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Women’s sports—5 takeaways on growth potential and ad opportunities
This is a “watershed moment” and brands shouldn’t just invest in women’s sports because it’s “the right thing” but because they can “make a lot of money … And you should do it now, not tomorrow or the next day,” soccer legend and activist Megan Rapinoe said during a fireside chat with Meg Linehan, a senior writer for The Athletic.
Rapinoe is also co-founder of production company A Touch More with Women’s National Basketball Association great Sue Bird, Deep Blue chief strategy officer and partner, who also took the stage on Tuesday, along with speakers including Olympic Sprinter Gabby Thomas; Alexis Ohanian, the principal owner of Angel City Football Club and Los Angeles Golf Club; Alysha Clark, a three-time WNBA champion; UCLA Bruins Head Coach Cori Close; UCLA Bruins Starting Guard Kiki Rice; MassMutual Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Marketing and Brand Jennifer Halloran; Snap Chief Creative Officer Colleen DeCourcy; and National Women’s Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman.
Women’s sports is booming in popularity, with games selling out arenas and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament final peaking at 24 million viewers across ESPN and ABC, beating for the first time in history the viewership of the men’s game. Most of the event’s speakers questioned why, when looking at the recent success of women’s sports, there even needs to be an event to strategize on how to convince marketers to invest more dollars.
Read more: The rise of women’s sports marketing agencies
This is not a “moment,” it’s a “movement,” said NY Liberty CEO Keia Clarke. “This is not a helicopter event. It’s for the long haul … It feels good for the phones to ring.”
Still, a lot of education is needed for more brands to invest meaningfully in this space. Below, five highlights from the summit.
Boosting women’s sports media coverage
Women’s sports got just 15% of media coverage in 2022, compared to coverage of men’s sports, according to a report from The Collective, Wasserman’s women-focused practice.
A partnership between iHeartMedia and Deep Blue announced at the summit will create a dedicated women’s sports audio platform. It will bring all-day coverage, with the goal of increasing media coverage of women’s sports and, in turn, driving more marketing dollars into the space.
The free, ad-supported network will include podcasts, daily sports reports, social content, promotion and event presence, covering competitions and athletes’ stories on and off the field. The network will include daily shows from talent including sports media personality Sarah Spain and Sheryl Swoopes, the WNBA legend and three-time Olympic gold medalist.
Advertising
via Advertising Age https://ift.tt/Ma7qlLY
April 25, 2024 at 10:33AM
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