The $1 Trillion Question: Why Brands Are Still Underinvesting in Women’s Sports

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Speaker B: Marketing Architects,

Speaker A: welcome to AdSpeak Adweek's podcast about the business of marketing, media, and creativity. In this episode, we're sharing a conversation recorded live at Brand Week, featuring leaders from across the industry discussing the ideas shaping brands. Right now. Let's get into it.

Speaker C: I'm here with Wes and Allison and Cosette, and they are the brains behind Always Alpha. They also wear a lot of hats, including an LA Dodgers hat.

Speaker D: Congratulations, M. So I actually want to

Speaker C: start with a sad facial. Just mentioned it. Let's see if we can pull it up. Can you all see that? So I have to admit, when you all shared this with me, I was, like, kind of shocked, and it made me feel very naive. So. Female athletes drive 2.8 times more purchase intent than lifestyle influencers, but Women's Sports attracts only 1% of sponsorship dollars. So I think I speak for everyone here. What the f. Like, what is going on?

Speaker B: Yeah, really?

Speaker E: I think, you know, there's a, uh, disconnect. As an athlete and working with a lot of different companies, sometimes I feel like the way that female athletes are positioned is off, and they're not used to always working with athletes. And just the difference there, that it's not the same, you know, as an influencer and that we are humans and people, and the way that we connect can be a little bit different.

Speaker C: So I want to rewind. And we were all on stage together at Cannes. But for those of you who didn't have the pleasure of listening to this group, I want to talk about where it all began. For Always Alpha and Alison.

Speaker D: It.

Speaker C: I think it really started with you and your breakup. I'll call it with Nike. So walk us through what happened and how that sparked all of this.

Speaker E: Yeah, I mean, I had been an Olympian, a, uh, professional runner for a very long time at that point. I had been with Nike for almost a decade, and I honestly thought that I would end my career there. You know, I had no reason to leave, but I was also at a place in my career where I wanted to start a family. And I had a lot of fear around that, because what I had seen my teammates and my colleagues go through you know, they had really struggled through motherhood. And so I felt almost like I needed to get to a safe place in order to move forward. And I felt like, okay, so six gold medals for Olympics. This feels good.

Speaker C: That seems safe. Yeah.

Speaker E: Yes. But sadly, I found myself in a very similar position to so many of my teammates. And so I was renegotiating a contract with them. Um, I hadn't even disclosed my pregnancy at this point, and I was offered a contract that was 70% less than what I had previously been making. And that was devastating. It amplified my fear, and it led me down a path of training in the dark, hiding my pregnancy, didn't have anything on paper. And so it was this time that I wanted so badly. This time that really should have been celebrated, but was really isolating and just dark and lonely. And so I turned my fight away from a financial one to asking for maternal protections and basically maternal protections and track and field. Our contracts, uh, are performance based. And so, uh, you go to the Olympics, you go to a world championship, you get a bonus. If you don't, you get a reduction. But if you are pregnant or if you just had a baby, there's nothing in place to protect you. And so essentially, what was happening to female athletes would. They would start families and just be pushed out of the sport. And so that was what I had asked, was for time to be able to recover from pregnancy. And I was told that I could have the time. But when I got the contract back and looked through it, learned that they were not ready to set the precedent for all female athletes. And that's where the breakup came in of, uh, just not being willing to accept that at all. And it feeling like there had to

Speaker C: be a different way forward. And so then fast forward a little bit. You started working with Athleta. And I think what's wild is Athleta had never worked with a female athlete before. They had only worked with influencers, which is especially striking because of what the brand stands for and the products that they sell. So talk a little bit about that partnership and how you went into it knowing what you had learned from Nike.

