Eyes on the prize

The GIST: With Paris 2024 in full force, sponsor insight platform SponsorUnited published a study last week on how brands are activating around Paris 2024 and what marketers can learn for the next Games. Let’s talk takeaways.

The context: The Olympic Partners (TOP) program gives its 15 participating brands exclusive global marketing access to the Games, and only the biggest players can afford it (think Visa, Toyota, etc.). Brands not in the program must follow Rule 40 of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic charter, which issues strict guidelines around activations related to the Games.

🏠 The Olympics can be a gateway for brand partners new to the sports space, like Airbnb. As a newer TOP sponsor, Airbnb is already leveraging its presence in Paris to make inroads with politicians and government agencies as it demonstrates its capacity to accommodate travelers for major global gatherings like the Games.

⏰ Being in France comes with timely benefits. While Beijing 2008 and Tokyo 2020 were in distant time zones for U.S. consumers, Paris 2024 allows advertisers to promote in real time instead of during pre-recorded events.

📺 One-third of all TOP partnerships will be up for renewal after Paris, which bodes well for the IOC considering the location of the next several Games. Four of the next five Olympics are either in the U.S. or Europe, with the French Alps (2030) and Salt Lake City (2034) confirmed as Winter Olympics sites last week.

🏉 There’s a workaround outside TOP: athlete partnerships. The social media reach of today’s athletes is comparable to linear and digital platforms, ideal for brands that can’t afford TOP’s price tag. This tracks when it comes to stars like U.S. rugby player Ilona Maher, who just became the first in her sport to surpass 1M Instagram followers as brands take notice.

• SponsorUnited CEO Bob Lynch advised brands to connect with tomorrow’s Olympians, who are already content-savvy athletes inking NIL endorsements. Brands like the Minnesota Pork Board and Hormel are already heeding that advice by aligning directly with athletes instead of the IOC, giving them amplified exposure for a lower price. Bringing home the bacon.

The GIST: While there’s been a lot of talk about new WNBA brand partners, there’s something to be said for OG league sponsors — like Nike. The athleticwear giant recently celebrated over 25 years with the W, so let’s take a look at some of Nike’s most recent women’s hoops wins.

The sponsorships: Beyond the league itself, Nike owns the merch game among women’s hoopers. The brand has 20 player-exclusive footwear deals with WBB stars, while 15 Nike-sponsored players participated in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game. Nike’s also been the WNBA’s uniform partner since 2018, which has translated to astronomical sponsor media value, according to Relo Metrics.

The Sabrina 2: The success of NY Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu’s (pronounced yo-NESS-coo) Sabrina 1 shoes — which Nike dubbed “the most successful signature launch led by a women’s basketball player” — led to the Sabrina 2s, which are already making a mark. The Sabrina 1s saw top continental sales in the U.S. and China and were worn by over 80 NBA players last season.

• As with its first iteration, the Sabrina 2 development relied on women-focused research and insight, including from Ionescu herself, while also cross-checking with non-women wearers to make sure the shoe suits everyone’s game.

The Women in Nike program: In 2019, Nike launched its Women in Nike program to help retired W players apply their pro sports skills to the boardroom. The program has matriculated 72 WNBA athletes and counting, with 58 becoming full-time employees across Nike, Converse, and Jordan Brand. Putting everything back into the business.

Zooming out: Nike may be a major player in the space, but its recent stock performance shows the brand is not immune to taking hits. Although it’s likely the most established athleticwear brand in the WNBA, there are newcomers angling for the crown — take New Balance, for example, or Adidas recently doubling its WNBA roster investment in an 18-month span.

• Still, Nike is able to cover emerging markets in creative ways, such as its investment in Chinese high school girls’ basketball and the Sabrina line’s foray into a lucrative unisex shoe market. Eyes on the prize.

There’s no better way to level up your summer than by attending Tennis Canada’s UNMATCHED Gender Equity in Sports Conference. We’re giving away two tickets to the third edition of this event on August 7th at the Paramount Eventspace in Woodbridge, Ontario, and it promises to be filled with aces.

The speakers and special guests include:

🎾 Seven-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1 Venus Williams, Keynote Speaker

🎙️ Toronto Blue Jays host Sportsnet reporter Hazel Mae, Host

🏒 Three-time Olympic medallist and 2024 PWHL MVP Natalie Spooner, Speaker

What a Grand Slam lineup, eh? Enter to win today.

Looking for ways to spice up your summer? We can help with that. We want to send you and your bestie on the ultimate NYC women’s sports weekend to watch the NY Liberty and NJ/NY Gotham FC. Here’s what’s on the line:

🏀 Two tickets to watch the NY Liberty vs. Dallas Wings on August 20th. This also includes a $200 gift certificate for the team store and dinner at The Crown Club.

⚽ Two Founders Club tickets (including VIP Warm Up Watcher passes) to catch Gotham FC take on the seven-time Women’s Super League champions from the UK, Chelsea FC. The winner will also get fitted with a signed Gotham FC jersey.

✈️ $1,000 cash for travel and accommodations.

Enter to win today. The bright lights in the big city are waiting for you.