Not Just Noise
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Not Just Noise
#NGWSD2023
National Girls & Women in Sport Day, sponsored by one of our favorite partners, the Women’s Sports Foundation, is one of our favorite days of the year. We are so thankful to Billie Jean King, the founder of WSF, for creating this foundation for girls and women in sports everywhere. We love being part of this annual celebration, but this year is different. It has been one HE🏒🏒 of a year in women’s sports, and we have been collecting data to prove just how much the market is changing. Here are some highlights below:
LPGA fans spend double on the LPGA annually than what PGA fans spend on the PGA
The average WNBA fan bets more money annually on games ($3.1k) than LPGA and NWSL fans
NWSL fans spend 32% more per transaction on their fandom than MLS fans do on the MLS ($133 vs. $90)
A record 15.1m people watched women's sport in the first three months of 2022
The Birmingham Commonwealth Games made history as the first major multi-sport event to have more medal events for women than men.
Women’s Super League attendances are up by 200% in the 2021/22 season.
However, even with this immense growth and the power that NGWSD holds, posting about it, talking about it, and celebrating women isn’t enough. We can’t let all of the noise we are making fade as time goes on. So, to put our money where our mouth is, we are DOING something about it. We - as a part of our exciting new partnership with Ally - are starting a movement to get big brands to invest in women and urge them to keep their feet on the gas because investment in women’s sports isn’t just the RIGHT thing to do - it is the SMART thing to do. Ally is one of the biggest spenders in the industry, as they have taken a “50/50” pledge to invest equally across men’s and women’s athletics. We are so proud to be launching a groundbreaking community initiative that is geared toward creating sustainable change in women’s sports. If you want more information on how to get involved in this exclusive, invite-only opportunity, please reach out to hallie@sportsilab.com. We will be launching and unveiling everything next month at SxSW… #StayTuned 🧐👀
Innovation in Action
Growth and Momentum
Late last week the National Women’s Soccer League announced their expansion into three markets: Boston, Utah, and San Francisco Bay Area. The expansion news also comes on the heels of the leagues’ 2023 highlight-worthy draft. Angel City FC picked Alyssa Thompson No. 1 overall straight out of high school, and the Hocking twins became the first set of sisters to be drafted in the same year in NWSL history. These are the kinds of early-career interest stories that build fanbases and grow the popularity and accessibility of the game.
When we think about initial customer acquisition at a high-level, we think about products and services that people want and that can be accessed easily. The NWSL is well on its way with the product it is developing. After customers are acquired, businesses need strategies to retain them, and then expand into new markets.
Last year we unveiled our Community Growth Score metric in our The Growth of The Women's Sports Community. The score is our proprietary way to measure the combination of customer acquisition and retention, ultimately leading us to understand which communities are showing strong growth and poised for momentum. Below is the latest output of our annual run of the growth score model. Communities with strong Growth Scores are prime targets for investment, as they show both current success and the potential for future success.
*Our data comes from a random panel of 20 million credit & debit card holders in the United States from January 1, 2016 - January 22, 2023.
The NWSL seems to know that now is the time to expand, as the NWSL is experiencing the most growth of the 50+ communities we are tracking. This score passes Bettors as last year's number one growth community (which still gets far more investment and buzz than women’s sports).
You might have heard us tell this story before, but there is a demand for more women’s sports and the data proves it. Beyond simply investing in a growing opportunity, brands and properties should look to understand which teams, brands, and experiences are helping drive this kind of growth. This thought process is necessary not only to learn from market leaders but also to design more of those opportunities with specific fans in mind, resulting in more personal fan connections.
If you're ready to create breakthrough fan experiences and connect with the Fluid Fan through technology, visit our website sportsilab.com or email info@sportsilab.com! Sign up for our Most Innovative Membership by emailing membersonly@sportsilab.com or visiting mostinnovative.com!