Major milestones and surging viewership figures make women’s sport a tempting opportunity for brands. But there’s a few things they should know first…
How do you identify a burgeoning cultural moment? Brands start investing in it.
That might sound cynical, but nowhere is this more evident than in women’s sport. Go back in time and it was barely broadcast on mainstream channels, let alone courting a group of eager blue chip sponsors. But a series of milestone moments and a sudden surge in audience numbers are unlocking an influx of brand dollars.
2025 alone has seen major partnerships: Maybelline New York is the WWE’s historic first cosmetics partner; AXA is sponsoring the UEFA Women’s Euro; Google Pixel 9 is celebrating the Lionesses; MetroBank is supporting women’s and girls’ cricket; and 818 Spirits has partnered with NASCAR driver Toni Breidinger.
Deloitte predicts that global revenue for women’s sport will reach $2.35b in 2025 – something that Pete Giorgio, who leads global and US sports practices at the firm, describes as “a transformational moment”.
Viewership records are also being smashed across sports – the WNBA saw 2024 viewership up 170% from the previous season – and official bodies are investing heavily in the growth of women’s teams.
We’re even seeing players building the commercial infrastructure for brand tie-ins, with Manchester United’s Ella Toone launching Amicizia Studios: an agency devoted to connecting female footballers to brand partnerships and marketing opportunities. We're also seeing the growing influence of women's sport at ASK US FOR IDEAS, having worked with club ownership group Mercury/13 (you can listen to our podcast with their founder here).
And if there was any lingering doubt, Vogue – bastion of elite fashion and long-time arbiter of taste – is now the proud owner of a dedicated sports desk. Despite being around for 100 years, it’s the first time the magazine has created a space purely for women’s sport.
Brands everywhere are realising they’re trailing behind a huge cultural moment and a massive commercial opportunity.
So we asked Malcolm Buick, Chief Creative Officer at brand innovation studio Athletics, and Holly Gilbertson, founder of sports-focused creative studio Pacer, how brands should navigate the change. Here’s what they told us:
1)Let the athletes lead
“I was the lead designer on Burton Snowboard’s campaigns,” says Buick. “One of my main focuses was on the women’s team, and elevating their voice and skills. They weren’t just throwing women on ads, they were building teams, designing specific gear for female riders, and giving legends like Shannon Dunn-Downing, Kelly Clark, Chloe Kim – and all these Olympians – a platform. They were always part of the conversation, and more often than not, it was successful.”
2)Forget what you know about aspiration
“One of the misconceptions around women’s sport culture is that – because the emphasis is less on winning or the ‘harder’ side of performance – it’s less aspirational. But that couldn’t be further from the truth, it’s simply aspirational in a different way,” says Gilbertson.
Women’s sport shouldn’t be treated differently, but there’s an opportunity to have its own kind of energy, and brands need to tap into that.
Malcolm Buick, Chief Creative Officer, Athletics
“That’s where the real opportunity is for brands to unlock how that comes to life creatively or from a storytelling perspective. The best example of this is the women’s grassroots football scene, with all these beginner-friendly clubs that have given themselves distinct, playful identities and self-styled kits. The aspiration is in their ironic humour, the community vibe and the aesthetic – reclaiming that trope of ‘all the gear, no idea’ and owning it. Mainstream media coverage has taken a long time to catch up to the tonality of this organic groundswell.”
3)Don’t treat it like a different genre – but don’t copy what’s gone before
“Fans want hype, they want rivalries, they want big moments,” says Buick. “They want the same as what men have in sports. At the same time, the storytelling has to feel real. Women’s sport shouldn’t be treated differently, but there’s an opportunity to have its own kind of energy, and brands need to tap into that instead of copy and pasting the men's playbook.”
4)Give the audience what they want
“If you use a copy-and-paste approach with women’s sport, you risk replicating the same barriers. The people that didn’t see themselves in the world of men’s sport won’t see themselves in women’s sport either,” says Gilbertson. “Marketing in men’s sport can be quite culturally specific. There are visual languages that haven’t been explored in men’s sport but can now be in women’s – and experimenting allows you to speak to a completely different audience. I think we need to embrace that opportunity wholeheartedly now, because the audience is primed and ready, and experimentation is what will continue to bring those new audiences in.”
5)Infuse brand support into everything
“Put your money where your mouth is and spend some time getting invested in a real authentic way, becoming part of the conversation and shaping culture,” says Buick. “Don’t just pay the check and put your brand next to it, because it’s disingenuous, and unfair to the women in the sport. And you’ll get called out for it, because everything’s out in the open now. It’s tapping into that entire ecosystem – funding academies, sponsoring leagues, telling stories all year round.”
6)Cultivate the fandom
“One of the stats that is often quoted is how much higher the engagement is for female athletes than male athletes,” says Gilbertson. “Yes, they might have lower reach, but they’ve got a fanatical audience, and they’re only getting more fanatical in weird and wonderful ways.
It’s a mindset shift from the way sports sponsorship or activation has typically been seen, reliant on finished product, pre-existing eyeballs and established pull.
Holly Gilbertson, founder Pacer
"Being able to tap into that emerging bond and cultivate it is something a brand should want to be part of. It means being willing to be creatively risky, and shooting for real cultural relevance over enormous reach alone. Going beyond the obvious athletes to find the new cult figures is where the opportunity is. ”
7)Remember it’s a cultural moment, not a finished product
“In order to unlock the power of women’s sport, you need to understand it’s a cultural movement not a finished product,” says Gilbertson. “That comes with unique benefits because the upside potential is enormous. Brands can be part of true cultural creation, part of a story or a journey that organically embeds their brand or product in that trajectory. But it’s a mindset shift from the way sports sponsorship or activation has typically been seen, reliant on finished product, pre-existing eyeballs and established pull.”
8)Revel in the newness
“Women’s sport is so multidimensional that anyone can find inroads that allow you to test the waters,” says Gilbertson. “Whatever your brand is, there’ll be a female athlete that’s adjacent to it somehow – but you have to be willing to push something that feels new and fresh. But that’s where brands should feel excited. In general, it’s really hard to find newness in advertising, specifically in marketing, and it’s here in women’s sport in abundance. There are genuinely untold stories and the true potential for cultural firsts. ”
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Images shown, from top: F.C. Como Women photography by Alessandro Simonetti, courtesy Mercury/13; Alba Sport branding by Athletics
