Heroine Hit - Euros Edition

Your monthly dose of the most interesting women’s sport sponsorship & marketing news, ideas & inspiration

I am a week later sending this as I got caught up in the craziness that was UEFA Women’s Euros.

I had the good fortune of being at Wembley for the final which was the best sporting experience I could imagine !

Needless to say, I have made this a special edition focused on Euros despite all the other amazing women’s sport action over the past month.

Glorious Euros

Cultural moment marketing

Brands were quick to react or rather were prepared for what an England win would mean for the country and pounced on it with their marketing.

Here’s some of the marketing action the day after the Lionesses won Euros which heavily focused on iconic England football anthems; “It’s Coming Home” and “Sweet Caroline” (Swede, Carrot, Lime in the case of the Sainsbury’s ad).

I loved the Domino’s rebrand to “Lucy’s” that paid tribute to Lucy Bronze who worked at the local store when she was a student.

Record-breaking & game-changing

Euros was a history-making tournament on and off the field.

Viewership for the final on BBC’s channels alone exceeded 23 million, making it the most watched programme in the UK this year.

A record crowd attendance for a UEFA final (men’s or women’s game) was set with 81,192 fans at Wembley.

5 factors that I believe made it such a UK success:

1. On-field product

✔️ The quality on the pitch was next level
✔️ A new era in European playing standard has arrived

2. Off-field entertainment product

✔️ The tournament was treated as an entertainment spectacle
✔️ From BBC’s exceptional coverage & quality production to the Fan Zones to Becky Hill’s high-octane pre-game concert

3. The brand vibes of women’s football

✔️ The crowd, experience & values of women’s football are completely different to men's (especially in the UK) & you could FEEL this
✔️ A totally unique energy & diverse crowd

4. Commercial support

✔️ Marketing campaigns from sponsors, broadcasters, UEFA, WSL and other brands had a big presence around town, creating visibility and a sense of ‘event’ that we haven’t seen before around women’s sport

5. Cultural uprising & powerful stories

✔️ A perfect storm of stories (like young super-subs, a repeat of the 2009 final, a back-heel goal) combined with ‘Covid Revenge’
✔️ UEFA Women's Champions League & WSL success earlier in the year & a summer of incredible European women’s sport

Euro’s Sponsor campaigns

I did a round-up of all 18 x official UEFA Women’s Euros sponsorship campaigns HERE.

Some hit the mark, some felt a bit ‘token’ and some were all together missing in action.

My top picks were Nike and TikTok for their through-the-line campaigns pre, during and post the tournament.

The likes of Hisense, VW, Heineken get an ‘A for effort’ but could have been so much more.

I was secretly hoping for something more ground-breaking from the world’s best marketing brand, Lego.

My biggest sorrow was how Hublot and Gillette were essentially non-existent – hard to imagine sponsors not putting in a full effort around Men’s Euros.

Unfair pay, Unfair play

UK Euro’s sponsors whose marketing often centre on championing gender equality found themselves the target of a campaign that looked to highlight the gender pay gap.

Booking.com got the biggest red card with women at the company earning just €0.58 to every €1 a man earns.

While women’s sports wouldn’t want to only accept sponsorship revenue from brands who are achieving gender equality (there wouldn’t be many!), it’s a good reminder as to how to use your sponsorships and that any work must also address internal issues too.

The ugly side of Euros

Alongside Areto Labs I tracked the online ‘hate’ aimed at the players during Euros.

You can get a Sneak Peek of the results HERE.

Sadly 10% of Twitter comments towards the Lionesses incorporated some kind of abuse.

Most shocking to me was how back-heel goal-scoring youngster, Alessia Russo received the most ‘hate’.

Fellow super-sub, Chloe Kelly who fired home the tournament winner was not far behind.

Women’s sport fandom

I was privileged to be on a Fan Culture panel at The Equality Summit organised by Equal Playing Field in London last week.

Here are my additional thoughts on women’s sport’s unique fandom.

1. A collective spirit

A shared desire to see the women’s game succeed - at times even above a fan’s own team winning.

2. Passion over winning at all costs

Passionate and competitive fans but not anger or hate for the other team or fans.

3. Passive to more active

Technology (such as web3 and social media) is enabling women’s sport fans to cast more influence and control over the game – but the question is how much control will sport bodies allow them.

4. Direct fan-to-athlete relationships

Technology has removed gate-keepers, allowing fans and brands to interact directly with athletes, with it bringing new access, content and opportunity but also complications like online hate.

5. Global niches

Technology is enabling women’s sport’s fans around the world to better connect and come together (something that has disproportionately impacted women’s sport until now).

More from me

Thanks to New Zealand Marketing Association for publishing my article highlighting the absence of NZ brands in women’s sport despite hosting 3 World Cups in 18-months.

While I wrote this 9 months ago, it feels even more relevant after witnessing the Euro’s success and being just a few months out from Rugby World Cup.

Euros may be over but you can still listen to me on the 21 for 21 Podcast talking about the opportunities around the tournament.

What else I’m loving

It may have been a crazy month around Women’s Euros but I still want to acknowledge the incredible activity around other women’s sports:

🚴‍♀️ The inaugural Tour Des Femmes pulled in daily average viewers across Europe of 2.25m and 5.1m peak viewers on the final day.

⚽️ Matilda & Chelsea striker, Sam Kerr features as the first female footballer on the global cover of EA Games, FIFA23.

👶🏼 NWSL will consider each state’s reproductive rights as part of their 2 team expansion process for the league.

🏁 Formula 1 team, Alpine have created a multi-pronged programme to increase the number of women in the sport, with an aim to have a female driver by 2030.

🏃🏾‍♀️ Google paid tribute to track sensation, activist and mother, Allyson Felix before her last race ever with a dynamic video graphic of her across Google Search.

Hey Marketers

Are you a Marketing Manager keen to understand and explore the opportunity for your brand around women’s sport but not sure where to start? Drop me a note on rebecca@teamheroine.com