Women's sports are becoming more and more popular, which is a social trend, so assets with a good foundation can be used.
From Naomi Osaka to Radukanu to the current Gu Ailing, female stars who have made extraordinary achievements in their professional sports have invariably become commercial flashpoints in the market. They quickly became the darlings of corporate brands, and gradually, the business laws of sports also underwent an angle of deflection, from unipolar to multipolar, which symbolized the leap of the times.
Sports marketing has also begun to precipitate its own "Hamray-specific law", with different needs, different markets, and different industries, and brands may show a thousand marketing forms. Of course, we can not ignore the force of the trend in the corner, community power, women's empowerment, fan base iteration are affecting the laws and common rules of sports marketing, brands should be good at insight into new opportunities in the market, and bravely participate in it.
In fact, it is not difficult to find from the investment trends of some major brands that the commercial development potential of women's sports is still being explored, and there must be the credit of top female athletes. Generally speaking, every time the World Series, some new investment boom will appear, and for the women's sports industry, a new period of high-speed growth is more reason to look forward to.
According to Research by women's Sport Trust (WST), nearly 33 million UK viewers watched some form of domestic women's sport in 2021, with 5.9 million new viewers in the women's Premier League. The study also highlighted that while TV viewing time is generally declining, women's sports are growing on both free and pay-TV platforms. Overall, 79% of viewers only watch women's sports through free platforms, with 28% of them watching other sports through pay-TV channels.
Timmy Parlour, CEO and co-founder of WST, said: "The importance of free-to-play TV and pay-TV in attracting new audiences to women's sports should not be underestimated. "There is a need to consider how policymakers can help promote women's sports by thinking about strategies for how to use digital channels to reach new audiences."
In addition, providing content through different platforms can help increase the ratings of women's sports events. Sky Sports' Netball Live channel on YouTube attracted more female viewers, accounting for 74%, while Sky Sports's female audience was only 26%. It can be seen that streaming media is crucial to the commercial value of women's sports, and it will naturally become the main focus of relevant marketing brand activation.
According to a report by market research firm Verified Market Research, the live sports streaming market is worth $18.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $87.3 billion by 2028. More and more professional sports leagues are starting to sign streaming agreements with wider coverage, and they don't want to be overwhelmed in a crowded market. The same goes for the marketing logic of brands.
Of all the women's sports, football is still the most rapidly commercialized field, which is inseparable from the long-term market cultivation of the World Cup and the European Cup. A new study led by football publication Versaus shows that 72 percent of fans found their interest in women's soccer matches increased in the last year. A Champions League match between Real Madrid and Barcelona in January sold a total of 85,000 tickets. Between 2020 and 2021, women's professional football transfer fee expenditure increased by 72.8%.
"From a business perspective, investing in women's football is more profitable than ever," said Amie Cripps, versus women's football editor. "Global brands such as PepsiCo, Adidas, and eBay are using the influence of female athletes for brand marketing. But now is not the time to slow down. Harnessing the current success of women's soccer can help bring about long-term change. ”
According to a new report by digital and social media agency Redtorch, global interest in online searches for the British Women's Premier League increased by 116% in 2021. In the developed professional sports market in the United States, people's interest in women's sports is also increasing significantly, of which the WNBA and NWSL are the most representative. Football has proven to be the sport that dominates the most fans and public interest, as well as women's sports that are rapidly expanding into the market.
Chris Argyle-Robinson, director of strategy at Redtorch, said: "Any sports asset, once it reaches critical size, broadcasters and sponsors will follow suit. We saw that in the WNBA. Women's sports are becoming more and more popular, which is a social trend, so assets with a good foundation can be used. ”
He also believes that good stories always lead to success, but we can't all follow the same model. Especially in the early days of the industry, communication, celebrity influence and fan exposure are extremely important. With the blessing of these factors, the commercialization of women's sports is logical. Today, women's sports continue to rise in ratings and online attention, bringing more sponsors to it. And with the growth of sponsorship profits, the independent commercial value of women's sports teams will become more prominent, and many brands are willing to extend sponsorship rights from men's teams to women's teams.
Mastercard, which has sponsored Inter Milan since 2018, became the main sponsor of Inter women's football at the end of last year. In May of the same year, the company also became the official sponsor of the Women's Soccer League. Similar brands include PepsiCo, Budweiser, Barclays and Visa. UEFA took the lead in 2018 to untie the sponsorship rights sales of men's and women's football teams, and Visa became the first sponsor of UEFA women's football assets. In 2020, PepsiCo followed, with its PepsiCo, Leshi and Gatorade brands becoming the official sponsors of UEFA women's football events, involving important events such as the Women's Champions League and the Women's European Cup.
At the end of last year, FIFA also changed the commercial sponsorship system, separating women's football and e-sports from the original system. Visa has become the fastest-moving partner, becoming the first women's partner in its history two weeks after the introduction of FIFA's new policy, with benefits covering the 2023-2026 cycle and worth more than $2,000. Visa has been identified as the exclusive payment service partner for the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup, providing an exclusive experience for customers and fans, in addition to the regular "Team Visa" program, which will also be activated with the best player award of the tournament.
In fact, FIFA's transformation is not just a general trend, sponsors have also played a role in it. As a long-standing FIFA partner, Visa has been in dialogue with the governing body on the commercial rights of independent women's football since the 2019 Fifa Women's World Cup in France, with a deal in principle reached at the end of 2020. The implementation of the reform plan means that Adidas, Coca-Cola and Wanda, three long-term FIFA partners, have also endorsed the new sponsorship framework.
In Yu Tang's view, whether it is driven by social public opinion orientation, or the further penetration of digital streaming media strategy in the sports market, and even the special strategic needs of brands, they have nourished the soil for the commercialization process of women's sports. Today's brand marketing needs good stories that inspire people, women are a good entry point, their success is more topical, and it can also resonate with sports fans. Of course, sponsoring one or more women's sports assets is just the beginning, conforming to the traditional sports marketing logic, strongly relying on the digital market atmosphere, and the commercial results will soon appear.