Speaker E: After I left Nike, I was very skeptical. You know, I just felt like, okay, well, maybe I'm not going to have another partner. I just. I want something authentic and real. And I didn't pursue Athleta. They actually had read the op ed that I wrote in the New York Times and just wanted to meet me. And so we just talked and thought, like, is there something more here? Is there something that could really be a true partnership. Shared values and coming together, and that's really where it came from. And I think, Wes, you always talk about, like, how even the agreement we were on, like, a vendor contract, because they hadn't worked with an athlete before. And so it was this very kind of organic feel. And then we saw that partnership was different. It was really working. And not only was I being celebrated as an athlete, but I think they saw me in this holistic way where they saw that I was an advocate and they saw that I was a mother. And these are stories that authentically could be told. And instead of them being used negatively, um, they really added to our value

Speaker C: together, and it really speaks to their understanding of their customer, who is all of those things, too. She's not just an athlete, just an exerciser. So, Wes, when we're in Cannes, you talked a little bit about the education that still has to happen. So obviously, what you're talking about with Nike and athletics, that was a while ago. But you are still in rooms where brands are not getting it. Why are they not getting it? Like, what is the lack of understanding? Like, they want that roi, they want those returns. They care about business outcomes. So where's the gap there?

Speaker B: Yeah, I think that it's scary. Like, new stuff is hard. And especially when you're thinking, this is my job, and how do I make sure that I really, like, have this job security, that I do a good job, and you've got the proven thing, and then you've got the thing that could work, but it's kind of unknown. And are you going to be brave enough to take that risk? And I think that that's still where we are in that story. Alison shared, Athleta was brave enough to take the risk. They didn't know what they were doing. There was no sports marketing department. And like Allison said, Allison's, uh, my sister, but also business partner. And as we were going through that agreement with Athleta, we did it on a Gap vendor agreement, just, like, they would buy, like, cotton. It was crazy. Like, I'm looking at the contract, like, what? What is this? And they're like, yeah, Gap legal. That's what we've got. We're not going to get anything different. We just need to figure it out. And so we treated her like she was a vendor, and we did the deal. But what we saw was they brought in a sports marketing team. They were seeing, I think, for me, a highlight as Alice's brother was, I'm, um, looking at gaps 10k that year and, like, there's Allison's name, like, to all their shareholders saying, yeah, look at this thing we're doing. This is going to, like, really bring energy to the business. They actually believed it was possible. And now they have Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky. They probably have the strongest female sports roster.

Speaker C: And I bet they're not on vendor agreements anymore.

Speaker B: They've moved on. But I think that that's scary. And it was hard, and they didn't know if it was going to work.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Or not.

Speaker C: But I also feel like we're at this moment where sports marketing, Athleta didn't have that department. Now, every brand has that. They understand the value. It almost is table stakes. And not just for brands like Nike or Athleta, but for cpg, whatever it is. So, Cosette, I'm curious your take on it, like, bring us into the room, like, where are you trying to steal market share from? Because in some ways, it is proven out, at least with maybe a small number of female athletes. But what are you seeing?

Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. The way we see it is there's really two categories. There's sports marketing, which we would argue up until this point has really been men's sports marketing. But they are the. The companies that have been in sports a long time have a very robust presence in the men's sports world. And so in those conversations, it's, how are we fighting for those dollars from not even from male athletes to female athletes, but how do we make the pie bigger? How do we get more dollars into women's sports? Which is a completely different beast. And then there's a second category, which is one that really excites us, and one that was really the ethos of starting always alpha is what is women's sports marketing? And we talk a lot about. We define that as, who are companies that exclusively sell to women, who depend on women, who need women and their dollars, which obviously everyone in this room knows the spending power of women. And how do we get those companies into sports for the first time? So you think of Sephora coming into the wnba. You think of Vagisil with the New York Liberty. You think of these companies like Athleta who only sell to women, right? And how do we get them in there? And I'd say the biggest challenge there is education. And how we usually put it is, like, women, Women's, uh, sports marketing. Female athletes, like, aren't even on the menu, but they do have these huge, robust influencer budgets. And so going back to that first

Speaker C: stat and a lot of the conversations

Speaker D: we're really starting to have is influencer marketing is amazing, but female athletes are different. And if you create a strategy around that and work with us to spend those dollars, they're going to go really far, really fast. But it can't just be influencer marketing, but also look at those influencer marketing budgets differently.

