Yes, the partnerships bring goodwill among women’s sports fans (and massive viewership), but for Aflac CMO Garth Knutson, it’s also about showing up in the right way.
“We’re not trying to buy our way into a community that is as tight knit as women’s sports,” he recently told ADWEEK’s Jason Notte. “I’d like to say that we’re earning our way into it with our actions.”
‘The moment is now‘
For brands looking to get in on the action, there will be more opportunities than ever in the 2024-2025 upfront.
Among the early highlights, Sports Innovation Lab is focusing a NewFronts session on women’s sports marketing, and GroupM is launching a dedicated women’s sports marketplace, seeking first-look and first-to-market offerings alongside advertisers such as Adidas, Ally, Coinbase, Discover, Google, Mars, Nationwide, Unilever and Universal Pictures.
Ally chief marketing and PR officer Andrea Brimmer welcomes more brands to the women’s sports marketplace, recently telling ADWEEK that now is the time to step up investment.
“What I hope comes out of it is more people that have been talking a good game on the brand side about investing in women’s sports actually do it, that we get to a point where we get into sold-out inventory across a lot of these platforms, that you start to see this become a thriving marketplace in a short period of time,” Brimmer said. “The moment is now, and that’s what women’s sports deserves.”
