Relo Metrics shares data insights on the value of WNBA sponsorship

The GIST: Ever wonder how much exposure a half-court logo gets? That’s where Relo Metrics — a firm that uses AI to measure sports marketing efficacy — steps in. Last week, Relo spoke with The GIST to share exclusive WNBA insights from its proprietary software that tracks brand exposure.

The methodology: Using its Relo Census tracking program, Relo determines what it calls “sponsor media value” (SMV), or how much ROI sponsors are getting in terms of visibility and logo exposure across digital channels. Relo cross-references the amount of exposure with the quality (a jersey close-up is better than a background logo) to identify which brands are benefiting the most.

🍺 Michelob Ultra has the highest SMV at nearly $5.5M. Last June, a multiyear agreement between parent Anheuser-Busch InBev and the NBA boosted Michelob Ultra’s courtside presence across NBA and WNBA properties. Baseline apron signage in WNBA arenas provides an estimated $4.1M of SMV, while the Las Vegas Aces’s floor logo accounts for $1M, per Relo.

• The brand’s women’s hoops investment is paying off, too: Michelob is reportedly earning more from the WNBA than its combined investment in MLB and MLS. And one.

📈 Brands associated with Caitlin Clark (and the Indiana Fever) are doing especially well. Two of the top-performers for SMV — Fever jersey patch sponsor Eli Lilly and home arena namesake Gainbridge — are headquartered in Indiana. And while State Farm is based in Illinois, the insurance company is one of Clark’s most prominent sponsors.

💰 Being a WNBA Changemaker pays off. Inaugural Changemakers Nike and AT&T reported some of the highest SMV among WNBA sponsors. In fact, Nike is so ubiquitous — its logo appears on the top of every WNBA jersey — that the brand far outranks every other key sponsor, so Relo had to exclude its media valuations as an outlier.

📱 SMV includes all digital channels, which factors in social media. Relo tracks logo exposure on social media, so when Angel Reese jumps on Instagram Live after the game, so does her jersey’s Nike logo. Relo previously shared that the W’s social growth is exponential compared to other U.S. leagues, coinciding perfectly with the rise of WBB in the social space. Gotta love a Venn diagram.