“I came into the sports role on calls with teams and a lot of women’s sports properties and used words like “lifetime retention rate,” “new retained fans” and how much more are they worth than a new fan?” Waldhorn told ADWEEK’s programming manager Christine Lane. “And they were like, ‘what?’ They weren’t thinking in those terms.”
Natalie White, who grew her Moolah Kicks women’s basketball sneaker brand from a startup gathering data outside Boston College’s Conte Forum to a brand with WNBA and NCAA partnership and a presence in 450 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, said the growing economy of women’s sports requires no comparison to the men’s game. While addressing fan criticism of Caitlin Clark’s $75,000 starting salary in the WNBA, Golden State Warriors svp of marketing Amanda Chin—whose organization just paid $50 million for a WNBA expansion team of its own—suggested considering their fandom in more fiscal terms.
“I would ask those fans, are you attending games? Are you buying merchandise? Are you tuning in? Are you subscribing to League Pass? Are you engaging on social?” she said. “Those are the metrics that brands are using to measure their ROI: We have a role in this as well, and it’s really important that we play ball.”
Formula 1 brands must walk before they can drive
Before Formula 1 and its partner brands could take an initial lap in Las Vegas, they had to figure out how anyone was going to enjoy their inaugural Grand Prix.
“In Vegas, you have lots to do during the day.” Emily Prazer, chief commercial officer, Formula 1 and Las Vegas Grand Prix, told ADWEEK CEO Will Lee. “Whilst the track opened up, how do we make sure from the minute they leave the hotel, they have an experience until they get to the racetrack? We spent a lot of time in 300-degree heat during the day, we were walking past the Venetian and we said ‘This empty Barney’s store needs to be a Formula 1 shop.’”
