Dive Brief:

• GroupM has more than doubled its annual media spending on women’s sports following the launch of a dedicated marketplace for the category in March, according to a press release. The timeline beats the WPP media agency’s initial goal of doubling its ad spending on women’s sports within a year.
• Over 20 clients, including Adobe, Adidas, Unilever and Target, have taken steps to focus more on women’s sports. Additionally, GroupM has entered into 25 first-to-market opportunities with broadcasters such as Disney, which owns ESPN, and media platforms like YouTube to grow monetization opportunities.  
• Partnerships with Google, Indeed and other entities helped to increase brand value, audience engagement and visibility. Sponsorships were struck around events like the WNBA Countdown and NWSL playoffs and championship, while artificial intelligence (AI) tools are helping to expand access to sports audiences.

Dive Insight:

Aggressive investments and strategic partnerships helped GroupM exceed its goal of doubling clients’ combined media spending on women’s sports. The commitment to women’s sports, inclusive of the agency’s debut of a dedicated marketplace earlier this year, reflects growing popularity with consumers and an increase in advertising opportunities. GroupM’s marketplace was a part of its pitch around the upfronts, a period where advertisers lock in broadcast deals for the months ahead.

TV ads during women’s sports saw double-digit increases in effectiveness between 2022 and 2023, according to recent Edo research. The WNBA finals had the highest viewership in 25 years, peaking at 3.3 million viewers. Tennis and basketball have particularly high viewership rates, and were the top-performing women’s sports in 2023, per Edo.

Investing in women’s sports is no longer seen as just the equitable thing to do, but also as a strategy that can drive results for marketers. For example, Adidas ads featuring women athletes had a 69% increase in effectiveness compared to the average, according to Edo. 

Looking ahead, women’s sports are poised to further evolve as part of the media sector, especially as the supporting technology improves to enhance live sports broadly, per GroupM. The firm’s clients also expect the space to continue to mature. 

“Investing in advertising in women’s sports is a strategic move that makes our brands unmissable on important cultural stages,” said Aaron Sobol, head of U.S. media investment at Unilever, in a press statement. “Unilever has been investing in women’s sports for years, and we are thrilled to see the space continuing to evolve and mature. By supporting women’s sports, we connect with a passionate and growing audience, driving both brand loyalty and community impact.”