Speaker C: Yeah. But I want to go a little de on this idea of women's sports because I think we've all talked about this a little bit, that a lot of brands still associate or equate women's sports with like a couple athletes. So it's like Serena Williams, Caitlin Clark. There we go, end of list. So how do you have those conversations and say, like, that's great, you're checking that box or you're seeing that roi, but also that's like multimillion dollar deals that are not sustainable or achievable for certain brands. So how do you both act as an advocate for all female athletes but also say, like, stop being so myopic about just a few big name.

Speaker B: Yeah, I would say it's hard, it's challenging. Because a lot of times, like you guys all know, you get into a meeting, you've got 30 minutes, you're trying to cover all the things, and we're trying to introduce you to new names that, um, will be really beneficial. But a lot of times you get on the call and people already have something in mind. I think that one of the things is like, you're saying because those Serena Williams, Caitlin Clark deals are so big.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: There are so few businesses where that's actually what they're looking for in that moment. The problem is they don't know who anyone else is and they don't know how beautiful and powerful the stories are. Something I really love about women's sports, and I'm so excited that we get to all focus on is. The stories are very relatable stories. Our clients, they have not been superstars since they were 12. They didn't have colleges giving them secret bags of money. And they are real people who can relate in a real way to that consumer. And I think, like, to what cassette saying, when we think a lot about women's sports marketing, women and men are so different as far as how consumers are.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Like, I can look, uh, at a guy like LeBron James and say, 6, 9 to 60 and I can put his shoes on. I'm not worried that I might start looking like LeBron James, but it's fascinating how many women can look at certain female athletes and they can, like, love them as a champion, but purchasing product from them is an entirely different thing because they're 6 foot 7 and it's harder to relate physically to them. But I think that when you get into the story, that's where it really starts.

Speaker F: Right.

Speaker B: Starts to come along.

Speaker C: Yeah. That's where a customer has commonalities, like Alison, you talking about going to Athleta, and it's like, don't just have me show up as an athlete, as an Olympic medalist, but as a more holistic person. And that's obviously relatable.

Speaker E: Yeah. I think every single person and can relate to the ins and outs of that. And as I've talked to a lot of other female athletes, you want that authenticity as well. There are so many athletes who they want to have meaning and purpose and connect and do work that they really stand behind as well. And so I think it really goes both ways.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Speaker C: So you mentioned earlier that after everything with Nike, you felt skeptical and you felt like, maybe that's the last deal I'll ever have. How is it working with talent now and hearing that kind of fear or, or skepticism or sort of like resignation of like, no, who's gonna want me when there's LeBron James or Serena Williams out there?

Speaker E: I truly think it's the beauty of Always Alpha and what we get to do, because for me, I'm a co founder, but I'm also a client. And I've been in the seat of so many of the women that we get the honor of representing. And so I have had so many conversations where it's almost just a heart to heart right. Of I see you like, I've been in this fight. I understand what it feels like to beg brands to see your value. And so what we are doing at Always Alpha is very different, is we listen deeply, we want you to flourish in the field of play, but also to do meaningful work outside of it. And I think for a lot of female athletes, they just haven't had the opportunity to be able to connect or to be able to have opportunities outside of the traditional sponsorships. And that's what we get to do day in and day out.

Speaker C: And I imagine a lot of them feel put in a box too. And it's like, we'll work with you, we'll give you dollars, but you have to show up in this way. So I'm sure it's refreshing.

Speaker E: It is, absolutely. And I've had that feeling myself. I've been trying to fit in a box and I think that there are so many women out there who are tired and who are exhausted of that. And I think what we've shown is that you can do it differently and you can break that mold. And we love that we get to show up for them in that way.

Speaker C: Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about what has changed since we all were on stage at Cannes. You all talked a lot about how sort of the first phase was like getting in the room and being like, hey, have you thought about sports? Have you thought about women in sports and sort of that rudimentary education? What are the meetings like now? A few months later, they're improving. But I'm glad to hear that you

Speaker B: still have a lot of work to do. Yeah, I think that now women's sports is such a buzzword. People know that. Investment.

