5 Women's Sport Trends Supercharging Success
Top 5 Women’s Sport Sponsorship & Marketing Trends 2021
It's impossible to look at this year without acknowledging the disruption that happened to women's sport in 2020 which took the brunt of the Covid demolition.
Women’s sport schedules were the first to be cut and created more challenges for female athletes already on the brink. Development stalled or in some cases went backwards with lack of access to equipment, resources and staff which was prioritised to the men’s game.
Despite all of this, there have been positives and opportunities that have emerged which have led to our 5 trends for 2021.
Revisit last year’s predictions for women’s sport here
5 women’s sport trends for 2021
1. Athlete driven content fueling fan-player relationships
US Defender, Kelly O’Hara hosts the Just Women’s Sport podcast. Photo by Just Women’s Sports.
With the absence of regular on-field action, fans have turned to digital and social media to get or supplement their sports fix, particularly from channels that allow direct access to athletes.
Sport organisations, agents and media are no longer the gatekeepers to these stars and these direct-to-fan channels have put the power in athletes' hands. Athletes now have the opportunity to enhance fan relationships directly by showcasing their personalities, sharing their personal stories and forming a new level of connection with fans. Female athletes are seen as more relatable than many of their rich, celebrity male counterparts and platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok allow them to not just enhance those existing relationships but reach new and different fans with their wide reach and personal nature.
While Instagram has been a key player for this player-led content, it’s also been TikTok with many female athlete’s videos going viral.
Audio platforms will also play a big part in this new fan-athlete relationship. We’ve already seen success from player-led podcasts including BBC's The Players Podcast hosted by ex-Football Fern, Bex Smith who talks to female football legends like Pernille Harder and Carli Lloyd. US defender Kelly O’Hara is another one providing a window into the lives of female athletes with her entertaining Just Women Sports show where she talks to the likes of athletics heroine, Allyson Felix, WNBA star, Nneka Ogwumike and fellow soccer legend, Sam Kerr. We’re also seeing the rapid rise of Clubhouse as an interactive social audio platform which will provide female athletes with a unique opportunity to host, chat and interact with other athletes and fans. Again it’s female athletes accessibility and relatability that gives them an edge to supercharge their relationship with fans on these social platforms.
2. Fresh investment and revenue models
We will continue to see innovative commercial models around women’s sport in 2021. Women’s sport first saw itself opened up to fresh investment models when Athletes Unlimited made the players part of the ownership group and lured past sport legends like soccer striker Abby Wambach to help grow the business.
Angel City FC then launched with an star-studded list of Hollywood investors including Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman and women’s sport icons Mia Haam, Billie Jean-King, Lindsay Vonn and tech wizard, Alexis Ohanian who is married to Serena Williams. They've also opened up membership to regular punters.
At the start of the year, we saw the emergence of another world-class duo form when Tennis star, Naomi Osaka became an owner of National Women’s Soccer League team, the North Carolina Courage. Last month, we saw political power players including Chelsea Clinton, and Jenna Bush-Hager become investors in Washington Spirit.
Soccer team owners and tennis legends, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams. Photo by Bleacher Report Instagram.
On the player side, as female athletes gain more followers and look to boost their own income we’ll also see them look to commercialise in new ways. Matilda and Tottenham Hotspurs footballer, Alanna Kennedy is monetising her personal brand by selling replica tattoo sheets of her fine-line tattoos. Female athletes across codes down-under are offering personalised video messages to fans on Swysh for a fee. Soccer icon, Megan Rapinoe joined tennis star, Maria Sharapova and volleyballer, Kerri Walsh on Sport’s Masterclass, Skills to offer access to coaching and personal growth videos for a subscription fee.
3. Unified action
WNBA players coming together to encourage people to vote. Photo by WNBA Instagram.
With the disruption Covid has caused, we’ve seen women’s sport advocates and groups team up to tackle issues and provide a stronger voice for change. We’ve seen unified social movements, particularly from athletes including #IAmEnough and #Icare that called out bad behaviour from sport brands who got offside with women’s sport uniforms and trolls on social media. We’re also seeing innovative action through a collective effort of US based leagues that include WNBA, NWSL, Women’s Sports Trust and WWE who have joined forces in The Fan Project. The Fan Project collects fan data as evidence of interest in women’s sport and will use it as a case study to media and sponsors to increase investment and coverage.
The WNBA continues to be a leader in unified action to drive support for women’s sport. We saw them join forces with ESPN and movers and shakers across the USA including LeBron James and Naomi Osaka with their Orange Hoodies campaign to promote the start of their season. We constantly see them going cross-code to amplify social messages, particularly around Black Lives Matters. We’ve seen sponsors, players and even political figures including new president Joe Bidden join force in the battle to give the USWNT equal pay.
Sport organisations, athletes, sponsors and media can be a greater sum than their parts and with everything that has gone on over the past year, we will only see this type of unified voice and joint force intensify in 2021.
4. Collective Activism
While the previous two years have been dominated by a handful of individual ‘athlete activists’, 2021 will be the year where this branches out on a wider scale and in a more unified way in women’s sport.
Far more female athletes than ever are taking a stand on social issues and using their platforms to advocate change – it seems like the few brave ones before them have set the path and more easily allowed others to follow. As well as a greater number of female athletes taking a stand, we are also seeing a more collective effort with teams, leagues and groups banding together to amplify the messages and create a bigger impact. Again, WNBA and NWSL are two leading leagues who have worked with their players to allow visible action including the likes of displaying messages on uniforms and kneeling during the national anthem as well as sharing player messages and values on their social channels. Starbucks cites their recent sponsorship deal with Seattle's OL Reign as one of shared social cause and Naomi Osaka buying into the North Carolina Courage was also based on the ability to amplify important values the two share.
Seattle’s OL Reign soccer team stand together for the Black Lives Matter Movement.
5. Covid revenge will create a women’s sport boom
People’s limited ability to connect physically or attend events in person for most of 2020 and potentially most of 2021 will lead to an era of people casting ‘revenge on Covid’. People will look to make the most of live experiences and relish physical interaction with others when restrictions are lifted. This will lead to an increase in interest and attendance of women’s sport. We expect to see increased activity much like what we saw in the 1920’s post the war and Spanish Flu which was aptly named the Roaring 20’s.
On top of that, we’ve seen sport organisations forced to fast-track infrastructure and make bold changes which will further set women’s sport up for a strong return. For example, the AFLW had to sell advance tickets and charge an entry fee for the first time in order to minimise queues on game days. A narrative around AFLW only getting good crowds because it was free was quickly trashed. This is something they may have never known or tried had it not been for Covid and no doubt they will continue to charge moving forward which will fuel investment in the game.
We will also see new entrants in women’s sport sponsorship who will look to take advantage of women’s sport lower entry points (compared with men’s sport) with their reduced Covid marketing budgets.
Summary
There is no denying that women’s sport has taken a huge hit thanks to Covid but we have also seen some supercharged developments because of it.
Athletes are taking more control and creating powerful relationships directly with fans. They are also using this new found Reach and popularity to monetise their personal brand in innovative ways.
Groups are banding together in greater force to a) invest b) unite c) support and elevate women’s sport and their social causes.
Fan's desire for live experiences combined with fast-tracked infrastructure and sponsor's focus on value have set women's sport up for on-going success.
These 5 trends are exciting developments in women's sport and despite the immense challenges over the past year, these movements are creating a strong foundation to re-ignite women's sport success when the world is able to get back to full speed.
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