Nearly Three Quarters of Americans Believe Brands Should Sponsor Men’s & Women’s Sports Equally
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More than half say that brands should support women’s Olympic sports over professional sports, and similarly for individual sports compared to team sports
The Fall 2023 Women’s Sports Survey Powered by Aggregate Sports & Suzy™ offers insight on consumer perceptions around women’s sports
New York, NY -- November 13, 2023 -- Aggregate Sports, an industry leader in sports marketing and sponsorship sales, in collaboration with Suzy™, a leading end-to-end market research software platform, recently surveyed a diverse representative sample of Americans who consider themselves avid or casual sports fans.
“As interest and corporate support of women’s sports continues to grow at unprecedented rates, it is important for brands, marketers, and sports industry professionals to fully grasp changing consumer perceptions and behaviors around women’s sports,” said Rem de Rohan, COO of Aggregate Sports. “We partnered with Suzy to help us and others in the industry better understand current consumer views about women’s sports.”
The Fall 2023 Women’s Sports Survey Powered by Aggregate Sports & Suzy™ revealed:
77% believe brands should sponsor women’s sports
74% believe brands should sponsor men’s and women’s sports equally
71% believe women’s sports will increase in popularity in the coming years
62% feel better about a brand that sponsors women’s sports
58% believe brands should sponsor women’s Olympic sports heavier than women’s professional sports leagues
58% agree with the statement: “Women’s Olympic sports are more prestigious than women’s professional sports.”
58% believe that women competing in individual sports have a tougher challenge than women competing in team sports
55% agree with the statement: “I am more likely to be a fan of a female individual sport athlete than a woman in team sports.”
54% agree with the statement: “I am more likely to be a fan of a woman who is a champion in her sport than one who is not.”
Record-breaking crowds at the University of Nebraska for a women’s volleyball match, University of Iowa for an exhibition women’s basketball game and the WNBA Finals are clear indicators that the growth of and excitement around women’s sports is not just a fad. With these events coming on the heels of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, it was not surprising that 71% of survey respondents believe women’s sports will continue to increase in popularity in the coming years.
With 62% of respondents agreeing with the statement “I feel better about a brand that sponsors women’s sports,” the potential impact investing in women’s sports will have on purchasing habits is significant.
“Some early investors in women’s sports such as VISA, AT&T, and Nike fully understood the scope of the opportunity, but many brands are just now realizing that investing in women’s sports goes well beyond doing something socially good, it is good for business,” continued de Rohan.
Survey respondents were asked to identify brands from a list of 20 that was provided who they believe are significant supporters of women’s sports. Nike (66%), Gatorade (58%) and Coca-Cola (55%) topped the list, each having spent significantly across sports historically and often viewed as pioneers in sponsorship of female athletes and women’s sports.
How brands invest in women’s sports will be key, not only for their success in reaching consumers, but also in how they impact future generations of female athletes.
“Investment by brands in women’s professional leagues is a great start,” said Ramsey Baker, SVP of Aggregate Sports. “However, there is still a huge disparity in access and opportunity for women and girls in sport and as a result there is a significant need for brands to invest in organizations that have the grass roots connectivity to increase opportunities.”
Survey respondents shared this sentiment, with 58% agreeing that brands should support women’s Olympic sports heavier than women’s professional leagues.
“I wasn’t surprised to see this data,” admitted Baker, “because Olympic sports are where so many girls get their introduction to sports and many families are active participants and/or members of National Governing Bodies (NGBs). As a result, they likely see a correlation between brand investment in Olympic sports and increased opportunities for themselves or their children.”
As part of the survey, respondents were asked if they could identify the associated sport for 13 female athletes currently recognized as the top ranked in their sport. The top five in terms of percentage of respondents who claimed to be able to identify the athlete and their sport all participate in Olympic sports:
Simone Biles (48%)
Katie Ledecky (36%)
Chloe Kim (30%)
Mikaela Shiffrin (27%)
Sunisa Lee (27%)
For brands actively supporting these athletes and making an investment in Olympic sports this data should be encouraging. However, the numbers also magnify the need for more work to be done for growing awareness for female athletes and women’s sports.
“There have been amazing gains made since 1972, and the exponential growth in women’s sports over the past few years is an indication of what is possible with continued investment by brands at every level of girls and women’s sports,” Baker said.
“We hope this data will continue to stimulate conversation around women’s sports,” said de Rohan. “Based on the conversations that we are having every day; it is vital to have relevant data to drive action by brands and we are committed to amplifying the understanding of the value proposition and motivating increased investment in women’s sports.”
"With so much discussion about women’s sports, we were intrigued to see the outcome from the survey that the majority of consumers believe brands should sponsor men’s and women’s sports equally,” said Katie Gross Chief Customer Officer for Suzy. “Many of our clients are in media and entertainment and with all the changes taking place across streaming, sports property rights and several other business challenges it’s critical that brands keep up with consumer behavior. We hope that consumer data like this will encourage major enterprise corporations to continue investing in women's sports.”
*Methodology: Aggregate Sports surveyed 1,000 individuals, aged 18-65, between September 27-30, 2023, using the Suzy™ on-demand consumer research platform. Weighting was applied to the total sample by age, gender, and region in accordance with the current U.S. adult population. *For more information about the survey, contact Aggregate Sports at Info@AggregateSports.com.
About Suzy
Founded in 2018, Suzy is changing the way research gets done by integrating quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis, and high-quality audiences into a single connected research cloud. Suzy enables teams to conduct iterative, efficient research with agency-quality rigor at a fraction of the cost of traditional market research. Learn more at www.suzy.com.
About Aggregate Sports
Aggregate Sports serves a wide range of best-in-class sports properties, leagues, teams, and federations by creating maximum value for them, their partners, and supporters. With a strong background in property sales, consulting, media rights and venue monetization, the agency offers client partners a unique value proposition of expertly aggregating and deploying their resources to deliver transformative results. Over the past two decades, its senior leadership has managed more than $1 billion of sponsorship and media deals, in support of a wide variety of tier-one partners, including nine different U.S. Olympic National Governing Bodies (NGBs). Aggregate Sports operates globally with offices in New York, Colorado Springs, and London. Learn more at AggregateSports.com.
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Media Contact: Doug Drotman (631-462-1198), doug@drotman-pr.com
