events, these experiences are an important channel for brands looking to gain authenticity and awareness in women’s sport.
Here, brands such as Coca-Cola have shown how to combine these experiences through their partnership with FIFA Women’s World Cup.
For the 2023 edition of the competition, Coca-Cola complemented their digital and OOH marketing activities with a number of consumer experiences, including fan zones, hospitality tickets and a customer expo all with the aim of creating value for their customers during the tournament.
Values-First Marketing
As with any marketing activity, the business must choose channels and an approach which reflects the overarching marketing strategy and the key target audiences. If women’s sport reflects these, then the above mentioned channels are worth exploring for brands.
As well as choosing the right channels, brands must ensure they follow certain broader steps when working in women’s sport, these include operating with a values-first mindset and creating a long-term, fan-centred strategy.
At SPORTFIVE, we work with the biggest brands to help mould and implement sponsorships and sponsorship strategies in women’s sport.
From connecting brands like Adobe and Skoda with world leading rightsholders to activating LEGO’s meaningful campaign work with football stars like Samantha Kerr, we build the bridges between brands and women’s sport.
If you want to find out more about sponsorship in women’s sport or our work, feel free to get in touch.
Interested in learning more about women’s football? Unlock key insights and growth opportunities with our whitepaper: The Rise Of Women’s Football: A Movement, Not A Moment.
