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“We wanted pros in the women’s sports arena leading our efforts,” Troberman said. “You can expect a unique approach to coverage designed to tackle all women’s sports, not just the biggest stars at the biggest moments.”
Sponsors want nothing less.
The supporters’ section
Women’s sports fans are willing to spend on sponsors of their sport, if those brands can reach them.
For instance, Women’s sports are projected to generate more than $1 billion in revenue in 2024, according to Deloitte, Meanwhile, Sports Innovation Lab’s Fan Project found that women’s sports fans are not only acquired and retained at a 40% higher rate than average sports fans, but they also spent more with Nike, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and luxury and travel brands as a result of being so heavily engaged.
Correnti pointed out that women’s sports upfronts and newfronts—including those hosted by Sports Innovation Lab and GroupM—have dovetailed with increasing interest in women’s sports storylines to drive brand interest in the game. That created more competition for women’s sports properties but also created more of a market for analysis and storytelling like that offered by the WSAN podcasts.
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“Any time you have a finite resource or inventory with business models that include category exclusivities for example, there is competition in the media buying process,” Correnti said. “That said, we are early days in not only bringing more and new clients to the women’s sports marketplace but also challenging legacy media and sponsorship models to open up new and differentiated ways of working to ensure we aren’t leaving partners and investment behind—but rather focused on creating sustained commercial growth in the space.”
As iHeartMedia and Deep Blue look to build WSAN’s sponsor base in Cannes, they do so from a strong foundation of committed partners. Cindy Epley, Capital One’s vp of brand media strategy and investment, points out that her brand has been a strong supporter of college sports through its NCAA Corporate Champion sponsorship that made it a fixture through this year’s record-breaking women’s March Madness run.
For e.l.f. Beauty—which has sponsored women’s Indy 500 drivers, soccer players and the PWHL—boosting WSAN programming offers it an opportunity to directly address the underrepresentation both as athletes and in the content surrounding women’s sports.
“Standing with every eye, lip and face means supporting the community all day, every day, so, we are taking over the mic to change the conversation,” said Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. Beauty. “It’s important to normalize positivity, inclusivity and accessibility so that equity becomes our strongest muscle. That’s how the next generation gains increasing strength to dream big and achieve their highest vision.”