- GroupM has greater than doubled its annual media spending on women’s sports following the launch of a dedicated marketplace for the category in March, in accordance with a press release. The timeline beats the WPP media agency’s initial goal of doubling its ad spending on women’s sports within a yr.
- Over 20 clients, including Adobe, Adidas, Unilever and Target, have taken steps to focus more on women’s sports. Additionally, GroupM has entered into 25 first-to-market opportunities with broadcasters similar to Disney, which owns ESPN, and media platforms like YouTube to grow monetization opportunities.
- Partnerships with Google, Indeed and other entities helped to extend brand value, audience engagement and visibility. Sponsorships were struck around events just like the WNBA Countdown and NWSL playoffs and championship, while artificial intelligence (AI) tools are helping to expand access to sports audiences.
Aggressive investments and strategic partnerships helped GroupM exceed its goal of doubling clients’ combined media spending on women’s sports. The commitment to women’s sports, inclusive of the agency’s debut of a dedicated marketplace earlier this yr, reflects growing popularity with consumers and a rise in promoting opportunities. GroupM’s marketplace was an element of its pitch across the upfronts, a period where advertisers lock in broadcast deals for the months ahead.
TV ads during women’s sports saw double-digit increases in effectiveness between 2022 and 2023, in accordance with recent Edo research. The WNBA finals had the best viewership in 25 years, peaking at 3.3 million viewers. Tennis and basketball have particularly high viewership rates, and were the top-performing women’s sports in 2023, per Edo.
Investing in women’s sports is not any longer seen as just the equitable thing to do, but in addition as a method that may drive results for marketers. For example, Adidas ads featuring women athletes had a 69% increase in effectiveness in comparison with the typical, in accordance with Edo.
Looking ahead, women’s sports are poised to further evolve as a part of the media sector, especially because the supporting technology improves to reinforce live sports broadly, per GroupM. The firm’s clients also expect the space to proceed to mature.
“Investing in promoting in women’s sports is a strategic move that makes our brands unmissable on necessary cultural stages,” said Aaron Sobol, head of U.S. media investment at Unilever, in a press statement. “Unilever has been investing in women’s sports for years, and we’re thrilled to see the space continuing to evolve and mature. By supporting women’s sports, we connect with a passionate and growing audience, driving each brand loyalty and community impact.”
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