The business of women's sport
Making women’s sport a series of high drama episodes
I think Man City’s ‘All or Nothing’ was first. In that same genre we had ‘Take Us Home: Leeds United’, the incredible ‘Drive to Survive’, loads of others and most recently ‘Matildas: The World at Our Feet’, showing Australia’s team preparing for the Women’s Football World Cup.
All this content made the penny drop for me. Professional sporting games are never one-off events. They are high drama episodes in long-running series’. We know the characters (players and coaches) and their backstories - sometimes spanning decades and generations.
On the whole (with large exceptions, in tennis and gymnastics, especially) women’s sport doesn’t yet have that. Often, when we ask sponsors to come on board with a women’s team it’s like asking them to sponsor a one-off documentary. The pre-existing audience is small. Few people yet have favourite ‘characters’ on the team.
So here’s the thing. If we’re to drive more women to sport, we need money to accelerate that - to pay the wages of professionals, to create heroes, so the heroes can inspire aspiration and then build scale. That money will come from sporting rights and advertising when there are eyeballs. Eyeballs will come when women’s sport becomes a series of high drama episodes. As content makers, we have a job to do.
When I made the decision, six months ago, to move into sports sponsorship it was because I am in awe of elite sports people. Their work ethic and mental strength inspires me enormously. I felt like an industry imposter but decided to do it anyway. Six months later, I am thrilled to have found that, in fact, in women’s sport, content makers could be pivotal to the change.
My message to all commercial partners wishing to engage ambitious women - clients, colleagues and potential hires - is: consider aligning with elite women’s sport, not badging it but telling the stories behind it and showcasing the values of your organisation in the process. I am committing to helping you tell those stories cost-effectively so that we can channel funds to women’s sport. Please message me for details.