PSA: Women's Sport and Female-Fandom Are Not the Same 💁♀️
Is sport really getting women's attention? Or are we falling into the trap of equating having women's teams with having a female-fan strategy?
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In recent years, interest and investment in women's sports has surged. For good reason, too. It's not only the right thing to do, it also makes business sense.
Research by ICRW shows that women control 60-80% of consumer spending. By 2028, they are expected to own 75% of the discretionary spending market. These figures should make any investor or brand sit up and take notice.
But there's a problem.
While men are, predictably, far more likely than women to watch professional men's sports (58% of men versus 33% of women). A YouGov poll suggests that men are also more likely than women to watch professional women's sports (31% of men versus 22% of women).
This begs the question: Are we really getting women's attention? Or are we falling into the trap of equating having a women's team with having a female-fan strategy?
The reality is, just because an organisation has a women's team doesn't mean it has successfully engaged female fans. Often, women's sports are promoted in the same way as men's sports, which primarily speaks to a male audience. This misses the mark. Simply swapping male athletes for female ones doesn't automatically attract a female fan base.
To truly capture the attention of female audiences, sports organisations need a different approach. They must engage women on a cultural and personal level.
Enter Cherry Beagles, founder of The 400 Club.
The 400 Club is an all-female members club redefining what it means to be a sports fan with an ambition to increase culturally relevant brand deals happening within women’s sport.
As Beagles explained on the Sports Pundit Podcast, the idea was birthed out of her own personal experiences around live sport.
“It felt like my only option at the time, when I started thinking about The 400 Club, was either go with my guy friends who I might feel a bit silly asking questions to about the match or about the players and about the stats, or I try and find a female group that was more stereotypically into a sport. And I wouldn't be able to play with them in a team, and I wouldn't have that kind of social interaction and that deep connection there.”
She saw a gap. There are many women, particularly those aged 25 to 35, who are curious about sports but feel excluded by current marketing strategies.
“Sports marketing a lot of the time is shouting at people who are already in the seat,” she noted. “How do we surpass that demographic? How do we get into the untapped demographic of women who, like me, had a curiosity for sport, but didn't necessarily see a clear-cut avenue of how to get into it?”
The 400 Club aims to fill this gap. It offers events and experiences that demystify sports and make them more accessible to culturally influential women, as well as, crucially, more visible.
“A lot of our members' events, especially with football, the girls will come and they'll be like, I've never ever watched a whole football match all the way through. I've maybe seen my dad watching a football match or my brothers and my boyfriend, but I always assumed it wasn't for me.”
As Beagles explained, to create a successful female-fan strategy, organisations need more than just women's teams. They must cultivate a female-centric approach that speaks to potential fans who have been traditionally overlooked. This involves partnering with culturally relevant brands and influencers who resonate with the target demographic. Brands and influencers she hopes will all eventually sit within The 400 Club.
Beagles emphasises, “What was really important to me when reaching out to members and seeing if they'd be interested in joining is what level of interest and impact they have over the current female culture or female zeitgeist. There are some huge brands that most women wear or use, but they're not necessarily culturally relevant. They're not necessarily able to impact or influence a new type of sports fan.”
One rightsholder to identify this opportunity early is Arsenal FC. They hosted The 400 Club at the Emirates earlier this year and then invited some its members to take part in a campaign which is set to launch later this month.
This has required more than just investment; it requires a shift in perspective and strategy.
To truly tap into the financial upside offered by increased female consumer spending, sports brands must follow Arsenal and The 400 Club’s lead and actively engage women by creating relatable, culturally relevant experiences. Only then will we see a true rise in female sports fandom.
PODCAST
Want to hear more from my conversation with Cherry?
We discuss the athlete x brand flywheel, culturally relevant brand partnerships and collaborations, that Taylor Swift jacket, what athletes can learn from social-first brands, creating a campaign with Arsenal FC, and much, much more.
Listen to the full podcast via the link below - and I’d love to hear what you think! 👇
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The Big Idea is brought to you by the Global Institute of Sport!
The Global Institute of Sport is the leading destination for Master's degrees, executive education and professional qualifications in sport around the world.
They count world-famous stadiums and surrounding venues among their state-of-the-art campus facilities across the globe, including London's Wembley Stadium, Miami's DRV PNK Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Ready to master the global sports industry? Enquire today about their in-person and online courses.
