The Women’s World Cup: Fantastic Momentum, but Still an Investment Lag
The FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) is just around the corner and the hype is building fast for football fans everywhere. Tickets are practically sold out and the Matilda's and Football Ferns are gearing up for a match of a lifetime.
It would be foolish not to participate in the excitement around the games, especially for brands. Locally, we’ve seen the development of encouraging and inspirational spots from CommBank, as well as immersive experiences from Macca's. It is clear that there is enthusiasm from brands wanting to take advantage of the millions of eyes that will be on the tournament. But has there been *enough* enthusiasm given the scale of the opportunity?
Krystyna Frassetto of M&C Saatchi S&E, Hilary Badger, ECD at Ogilvy Melbourne and Clare Stewart Hunter, board director of Gemba share their thoughts on the enthusiasm, or sometimes the lack thereof, for the WWC and how it will be changing the way we approach women’s sports…
Krystyna Frassetto, managing director - M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
To Krystyna, the WWC is an opportunity that brands shouldn’t miss. As part of M&C Saatchi S&E, she has seen a huge increase in the number of brands becoming more deeply involved with women’s football.
She stated: “With the women’s game appealing to a broader audience, more diverse audiences and a big proportion of those fans being families with young girls and boys, there’s brilliant breadth and depth to the sponsor line up.”
Krystyna believes that the brands that will perform the best will be the ones who are already supporting women’s football, those who are promoting the games and adding to the excitement as it ramps up.
“As the competition ramps up, it is likely to get more cluttered, so the first movers will benefit from early cut-through and the halo of positivity and excitement from both local and international fans,” she said.
However optimistic Kystyna’s thoughts on the WWC and what it means for the industry, she remains realistic. M&C Saatchi S&E has seen a positive 20% increase in those wanting to be involved with women’s sport. Nevertheless, the bulk of the attention and revenue still belong to men’s sports.
“There is fantastic momentum, but still a massive lag in terms of investment. As the women’s game gains millions of new fans in the next few weeks, I would strongly encourage brands not to think the moment has passed but instead see this as just the beginning - we need more marketers to double down on investments in women’s sports so that we can get more funding into development programmes and create more elite female athletes for the future” she said.
Hilary Badger, ECD - Ogilvy Melbourne
Hilary believes that it is clear that women’s football, or women’s sport in general is ‘having a moment’. With the encouraging increase of support from brands and the astronomical growth in ticket sales and interest in women’s football, she sees this time as a way for brands who have had an established and authentic connection to women’s sport to see their investment returned.
“Nobody likes a bandwagon jumper, so it’s the brands with a long-term commitment to women’s sport that have the most reason to celebrate this WWC,” she said. Hilary gave the examples of Ogilvy client Cadbury who has had ongoing support and encouragement for not only women’s sport, including teams like the Matildas, but grassroot clubs as well.
“They have activated many times and used the power of their brand to encourage participation and support for women’s sport at all levels.”
She believes as the WWC arrives, the industry has an opportunity to create change for women athletes at all levels. As communicators, Hilary believes that there needs to be a shift in the way women’s sport is thought about. Rather thinking that it is something that needs to have its profile raised and instead seeing women’s sport for what it is, valuable commercial property.
“This takes brands with ambition and consumers with spending power to align on a long-overdue attitude shift” she said.
Clare Stewart Hunter, board director - Gemba
Clare has seen a slow increase in brands getting involved in women’s sport as well, stating the Gemba’s research shows that fan interest and engagement peaks in the six weeks leading up to the major sporting event.
She believes that one of the biggest barriers to watching women’s sport is not knowing or forgetting when it’s on.
“Rights holders and broadcasters need to promote, promote, promote, when it comes to women’s sport. In 2020, we saw Cricket Australia run a year-long marketing campaign that culminated in over 86,000 people attending the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup FInal at the MCG,” she said.
With Gemba’s research, they have found that the viewership of sport differs between men’s sport and women’s sport. Men’s sport is driven by popularity and accessibility, whereas women's sport is driven by promoting and sharing female athletes’ stories and strength as role models.
“When it comes to commercialisation, our research shows that sponsorship of women’s sport generates higher sponsorship awareness, improved perceptions of brands and has a positive impact on propensity to purchase. It’s a no-brainer for brands to invest!”
Clare also touched on the activations and promotions that have already taken place within the industry from the likes of CommBank, Coca-Cola and Jacob’s Creek. She noted that there has been an increase in TVCs from Football Australia and other content that showcases women athletes as role models, for example Rebel’s four part docuseries about Mary Fowler.
Questions surrounding the ethical marketing at sporting games have already been in the news as of late. With the idea to inspire rather than pin one team against the other, the energy and the impact of women’s sport on the industry is likely to change the way we see not only women’s sport but also sport as a whole.
