Insurance giants invest in women’s sports as industry advertising spending declines

The GIST: Sportico shared insights yesterday about U.S. insurance giants backing away from advertising in the big game. While insurers aren’t activating around the (very expensive) Super Bowl as much as they used to, companies like State Farm are stepping up spending in a low cost, high ROI space: women’s basketball. Easy buckets.

The spending trend: Home and auto insurance companies’ underwriting costs have ballooned in recent years due to climate change, causing their ad spend to plummet. In 2023, top spender Progressive’s ad budget was down 30% to $1.22B, Geico’s fell 34% YoY to $838.2M, and Allstate’s shrunk by 31% to $651.3M. State Farm was the only top firm that didn’t see a major decline.

The support: State Farm has sponsored women’s sports for the past 20 years, including maintaining a WNBA partnership since 2013. It’s also been a presenting partner for the WNBA Draft and its recent expansion draft, sponsored 3v3 basketball league Unrivaled, and partnered with ION for its WNBA programming.

• Notably, State Farm has only signed two collegiate NIL deals, and both were with women’s basketball players — Caitlin Clark in 2023 and JuJu Watkins in 2024. The strategy of partnering with athletes like Clark is to boost brand KPIs like awareness, consideration, preference, and purchasing intent.

The why: While State Farm has sponsored women’s sports for years, doubling down on women’s basketball right now is smart. There’s much growth in exposure at the college and pro level, so getting in early with rising college stars like Watkins and Clark can only pay off as they advance their careers.

Lingering questions: Considering what State Farm has seen during the California wildfires, it seems insurance agencies will face serious challenges as climate change worsens. Will these companies continue to sponsor major leagues like the NFL, or will they pivot to sports like women’s basketball, which boast lower costs and high fan engagement? Watch this space.