And you thought women's sport wasn't investable?

We're back for another fortnight, covering some of the most exciting brand, partnership and insights in the sports industry (apologies for the lack of emoji flair, LinkedIn was not playing ball in that area today).

In the 5th Edition I explore the success of Football Australia's WWC campaign, the newest sponsors taking a chance on F1 Academy and key highlights from PwC's Sport Outlook for 2024 report. Let's dive in.

?

B R A N D? M O V E

What it is

Football Australia fighting to host the Women’s World Cup pays off for its brand, the Matilda’s and the country's economy.?

A country not usually associated to football (soccer), becoming the host of the most anticipated, supported and prominent women’s world cup of our time, was aways going to be a big moment. And thankfully, the figures are in and the hard work has paid off.?

What the numbers are saying:

• Football Australia: Because of the success of the tournament, Football Australia was able to unlock AUS$365 million to support the continued growth of women’s football through stadia upgrades and investment into inclusive facilities for our community. As a governing body, they’re seen as supportive, progressive and inclusive.?
• The Matilda’s: The potential value of the Matilda's brand is seen to be rising to as much as AUS$210 million, up from about $40m prior to the tournament. They also have a media value of AUS$2.78 billion and have surpassed the Men's team in sponsorship sales. We also all saw the great stats about the Matilda's jersey outselling the Men's WC jersey two to one!?
• Australian economy: The tournament was said to have decreased healthcare costs by AUS$324 million due to increased physical activity in society - inspired women, girls and boys getting involved in football. On top of this, the tournament brought in AUS$1.32 billion to the economy
• Australian tourism: The tournament attracted 86,654 international visitors as well as celebrating an array of Australia's greatest attractions, people and of course the brilliant inclusion of indigenous culture.

Key takeout: Making women’s sport accessible is the simple solution to astronomical growth and financial benefit.

P A R T N E R? P L A Y

What it is

Charlotte Tilbury and Tommy Hilfiger become Official Partners of F1 Academy.?

As we're seeing across all sports, brands are becoming more interested and focussed on working with rightsholders working towards ‘good’. Think grassroots, women’s sport, underrepresented minorities in sport etc.. It’s less about working with the elite males who may give you the quick wins and more about long-term brand association and positive sentiment growth.

What we can learn from it

Data tells us that women hold between 74% and 80% of the spending power per household, with fashion, beauty and entertainment leading the way for consumer wants. So it perhaps wasn’t surprising, but overwhelmingly welcome, when Charlotte Tilbury and Tommy Hilfiger announced their partnerships with the female-focussed F1 Academy. As two brands top of the list for UK spends especially, and Tommy already in the F1 space with its Lewis Hamilton collaboration, it’s been brilliant to see the belief and investment in female drivers.?

What I especially loved is the alignment of brand purposes driving these activations, with less focus on direct product sales (even though I was a bit gutted with the Charlotte Tilbury livery).?

When it comes to their brand, both F1 Academy and Charlotte Tilbury have brand purposes focused on empowering and supporting women. The Academy being the space to foster female talent in F1, Tilbury being a coming-of-age beauty brand that has taken a significant hold on the female market.?

For Tommy Hilfiger, their focus on sustainability and shaping culture works nicely within the F1 world who are working towards being Net Zero by 2030 and of course, F1 Academy driving cultural improvements in the sport.?

Key takeout: Choose partnerships based on natural, authentic synergies in who you are?

P O W E R? S O U R C E?

What it is

PWC’s annual sport industry outlook.

What we can learn from it

As much as what we can learn as what I was most excited to read:

• Brands are using AI to personalise fan experiences in incredible, industry-changing ways - think personalised commentary, customised advertising, customised highlights, language translations, adaptations of games (think Spongebob x Superbowl)
• As a group, women’s sports fans are younger, wealthier and more tech savvy on average?- very lucrative for sponsoring brands
• I feel the UK has been planning for this for years already but it is interesting to see the US is now catching up, as are fans: "Today’s leading sports organisations are creating additional revenue streams and improving the fan experience through owning and operating mixed-use entertainment districts." (ala Wembley)
• The undeniable power of sports stories in driving viewership and engagement is reshaping the sports entertainment landscape. In 2024, we should prepare for more leagues and teams to focus their media efforts on telling more captivating stories about their athletes off the court, with the aim of enhancing viewership and fan engagement on the court.
• The sports industry derives most of its revenue not from ticket sales but from media rights and advertising - which is something anyone in the sports marketing world knows, but a surprising number of rightsholders still work competition-to-competition, season-to-season, focussing on tactical ticket sales instead of long-term brand building.?
• NFTs, AI and augmented reality may be seen as the exciting newish tools but brands see social media, email newsletters and podcasts as exciting.??

Key takeout: The sports industry derives most of its revenue not from ticket sales but from media rights and advertising

Sources: SportsPro, PwC Outlook 2024, The Guardian, Football Australia, Dynamic Business, Forbes?