Heroine Hit - April

Get ahead of the game with my monthly must & want-to-know women’s sport sponsorship & marketing hit

NFT women’s sport boom

We saw female athletes drop over $600,000 worth of NFT art this month.

- Naomi Osaka auctioned off 5 digital art pieces done by her sister, Mari called "The Colours Of Naomi Osaka” with one piece going for over $200,000.

- US soccer star, Tobin Heath dropped her Gamer NFT Collection which made me take my first step into NFT’s with a bid of $1000 USD - that’s how much I believe in this space!

- Tennis player, Jessica Pegula claimed the title of first female athlete to drop a NFT and her Croatian competitor, Oleksandra Oliynykoval took it a step further and auctioned off tattoo space on her arm as an NFT.

Expect to see more NFT action and coverage from me as we explore this new ‘Creator Economy’ and the growing opportunities for women’s sport

5 Gotta-know

1. Simone Biles ditches Nike for Gap’s Athleta brand, citing a shared ‘passion to help girls rise and own their limitless potential’

2. Serena Williams strikes TV-deal with Amazon including an unscripted docuseries

3. Matilda's trade in Westfield for Commonwealth Bank as the team’s naming right’s sponsor in a 4-year deal

4. Revenue generated by women’s sport in the UK will hit £1bn a year by 2030 making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the sport industry

5. NCAA Women’s basketball final was watched by over 4.1m people, up 9% from last year while interestingly the men’s final was down 15% YOY

Women’s Six Nations Rugby score big on marketing

Women’s Six Nations Rugby produced winning action both in and out of the sport arena.

- Sponsor, Guinness partnered with Wikimedia which gets 18 billion visitors per month to ensure players were properly recorded with images - such a simple (and cheap) activation but so important.

- A 90 sec video presenting Six Nations players as super heroines utilised fun action graphics and game footage to cut through.

- A 6-part video series exploring the personal journeys of players enabled deeper connection with teams in the build up.

5 Differences when marketing women’s sport

My latest blog post outlines the 5 differences between marketing women’s and men’s sport:

1. The need to overshare - thanks to a historical lack of media coverage to drive familiarity and connection

2. Social media Ka-pow - disproportionate influence given women’s sport origins in social media

3. Unique audience and values - different fans and brand that need to be leveraged

4. Trade in success metrics - ditch historical men’s measures like Reach and use a more holistic evaluation

5. Budget somersault - flip your 40/60 ratio of sponsor fee to leverage budget to account for lower entry price and ensure exposure

Not boring research

UK’s Women’s Sport Trust and Two Circles conducted the biggest ever study on the commercial drivers of women’s sport in ‘Closing the Visibility Gap’.

Here’s 5 of the most interesting outtakes:

1. UK women’s sport revenue to grow from £350m to £1bn per year by 2030 - Insane growth!

2. Visibility of female athletes and teams is key to achieving this growth - Media, sport organisations and brands all need to play their part

3. 75% of women’s sport fans are passive, only consuming when they come across it or have time - need to create captivating content that pulls them in wherever they are

4. Content of athletes in action is 12% more likely to drive interest (vs lifestyle settings) - Athlete-first approach is required

5. 24% gap in fan ticket data between men and women’s sport - Better data capture required to increase and monetise fans

I’ve created a Women’s Sport Marketing Action Plan which takes these points into consideration with actionable steps.

Battle of the sexist tennis language

International Tennis Federation published the difference in language used around women's and men's tennis.

While language is nothing without context and these comparisons aren't necessarily negative, it's a good reminder to check any unconscious bias.

WNBA make a 25th anniversary splash

WNBA nailed it again, creating a splash with their 25th anniversary marketing.

1. Launched ‘Count it’ with a kick-ass logo and video

2. Released 3 jersey collections:
- Aptly named Heroine, Rebel and Explorer editions
- Female-centric athlete design
- Brilliantly executed creative

Most excited about

🏉 Inaugural Women’s Super Rugby - Blues vs Chiefs - 1 May

🏆 Suncorp Super League Netball starts - 1 May

⛳️ LPGA HSBC Women’s Championship final round - 2 May

⚽️ NWSL Challenge Cup final & WSL final round - 2 May

⛳️ LET season starts - 13 May

🎤 ESPNW Summit - 13 May

🏀 WNBA season tip off - 15 May

⚽️ Champions League final - 16 May

🏄‍♀️ WSL Margaret River Pro - 2-12 May & Rip Curl Rottnest Search - 16-26 May

🎾 Roland Garros French Open - starts 30 May

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