Partnerships Spotlight: Tag Into Women’s Sports

Strategically designed partnerships can create a revenue-enhancing synergy that boosts loyalty and devotion for the participating brands. In this ongoing series, The Lacek Group’s Amy Farsht, our loyalty partnerships practice lead, will spotlight examples of brands that are capturing our attention, exploring new approaches, and shattering expectations.

Forging brand partnerships in the skyrocketing trajectory of women's sports is smart for business.

Women’s sports teams are having a moment. The WNBA, LPGA, Women’s Tennis Association, National Women’s Soccer League, and Professional Women’s Hockey League are gathering more fans and enjoying more broadcast time.

Wider visibility, influence, and appeal open new opportunities for women’s leagues and teams—and the individual athletes—to ink partnership deals with brands that want to reach fans of women’s sports.

Has your brand considered exploring a women’s sports partnership? Now is the time to lace up your cleats, high-tops, tennis shoes, or ice skates and get in the game. When exploring potential partnerships, consider tapping into the energy and appeal of some of the hardest-working competitors around: top-tier female athletes.

Who

Brands that target female consumers from myriad industries—including beauty, beverages, insurance, underwear, video technology, retail, e-sports, travel, banking, and more—are jumping on board or expanding their existing partnerships in support of women’s professional sports.

These rapidly growing team profiles are enjoying higher visibility—and, therefore, more influence—with their increasing fan base. In fact, many women’s sports franchises are now well poised to be selective about the brands they choose to align their team with.

What

In the 2023–24 season, sponsorship deals in women’s professional sports increased more than 22% over the previous season. The LPGA was the overall leader with 1,100 sponsorship deals, a 25% increase over the previous year.

Consider the 2024 NCAA Women’s Final Four Tournament: The championship game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the South Carolina Gamecocks garnered a record-breaking 18.9 million viewers—making it not just the most-watched women’s college basketball game, but the most-viewed college basketball game (men’s or women’s). The 2024 Women’s Final Four Tournament overall boasted an eye-popping 299% increase over 2022 viewership.

Where

The WNBA isn’t the only women’s league around, but it’s been around long enough to be a leader in women’s sports. Its partnership decisions offer a glimpse into the growth of sponsorships in women’s sports and the benefits of longer-term collaborations.

The 2024 WNBA season inaugurated several new partnerships, including:

• In 2023, SKIMS, the women’s underwear brand cofounded by cultural icon Kim Kardashian, became the official underwear partner of WNBA. The partners have just announced a new ad campaign featuring league stars Candace Parker, Cameron Brink, Dijonai Carrington, and others wearing the SKIMS Fits Everybody collection.

• Swiss-based luxury watchmaker Tissot partnered with sporting goods giant Wilson and the WNBA on two limited-edition watches, marking the first time the league put its stamp on an official watch of the WNBA.

• Earlier this year, Perrigo Company plc, a leading manufacturer of self-care products, announced a multiyear partnership with the WNBA that highlights Opill, the first over-the-counter daily birth control pill. The partnership aligns with the league’s top social justice efforts, which focus on two areas: civic engagement and reproductive health advocacy.

• La Crema, part of Jackson Family Wines, will be the Official Wine Partner of the WNBA and USA Basketball Women’s National Team. The multi-year partnership agreement will yield exclusive events and fan experiences that bring fine wine to women’s basketball.

Meanwhile, demonstrating the potential for growth over time, Glossier, the WNBA’s first Official Beauty Partner, begins the fourth year of its collaboration with the WNBA.

Why

The data is in. Women’s sports are smart business. According to a recent study, 76% of women’s sports fans notice brands when they watch sporting events, compared with only 57% of men’s sports fans. And that translates into revenue: Women’s sports fans are 25% more likely to buy sponsor products than men’s.

Plus, fans of women’s sports are dedicated. Even when games aren’t broadcast, they find a way to access and share content. For example, longtime Minnesota Lynx fan Alli Schneider streamed a May 2024 game on her X account, drawing more than 200,000 viewers while the Lynx played the Chicago Sky. The game was untelevised and unavailable through usual streaming options. Schneider’s video got more than 2.5 million views.

How

Opportunity abounds in women’s sports for intentional, authentic partnerships that align to your brand’s values, mission, scope, and business goals.

Whether you’re considering entering the women’s sports market for the first time or looking to expand your current portfolio, female athletes are making their powerful presence known. Organizations can help amplify the message of equity and social justice that women’s sports convey—and expand brand reach with relevant messaging to a responsive, engaged, and growing group of consumers.

Amy Farsht is senior director, Partnership Marketing. For more than 30 years, The Lacek Group has been innovating the art and algorithms of brand devotion. We help world-class brands identify their highest-potential customers, engage them across channels throughout their lifecycles, personalize each relationship for optimal long-term results, and measure the true effectiveness of those efforts. The Lacek Group is an Ogilvy company.