Brands go for the gold in women’s sports – Brand Innovators

Women’s sports is having a moment, and marketers are taking note. At the Olympic Games, the talk was all about the medal counts racked up by Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky and the U.S. Women’s Soccer team ending its gold medal drought. Indeed, the 2024 Paris Olympics are the first games to reach gender parity, with competitors split 50-50 between men and women. And earlier this year, the WNBA draft got as much attention as the men’s draw, with fans pondering the future of rookie Caitlin Clark (who went to the Indiana Fever). 

“It’s a really exciting time for women in sports. I think they’re finally getting their due,” said Linda Bethea, CMO of Danone. The CPG company teamed up with Olympic athletes Sha’Carri Richardson, Jordan Chiles and Kristie Mewis for a “Nourish Your Hustle” campaign for its yogurt brands tied to their Olympic medal bids. 

“That was our way to really bring to life the fact that these women are performing at the highest levels,” Betha explained. “They are hustling and they are winning and they’re fueled by Danone yogurt drinks in the process.” 

Brands are increasingly embracing the power of sponsoring women’s sports, from Delta Air Lines to banking company Barclays. The financial platform Ally Financial had pledged in 2022 to reach parity on advertising between men’s and women’s sports within five years, and on the first anniversary of its pledge, the company announced it was already ahead of schedule, nearing 60/40 split by the close of 2023. Ally expects to reach its target ahead of schedule as early as the end of 2024. 

One survey found sponsorships in women’s pro sports shot up more than 22% year over year in 2024, thanks to more than 5,500 sponsorship deals. An estimate by Deloitte noted that spending on women’s sports—including merchandising, broadcast rights and ticket sales—has more than tripled in three years to finally surpass $1 billion in 2024. GroupM, the media-buying arm of WPP Group, announced during the media upfronts that it would double its commitment to spending on women’s sports. 

A number of factors—including changing attitudes, regulations and consumer behavior—has led to the recent flourishing of women’s sports sponsorships. More than 40 years after passing, Title IX legislation, which opened up opportunities for women in college sports, is bearing fruit. This summer, the women’s NCAA basketball final drew a record-breaking audience of more than 19 million viewers that even beat the ratings for the men’s final, and the final of the NCAA softball Women’s World Series sold out a stadium that normally holds college football games. 

The expansion of women’s professional sports, with growing leagues such as the WNBA and the National Women’s Soccer League, is building TV audiences and fan bases. Disney, which has the rights to broadcast WNBA games, noted in its recent upfront presentation that triple-digit growth in ad sales for women’s sports was one of the pillars responsible for its double-digit growth in ad sales this year. CEO Bob Iger later doubled down during the company’s earnings call in August, telling analysts Disney’s recent deal with the NBA, with its “large WNBA component” is evidence of “the growing value of women’s sports.”  

Whether it’s the Olympics or professional sports, viewers are experiencing a surge of interest in watching women’s sports events. “For a long time we’ve heard rhetoric like ‘there’s no market for it—men want to watch men’s sports and women don’t watch sports,’ but what we’ve found in recent support for women’s sport both from an investment and engagement standpoint is that outdated belief couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Jenna Klein, Global Vice President of Brand and Athlete Strategy at The Players’ Tribune. 

Creators and consumers fuel women’s sport 

Research shows more than half of U.S. consumers say they would like to see more women’s sports, noted Jamie Stenziano, SVP of Ipsos Media, Platforms & Entertainment. This should only increase over time, he added, helped along by the ability of college players to now monetize the rights to their name, image and likeness (NIL). Athletes like Caitlin Clark now arrive in professional leagues with personal brands that are already attractive to advertisers. 

Indeed, the creator economy has been a factor in the popularity of women’s sports with audiences—and with advertisers. Women athletes in particular have been open about sharing their struggles and their efforts to balance life and sport on their social media platforms. Athletes like Biles and Richardson have built their personal brands in a way that appeals to women, who are still the main decision makers in many purchase decisions. 

“That has fueled the content pool around these women: what their journey has been, the stories and the depth and breadth of them as people, their relationship to sports, and how women consumers are connecting with that content,” said Christine Guilfoyle, president of SeeHer, a global initiative of the Association of National Advertisers, to eliminate gender bias in marketing, media, and entertainment. “How these athletes are participating in the commentary and contributing to the stories, both their personal (story) as well as their team and their sport is just extraordinary.”

The quality of the stories female athletes tell is also more personal and relatable, especially for the female consumer. It’s even helped transform the storytelling about male athletes, too. Klein noted how stars like the Miami Heat’s Kevin Love and the Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan have opened up recently about their emotional struggles. 

“Female athletes often connect more directly with consumers because their stories highlight themes of resilience, determination, and overcoming adversity,” said Tania Salarvand, EVP of Hospitality and Entertainment at digital consulting company Globant. “These narratives create an emotional bond with audiences, making female athletes particularly appealing as brand ambassadors.”

The way women athletes are presented in media and marketing is also having a moment of change. “We’re seeing a new generation of sports fans that are hungry to engage with sport in a way we’ve never seen before,” said Klein.

Sponsors still want their spokeswomen to be attractive, and may require a female athlete to be far more accomplished than a man to gain the same sponsorships, but the aesthetic of female athletes is changing.  Guilfoyle singled out U.S. Women’s Rugby player Ilona Maher and her stand against body shaming during the Olympics—which eventually put her in Sport Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue—as an example of how female athletes are taking control of their narrative and personal brand. 

“That story, for me, just kind of blew open, “ she said. “It’s the next level of what we now are going to be prepared to see.” 

Female athletes still have to clear a higher hurdle to secure marketing deals, just as women have to in many other spheres, said Guilfoyle: “I think you have to stand out, not only in your sport, but in your story and in your life.” 

Higher hurdles, ground-floor opportunities

There is definitely a double standard in how sponsorships handle women athletes versus men, said Salarvand. “There is still a lot of untapped potential,” she said. “Storytelling is key in attracting audiences to the female athletes making a name for themselves.”

Still, studies have shown the return on marketing investments in women’s sports is as good or sometimes better than that of men’s sports. Because women’s sports don’t yet command the same price tag as comparable men’s sponsorships (with a few exceptions in sports such as tennis and golf) they are a comparatively smaller investment that allows brands to show ROI more effectively. Salarvand noted fans of women’s sports show much higher brand sponsor awareness compared to fans of men’s sports. 

Major brands are aware of the power of women’s sport, said Guilfoyle. She ran down a list of top advertisers including AB InBev, AT&T, General Motors, Verizon, Ally, MasterCard, American Express, Unilever and more. “These are the world’s greatest marketers. They ultimately understand the insights and the opportunities that drive their business,” she said. “And global women’s sports provides that opportunity.”

Women’s sports offer advertisers an opportunity to be creative in analyzing audiences and generating ideas that appeal to both the core sports audience and an aspirational audience, said Klein. As an example, she noted the partnership between the WNBA and the beauty company Glossier, which helped amplify the voices of WNBA players.

“Success will come when brands are willing to do their homework, show up authentically and find synergies,” she said. “Brands who treat investment in women’s sports as a quick, trendy way to get a new audience will find this approach to backfire.” 

Guilfoyle encouraged advertisers to get in on the opportunity offered by women’s sports now, but not rush or force it and risk losing the authenticity factor that makes the segment so attractive. Many sports marketing agencies have a women’s sports practice that can be helpful in navigating those investments, she said.

“You should get in soon, you should get in right, and you should maximize those opportunities,” she said. “Because the longer you wait, the more expensive it’s going to become and the more crowded.”