England Hockey and the FA’s Women’s Super League (WSL) offer some valuable insights into their landmark commercial deals for their women’s games.
Big Deal? showed there remains a chronic lack of commercial investment in women's elite sport in the UK. Yet it wasn't all bad news. Read behind the headlines, and the first half of 2011 showed an encouraging increase in the value of women's deals recorded, as well as, landmark commercial deals for GB Women's Hockey and the FA's WSL.
The question is, how did they do it and can other sports replicate their model to build their own commercial success stories for their women's teams and athletes and why is it so important?
70% Proof talks to the commercial teams at the heart of England Hockey and the FA, on the strategies they employed to attract sponsors to their women's game. We hear exclusively from their sponsors on what they were looking for from rights holders and what persuaded them to invest.
In August this year, England Hockey netted a five year sponsorship deal reportedly worth £2.2 million, with Investec, the international specialist bank and asset management business. The landmark deal sees Investec supporting the women's sport from top to bottom, from playground to podium.
Commercial & Investment Director of England Hockey, Jonathan Cockcroft, explains that long-term thinking, a strong business case which clearly communicated the benefits, and open dialogue with Investec, were the key elements to securing the deal.
"We were clear from the outset that we wanted a long-term partnership that would facilitate the development and success of the game at every level.
“Women’s hockey has a very strong ethos, so it was essential to us that we find a commercial partner who shared the values represented by hockey and its competitors.”
Investec's Global Head of Marketing, Raymond van Niekerk, adds:
“It’s a sport people participate in for the love of the game and that inherent and instinctive competitive spirit appeals to us.
“It’s not the individual above all else, it is the ethos of the collective above the individual. The concept of people working together towards a greater goal has always appealed to us – it’s how we do business and we like sports that revolve around teams.”
So what will success look like for Investec? Niekerk, says:
“Overtime, we want to see growth in the profile of women’s hockey and an increase in participation: more people playing and watching hockey. Better TV support and coverage is important, as is success for the national team, which has a roll-on effect in terms of profile and interest.”
As England Hockey announced its landmark deal, the inaugural season of the FA's WSL, was drawing to a close. The new, elite, semi-professional summer league for women's football had been a success. It exceeded the expectations of the FA and it's partners and demonstrated that women's football is an attractive commercial prospect in it's own right, but what were the key ingredients in that success?
Like hockey, a long term approach working with mutually minded partners was fundamental. A three way partnership between governing body, broadcaster and the commercial sector. The FA invests £1 million annually in the WSL - which is divided between the WSL infrastructure and the eight clubs - and ESPN and sponsors Continental Tyres, Yorkshire Building Society, Vauxhall and Umbro, invested around a further £700,000.
With the financial foundations laid, it was about raising the profile of the live games and getting up close and personal with the people behind them. This included weekly highlights programmes on ESPN, half time interviews with the players and miked-up managers throughout the match.
Kelly Simmons, Head of the National Game at The FA, believes the television coverage has been instrumental in encouraging match day attendance, as well as grass-roots participation in the game.
"We know that seeing our best players regularly on TV is a great way of inspiring girls to play. We're already seeing that the WSL is a more completive league which is attracting more fans, viewers and sponsors."
For a new product with great ambitions but relatively limited investment, maximizing all marketing activity was crucial. As a result, commercial partner’s activation programmes were integrated into the FAs women and girls development and marketing strategies.
Social media was a natural channel to create and extend this more personal and direct engagement with fans. In its first season. WSL had more Facebook ‘likes’ than the LTA and RFL, and 75,000 fans signed up to follow various players on Facebook and Twitter.
BBC's Sport, Alastair McGowan agrees: "By bringing the players closer to the fans, engaging younger supporters through social media, and presenting ways they can shape the look and feel of the league, there has been a giant step forward."
Investec’s Raymond Niekerk gives an even clearer steer on the importance of social media to their investment: “Social media will be the most important factor of our sponsorship with England Hockey over time, because of the personal and intimate involvement of people with their sport.”
Sue Tibballs, Chief Executive of the Women’s Sport & Fitness Foundation, concludes:
“The FA WSL and England Hockey have effectively demonstrated there is a clear and overwhelming case for commercial investment in women’s sport and we believe the time is now ripe for other rights holders to follow in their footsteps.
“If governing bodies can create high quality business cases; develop strong relationships with sponsors and broadcasters; present their events and competitors in a media friendly way; and utilize social media to build strong relationships with fans, then women’s sport really could be a big deal in a few years time.”
For the full case studies on the FA’s WSL and England Hockey, and a copy of the Top Ten Reasons to Invest Now – download the full report.
