PR Roundup: Brands and Women’s Sports, Harris Visits Fox News, Social Media Gifting

This week’s PR Roundup features a look into brands’ commitment to women’s sports, how Vice President Kamala Harris fared on Fox News and how influential social media is regarding gifting.

Everyone Watches Women’s Sports

What happened: If you watched the WNBA finals at all this week, you’d know everyone is talking about Sabrina Ionescu’s half court shot with seconds left to give the New York Liberty the win. Or maybe you’ve been able to nab tickets for the highly anticipated Gold Over America tour featuring Simone Biles and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. And who hasn’t been cheering on Olympic rugby champion Ilona Maher on this season’s Dancing With the Stars? 

Brands—big brands—are noticing the upward trend in the popularity of women’s sports. Recently Deloitte, AT&T, Capital One and Cisco committed their support by announcing the Athena Pledge—an initiative created to mobilize investment, research and opportunities in women’s sports. The Pledge aims to rally other brands to join and commit to increased spending and support in the women’s sports ecosystem.  

The initiative started after key research by Deloitte and The Collective showed prime opportunities to connect with this audience. Results include:

• Brands are bullish about increased investment, recognizing women’s sports as a powerful tool to connect with influential and growing audiences: 93% of brand decision-makers are optimistic about the future growth of women’s sports. 88% of respondents aim to reach women with their investment, with diverse audiences (62%) and Gen Zs (57%) following close behind.
• While many are optimistic, brand leaders still face organizational resistance when trying to increase investment in women’s sport: While 32% of brand decision-makers have faced internal resistance, 49% of brand decision-makers cite lack of total reach awareness as the primary barriers to investing in women’s sports.
• Proving the impact of this investment is crucial to overcoming barriers to investment: 57% of surveyed brand-decision makers cited unproven business returns as the primary barrier to investing in women’s sports, and 78% say industry data and insights would help overcome challenges and gain support for women’s sports partnerships.

Communication takeaways: So how can PR pros and communicators utilize this information for their own campaigns and platforms? Pete Giorgio, Global and US Sports Practice Leader, Deloitte, says that the Pledge will help those wanting to connect with women’s sports audiences overcome challenges of internal resistance and the need for proven returns. 

“By joining the Athena Pledge, brands can collaborate to overcome these barriers to investment through information sharing, networking and measurement,” Giorgio says. “This collective effort not only strengthens each brand’s individual communications strategies but also leads to more compelling and impactful narratives in the media. Overall, the Athena Pledge is a significant step toward transforming the narrative around women’s sports and promoting greater equity within the industry.”

Harris Appears on Fox News

What happened: On Wednesday (Oct. 16) Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for an interview with Fox News Chief Political Anchor Bret Baier as part of her presidential campaign’s media outreach. The tactic allowed Harris to cross the political aisle and appear before Fox News’s audience, which leans politically opposite from the majority of Harris’s democratic supporters. 

According to The Hill, the 30-minute appearance “looked more like a debate at times than an interview.” Both parties tried to get points across while engaging in interruptions and tense banter.

However, her campaign evaluated the event as positive. 

“We feel like we definitely achieved what we set out to achieve in the sense that she was able to reach an audience that is probably been not exposed to the arguments she’s been making on the trail, and she also got to show her toughness in standing tall against a hostile interviewer,” said Brian Fallon, a Harris campaign communications adviser, after the interview.

Communication takeaways: Sometimes taking a risk and approaching a nontraditional audience can have unexpected results. Andrea Hagelgans, Senior Vice President of Strategic Communications at Avoq says Harris’s appearance on Fox News is a great example of how communications have shifted in the digital age. 

“Even before the first clip aired, she was already demonstrating to voters her willingness to take on tough situations on hostile terrain, a key attribute for any leader,” Hagelgans says. “There is not a woman in America who can’t relate to the experience of being interrupted and talked down to at some point in her career. She modeled a new form of female leadership that no longer accepts the unspoken rules about being demure. Long after the initial airing, women everywhere are taking notice.”

Social Media Shapes Gift Buying

What happened: New data from Sprout Social shows that social media’s power to influence purchasing decisions is on the rise. A survey of more than 2,000 U.S. and U.K. consumers polled last month found the majority (89%) say a brand’s social media content has an impact on purchasing decisions, with 60% willing to pay more for a product that has positive buzz on social.

Other key findings include: 

• All shoppers rank influencer recommendations among their top three sources for gift inspiration.
• Somewhat surprisingly, about half (54%) of Baby Boomers rank influencers as their number one gift inspiration source, whereas family/friend recommendations on social come in first for both Gen Z and Millennials (51% and 50%, respectively), just ahead of influencers (47% and 46%).
• Many shoppers (42%) also indicate plans to use social media more or the same (51%) compared to 2023 for finding gifts. 

More findings can be found in the full report here. 

Communication takeaways: While social media platforms are not new to consider when it comes to PR strategy, brands need to remember to treat them not as an afterthought—particularly when peddling products for the holiday shopping season. Layla Revis, Vice President, Social, Content and Brand Marketing at Sprout Social says a robust social strategy is essential for brands wanting to stand out during the busy holiday season. 

“It’s not just about catching attention, but about building trust and generating excitement around products through relevant and engaging content,” Revis says. “Social platforms are where consumers are turning for everything from product discovery to reviews and customer service, and even purchasing, so brands must have a consistent and compelling presence to capture the opportunity.” 

Nicole Schuman is Managing Editor at PRNEWS.