Brands must recognize the true value of women’s sport

This week I feel like I’m walking through a sports hall of fame. The man, the legend Eric Cantona. “Queen of Stops”, Mary Earps. Climber Alex Honnold. Megan Rapinoe, the legendary striker and activist of US football. Sue Bird of the WNBA, one of the most successful athletes of all time.

It feels like I’m at a glitzy sports star of the decade awards party, but no – I’m writing this from Stagwell’s Sport Beach here at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in the south of France.

Sport Beach is a sprawling temporary structure with its own pickleball court and breakout areas for five programming sessions covering a wide range of sports-related topics, from culture to business to entertainment to technology — all viewed through a creative lens. With sponsors including Meta, Gatorade, Boss and Snap, and now in its second year and doubling in size in 2023, Stagwell’s structure isn’t the only sports-related gig on the Strip.

Further up the road is Front Office Sports, a multi-platform media and news organization covering the business of sports, hosting an event in partnership with Publicis Sports and NBC Sports, and in the hills above Cannes is The Women’s Sports House, presented by Axios and Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment: another three-day event packed wall-to-wall with major sports figures and brands.

“Commercially sustainable”: Why it’s time for brands to support women’s sport beyond major tournaments

Why is there so much focus on sport in an officially vertically neutral event that was originally conceived as a celebration of creativity in advertising? I think the answer to this question is not difficult considering how quickly investment in sports media companies is growing and how contracts for advertising rights are skyrocketing – sport is simply becoming more and more important in the marketing mix.

But for all the focus on the business side of things, I’m honestly really here to learn more about the opportunity that women’s sport and its sporting heroes present to brands looking to inspire positive social change. Whether it’s the Russo, Ennis-Hill or Radacanu effect, women’s sport is carving out a unique market position for itself, proudly refusing to conform to traditional marketing norms and celebrating its uniqueness as a result of promoting values ​​of inclusivity, empowerment and equality – values ​​that resonate with today’s audiences and that brands are falling over themselves to be associated with.

Or are you?

Yes, Mary Earps recently signed a supposedly “high-profile” multi-year deal with Puma after the brand poached her from Adidas. But I think we all know that the definition of “high-profile” is different than for male sports stars of a similar level. The fact is that women’s sports still make up less than 15% of endorsement deals. (We also know that Forbes’ list of the world’s 50 highest-earning female athletes for 2024 includes exactly zero women, based on earnings from on-field revenue, sponsorships, appearances, licensing and other business ventures.)

Think about it: in the same month that Earps signed her Puma deal, US basketball phenom Caitlin Clark secured a $28 million (£22.1 million) endorsement deal with Nike. She beat out Puma – who reportedly walked away from talks when it learned the bid would start at $3 million (£2.4 million) annually – and Adidas and their paltry four-year offer of $6 million (£4.7 million). I know sponsorship deals can vary widely, but you have to ask yourself, did Puma and Adidas go into these negotiations with a real assessment of their potential ROI?

In fact, according to a Deloitte report, every dollar a corporate sponsor spends on women’s sports generates more than seven dollars in customer value for that organization.

This is in line with a study by the UK’s Women’s Sport Trust last year, which found that a third of consumers feel more positively towards companies or brands that support women’s sport through their sponsorship – 12% more than they do for campaigns that support men’s sport. These statistics make a very good argument for why brands should sponsor female athletes and get involved in women’s sport.

Data shows: Record-breaking viewership numbers in women’s sports in 2023

As Sue Bird said when I interviewed her and Megan Rapinoe yesterday, “Sponsorship is so important to the ecosystem – brands are the ones that change the culture and help others form opinions. Look, the trend is good – we just need to make sure there are no lulls. Brands need to look at sponsoring female athletes as a business investment – the data is all there to back that up.”

Rapinoe, not surprisingly, agrees, but reminds us that, of course, it’s not just about the finances.

“Women’s sport is an incredible lever for social change and for promoting equality,” she said. “For me, it’s an incredible gift that we can do something we love while trying to make the world a better place.”

Her comment reminded me of a poll by The Athletic last December which found that nine out of 10 British men who watch women’s sport say women’s rights, equality and feminism are important to them. For any brand that explicitly champions female empowerment, this is valuable evidence that I believe meaningful investment in women’s sport creates undeniably positive social change.

So how can we accelerate progress? One of the biggest challenges right now is the chicken-and-egg situation I mentioned earlier, which can deter brands from becoming active around major women’s sports tournaments. Brands defend themselves by saying that a comparatively low proportion of confirmed media coverage makes it difficult to justify advertising spend. In turn, broadcasters will say that the rights are too expensive without confirmed money from advertisers.

In fact, revenue in men’s sport is mainly due to broadcast rights, while in women’s sport it is still mainly due to the commercial part. Brands therefore have a real opportunity to take the lead and have a disproportionate influence in increasing the visibility of women’s sport, automatically driving female empowerment and positive social change.

As Rapinoe put it: “Through sport, brands can really tell an exciting story that keeps people coming back. Female athletes are so dynamic, in part because we had to be. So more brands should use that to their advantage by running great campaigns and sponsoring female athletes.”