As the Women’s World Cup gears up for the final, more brands are scoring marketing wins
It’s the final countdown… England and Spain are set to face off in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals on Sunday, sealing weeks of heart-stopping matchups. A record 1.7M+ tickets were sold for the tournament, up from 1M for the 2019 Cup. A third of women's-soccer fans are new to the sport, boosting visibility for Women’s World Cup sponsors like Budweiser and Coke.
Nike's limited Martine Rose designer collab, which featured gender-neutral fits worn by the US women's team, sold out most pieces ahead of the tourney. FYI: Nike sponsors England (among other teams).
Adidas has seen over a fifth of its women’s team products sell out this tournament — nearly 3X as many as in 2019. Adidas sponsors Spain (among others).
Visa, Frito-Lay, Adobe, Dove maker Unilever, and Roblox have jumped onto the sponsors’ list as more corporations support women’s sports.
Behind the goal line… For years, women's-sports pay and sponsorships have trailed men’s, and women’s games don’t usually get as much ad spend. That’s starting to change: last year, the US women’s national soccer team won a $24M equal-pay settlement. Media biggies are also catching up: CBS aired the National Women’s Soccer League finals on prime-time TV for the first time last year. Meanwhile, ESPN could cough up $100M to renew its NCAA Women’s Basketball broadcast rights next year as popularity booms.
Gettin’ in the game can pay off… Women’s-sports fan bases are growing twice as fast as the broader sports-fan community. Experts say fans of women’s teams tend to watch longer and are more brand loyal. Now more brands are hoping to score the benefits. Ally Bank said it would spend the same amount on ads for men’s and women’s sports over the next five years. Google last year signed a multiyear deal with sports site The Athletic to double its women’s-sports coverage.