Four Major Brands introduce the Athena Pledge, Catalyzing Unprecedented Investment, Research and … [+]
In a professional sports landscape where women get just 10% of sponsorship dollars, 15% of media coverage, and a fraction of broadcast rights fees compared to men’s sports, four major brands just made a public pledge to invest big in women’s sports.
The Athena Pledge – which is a first-of-its-kind platform – has four founding members including AT&T, Capital One, Cisco and Deloitte, who have united to advance strategic efforts around women’s sports. The goal of the pledge is two-fold: 1) To mobilize investment, research, and opportunities in women’s sports, and 2) To rally other brands to commit to increased spending and support of the women’s sports ecosystem.
“We want to find twenty like-minded brands who want to band together to make a pledge to support women’s sports,” said Pete Giorgio, the Global and US Sports Practice Leader at Deloitte. “We’re looking for companies that want a seat at that table as we push this forward, because [women’s sports] is going to grow, and we want it to grow in the right way.”
Even though women’s sports have experienced a remarkable 300% growth in just three years when it comes to fans, viewers, and customers, women’s sports are still underinvested in. A recent report from Gather revealed that only 6% of Fortune 500 companies are currently sponsoring professional women’s sports teams and leagues, despite Deloitte’s prediction that women’s elite sports are poised to generate more than $1.28 billion in global revenues in 2024 alone.
Brand Decision Makers Still Face Pushback On Women’s Sports
As part of taking the Athena Pledge, AT&T, Capital One, Cisco and Deloitte invested in a survey conducted by The Collective at Wasserman to identify factors influencing investment decisions in women’s sports among brand decision-makers.
The survey uncovered that significant challenges still exist for brands when it comes to investing in women’s sports. 32% of surveyed brand leaders have faced internal resistance when trying to increase investment in the space, and 57% of surveyed decision makers cited unproven business returns as the primary barrier to investing in women’s sports.
Despite these barriers though, the survey also found that 93% of brand leaders are optimistic about the future growth of women’s sports, and almost every brand that is currently spending in women’s sports anticipates increasing in their investments over the next five years.
“We’ve seen firsthand how consistent and intentional investment in women’s sports drives significant business outcomes,” said Mark Wright, VP of Media & Sponsorships at AT&T. “By aligning purpose with action, we’re demonstrating that advancing gender equality in sports is a strategic business decision.”
Doing Good For Business And Good For Society
For the brands that take the Athena Pledge, it’s is about more than creating strong brand campaigns by leveraging the marketing power of women’s sports; it’s about core values-alignment, and creating equitable access and opportunities for women and girls in sports.
“Our goal is for our sports sponsorship portfolio to be a reflection of our corporate purpose, and this commitment is not only the right thing to do but makes smart business sense,” said Carrie Palin, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Cisco.
While proving the economic value behind women’s sports is a key factor when it comes to brands getting buy-in to invest in the space, the founding members of the Athena Pledge are also believers in the social value that comes with supporting opportunities for women & girls in sports.
“Investment in women’s sports is an incredible opportunity to level the playing field,” said Lara Abrash, Chair of Deloitte US. “At Deloitte, we believe this is about more than just supporting games; this is about inspiring the next generation and championing a more inclusive future for all.”
Currently, AT&T, Capital One, Cisco and Deloitte’s sponsorships in women’s sports collectively include support of the WNBA, NWSL, USGA, U.S. Open, U.S. Soccer, Team USA, IOC, LA28, and more.
