Game Changers: Leveraging Women’s Sports for Marketing Advantage
By Precision Partner, Deirdre Murphy Ramsey and EVP, Krishana Davis
There is no doubt that the popularity of women’s sports is soaring: In 2024, the NCAA Women’s basketball championship drew 18.9 million viewers (the men’s final had 14.8 million). The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup was the most viewed women’s sports event in history with a global audience of nearly 2 billion viewers. Since the passage of Title IX in 1972, the number of women athletes participating in high school sports has gone from 300,000 participants to 3.3 million participants in 2023. Over the same time period, participation in women’s sports within the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) went from 30,000 athletes to 230,951.
Some brands are smartly taking advantage of the opportunities posed by a new, engaged audience – advertising around women’s basketball has been on the rise over the past several years. Ad space for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships sold out months in advance this year. Dove leaned into women’s sports at the Super Bowl. So did Nike.
Yet the opportunity to tap into this explosive growth remains. For example, Deloitte recently reported that “Women’s sports get just 10% of sponsorship dollars, 15% of media coverage, and a fraction of broadcast rights fees compared to men’s sports.”
In our influencer and social media driven marketing era, brands and organizations would be smart to further capitalize on the opportunity– even if March Madness ad space is sold out.
The Opportunity
Marketing focused on women’s sports is a ripe arena to play in. Not just because the far reaching themes around sports yield authentic messages for brands to leverage (as we’ll get to later on) but also because there are so many opportunities for companies and non-profits to partner with women’s athletics organizations and players – or tap into their incredible storytelling power. This strategy isn’t limited to securing star athletes endorsements, instead it can focus on showing consumers that the lessons their own daughters and sons learn on the field, ice, court, and pitch are inspiration for brands (and their consumers).
New women’s leagues and professional teams are being developed, women’s soccer stadiums are being built, and female athletes are making headlines with their record-breaking contracts. Alongside these landmarks in the sports industry itself, audience growth is also booming. According to UN Women, seven out of 10 people now watch women’s sports. Almost 73 percent say they watch women’s sports at least a few times a year – not too far behind the percentage who watch men’s sports with the same frequency (81%).
But the power of this growth comes through more than just size metrics. There is strong evidence that these sports fans wield more power than just a 1:1 ratio. A study from Nielson noted that when it came to fans of athletic events for women, 74% were the chief income earners in their household and 57% have children under that age of 18. These two demographic factors are direct purchase decisions and drive the next generation of fans to support women’s professional sports.
Furthermore, women athletes wield significantly more influence compared to other types of influencers. 88% regard professional women athletes as impactful role models for young women and other studies indicate that fans have a more positive opinion of the sponsors who promote events for women than those brands that support men’s sports. A study also demonstrated that businesses’ investments in women’s sports not only improved public perception and brand image, but also boosted employee morale and involvement.
How to Leverage It
Your Message: The corporations leaning into women’s sports have proven that any sector can take advantage of this moment. While Nike, the global leader in athleticwear, has an easy in, there are far more connections available than just those to companies selling sports clothing to women. For example, Dove (in partnership with Nike) used sports as a segue to build on their messaging surrounding young women’s confidence, focusing on young women, not professional athletes, playing sports.
Women’s sports carry deep meanings to fans, players, and people broadly. They speak to themes of success, confidence, motivation, teamwork, and playful joy, making them as topical for a personal hygiene company as they are for sporting goods sellers. Tapping into this powerful messaging tactic could be as simple as highlighting a female athlete in a video ad or as splashy as orchestrating an entire campaign around a team or league. Just about any organization can work these angles to further their goals.
Your Campaigns: Highlighting female athletes isn’t just for major paid marketing campaigns. Digital content can also take a page from this playbook. Social media conversations around women’s sports increased to almost 20 percent in 2022. Female athletes themselves are inspiring millions through their social media presences– offering behind-the-scenes glimpses of their training routines, causes they care about, and personal achievements.
Brands not only have an opportunity to utilize these trailblazing athletes as the influencers they are, but also can learn from their social tactics. League One Volley Ball, Atlanta, turned their Instagram story highlights into digital showcases for their players, similar to baseball cards showcasing skills, wins, and behind the scenes content. Every brand has offerings to highlight, which means any brand can utilize this strategy. Identify the verticals you want to showcase, your star players that will vouch for your brand, and any organization can create content to showcase your brand’s roster digitally.
Your Partnerships: Female athletes are authentic role models, representing the values of grit, determination, and a growth mindset while having an unique ability to engage a wide cross-section of audiences. And it’s never too early to start incorporating them as brand ambassadors for everyone – even my (Deirdre’s) young son, for example, begged to buy the WNBA’s basketball because “girls and boys can do the same thing.” My at-home focus group told me that women athletes are not just for female audiences – they will attract broad cross sections of consumers and clients. A few (free!) ideas on brand activations with athletes:
- A healthcare organization or research nonprofit could partner with long-jumper and Type 1 Diabetes advocate Kate Hall. In 2024, pharma companies were the second-biggest spender in women’s sports advertising behind automotive brands. Eli Lilly even partnered with Caitlin Clark, adding to her endorsement deals with companies like Gatorade, Nike, and Wilson.
- Beyond ads, there is also an opportunity for pharma brands to create long-term partnerships with women’s sports brands. Eli Lilly did so by partnering with the Indiana Fever after they drafted Clark in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
- Rock climber and Olympic silver-medalist, Brooke Raboutou walked in Paris Fashion Week for The North Face. The UN Mountain Partnership recognizes Sasha Digiulian (Female Overall World Champion rock climber) as a Goodwill Ambassador, where she advocates for quality of life and healthy environments in the world’s mountain regions. Other environmental non-profits and outdoor apparel brands could be highlighting more female talent from this exploding sport.
- Aside from athlete partnerships, there are also a plethora of influencers speaking to sports fans, both about athletics and other topics. Coach Jackie J speaks to her 22.7K followers on Instagram about sports, gender inequality, and other social issues and has over 1.9K followers on Substack. Janae Sims, or Auntie Nae, shares heartwarming family content and WNBA content. She has partnered with Adobe, Game Change Her (a female empowerment brand founded by another world-class female athlete and social media sensation Jenna Bandy), and even visited the White House as part of the Black Excellence brunch hosted by then-President Biden.
Studies are proving that huge audiences listen to and follow these athletes and commentators. It is not a stretch to find someone whose platform speaks to your brand messaging and goals.
Precision has helped sports teams and organizations develop their communication and marketing strategies, but we also utilized the power of sports marketing to further our work with clients from nonprofits to financial institutions. America250 engaged Gold medalist Shawn Johnson to create promotional content for America’s Field Trip (a contest for students across the U.S.) Johnson has built on her status as an Olympian and now hosts a podcast, has a YouTube channel, and is a NYT Bestselling author. Her brand as an Olympian and mom was the perfect combination for America250’s audience. Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women secured NIL and advocacy deals with head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks Dawn Staley and then college senior, Angel Reese, WNBA player for the Chicago Sky, in TV and digital content to call for the closing of the racial wealth gap, which disproportionately impacts Black women.
The ascendancy of women’s sports is more than a fleeting trend; it’s a testament to the enduring power and influence of women and the positivity sports can bring to all our lives. Brands that recognize this promising landscape, and strategically align themselves with its values, stand to gain not only market share but also a deeper connection with highly engaged audiences. By embracing authentic partnerships, crafting compelling narratives that resonate with the spirit of sports, and leveraging the digital tactics used by athletic creators, companies can tap into a wellspring of untapped potential.
Can you spot Caitlin Clark on the Precision website? Reach out to our team to jumpstart your strategy.