PWHL partners with three new brands in Canada as league offers unique cross-border access

December 13, 2024

Hockey is huge in Canada, so naturally, the PWHL’s popularity is growing fast among Canadian fans and sponsors. After tipping off its second season with nearly 50 corporate partnerships, the league inked three more Canadian-based deals this week, demonstrating its interest in reaching women’s sports fans on both sides of the border.

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PWHL partners with three new brands in Canada as league offers unique cross-border access

Source: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

The GIST: Hockey is huge in Canada, so naturally, the PWHL’s popularity is growing fast among Canadian fans and sponsors. After tipping off its second season with nearly 50 corporate partnerships, the league inked three more Canadian-based deals this week, demonstrating its interest in reaching women’s sports fans on both sides of the border.

Bravado Designs: The women-founded, Canadian-based intimate apparel brand signed its first sports partnership as the PWHL’s official bra partner on Wednesday. While the deal caters to Canadian PWHL fans with exclusive pop-ups and activations, Bravado will share branding across all six PWHL arenas, meaning they’ll reach American fans in NYC, Boston, and Minnesota.

Intuit Quickbooks: On Thursday, Quickbooks became the PWHL’s official accounting software partner, marking the American company’s first women’s sports league sponsorship in Canada. The multiyear deal will specifically focus on supporting small, women-owned Canadian businesses after a survey found they face greater financial strain than their male counterparts. Stacks on deck.

GoodLife Fitness: The affiliation with Canada’s largest gym chain isn’t league-wide (yet), but the brand did secure partnerships with the PWHL’s two Ontario-based teams on Wednesday. GoodLife will serve as the official fitness club for the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge, as well as the Charge’s official training partner.

Zooming out: Women-focused brands have been flocking to women’s sports not only for values alignment and audience access, but also to access consumers at an appealing price point. Globally, women fans tend to harbor positive brand sentiment for those involved in women’s sports, and the Canadian women’s sports scene is rapidly growing.

To this end, the PWHL offers a unique cross-border connection: American companies can reach new Canadian customers, and Canadian brands can access a much larger audience south of the border. Too smart, eh?