A new study from the Women’s Sport Trust has highlighted the positive outcomes for brands if they invest in women’s sports. Founded in 2012, the Women’s Sport Trust is a UK-based charity that works to raise the visibility and increase the impact of women’s sports. According to its new study, developed with sponsorship consultancy Onside, women’s only deals are proving particularly popular due to their ability to attract new audiences and drive brand affinity.
The study has found that 29 percent of respondents in the UK think more favorably of companies or brands that support women’s sports through their sponsorship, compared to 17 percent that support men’s sports. Furthermore, 16 percent of the UK population are more likely to buy from a brand that sponsors women’s sport versus 13 percent that sponsor men’s sport.
Respondents have also widely pointed to the need for gender-balanced investments in sponsorship and advertising, with 60 percent arguing that sponsors should invest both in the men’s and women’s side of a sport that they support, and 63 percent of women arguing that brands sponsoring a sport should give the same level of coverage in advertising to men’s and women’s teams.
Meanwhile, sponsorship of women’s sports seems to have achieved significant awareness, with 14.6 million people aware of O2’s sponsorship of England’s women’s rugby team Red Roses, for example, and 14.4 million aware of Coca Cola’s sponsorship of the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup, highlights the report.