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Speaker B: Marketing Architects, it's moving into women's sports. The numbers we hear are really big. And so we feel like, oh, it must be well funded. Something we think about a lot is that where are those dollars going? Are they going to the entire ecosystem of women's sports or are they just going to purchase leagues and teams? Which right now they're going to purchase leagues and teams. And even comparatively that large number, it's very large for women's sports. But when you look at the size of what's possible in this category, we still have a long way to go. So people are getting it. They get that it's like a thing, but they're still trying to figure out exactly what to do with it. I think one frustration that we run into is you can really go and pitch a story about an athlete. And really quick, it's like, yeah, yeah. Oh, that's great. Do you think, what if we got this person too? And it went from like, we're pitching you a client to now by the end of the call, like, you have this vision of let's go get 20 people, just like 20 women just like that, and we can do a whole huge campaign. And I think that then again, Story is fully gone. Those 20 people don't have the same experience bundling them together. We keep it really small instead of being able to actually create more Caitlin Clarks and Serena Williams, like, yeah, need Story to do that.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: So we're making improvement, but there is a long way to go, and I think the opportunity is. It's massive. It's bigger than we could possibly imagine if everybody gets on board.

Speaker C: And so how do you all feel like women's sports is such a buzzword? And I think a lot of people talk about it like it's a trend or it's like hot right now. So I could see the positive of that, but also the drawbacks. So how do you kind of like, manage that conversation? And we talked about you can always get a first meeting, but it's sometimes harder to get the second date, so to speak. So how do you talk about it in a way that, like, you're capitalizing on them having budgets. Because women's sports is so buzzy right now. But you want that longevity.

Speaker B: Yeah, I think you can jump in, but I think that there's a big part of it that is the education piece of really trying to help. To just reframe KPI's cassette has, like, this amazing theory on, um, fans.

Speaker D: Yeah, we talk a lot about audiences versus fandom. And I think that's where, going back to influencers and athletes, the difference where influencers have these massive vanity metrics that transparently, most athletes don't have, you know, millions and millions and millions of followers, we're not there yet on women's sports. But once you click one or two levels into those audiences, the engagement may or may not be there. Whereas with female athletes and broadcasters and coaches, the relationship to their fandom, which is so much more evolved than audience is, it's undeniable, and it's so much stronger than any audience we see. Like, I use this example a lot. There's a client we work with, and she has 200,000 followers on Instagram, which, you know, compared to Alex Earl, is a drop in the bucket. Her engagement rate on Instagram is 12%.

Speaker C: Wow.

Speaker D: Unheard of, right? Yeah. Uh, we all know if you can get to 2 to 3%. And so they're smaller audiences, but that trust and that ability to convert. And another thing we talk about is we see it as a huge advantage, but I think sometimes it's caught as a disadvantage is athletes day job is not creating content. Now I think there's, uh, a sector who get it and realize, yes, to play in this ecosystem, you need to invest in and figure out how to create content. But the benefit of their day job not being content is everyone who follows them, follows them for something else. And so they know that their day job is not to create content, to sell them something. So that's where again, that trust and that relationship that far exceeds a, uh, typical audience relationship lives. And that's where you start to see the business conversion second to none. Yeah, the vanity metrics aren't there, but so I just want to push on that.

Speaker C: And you brought up Alex Earl, so I'm going to go deeper on that. Like brands who have, like, they have CFOs, they have to go back and the marketers have to prove their worth to the CEOs. And they're still spending a million dollars with an Alex Earle. No shade on Alix Earle and what she's doing and not looking at someone who might cost like 100k, 150k. Someone like who you just mentioned. So I think a lot about like CMOs having to prove their worth and thinking about their own sort of status and moment in the company. Is that still happening? Because they want those quick buzzy wins. What is that gap there?

Speaker D: I think Wes, you put it best and most likely ones, it's safer not to get fired. Hiring, hiring Alex first. It's scary. As we were talking about earlier, it's scary to try something new. It's scary to prove that taking that risk is going to pay off. And yeah, there's enough buzz, there's enough PR and there's enough going back to vanity metrics. Swinging for the fences is actually less risky than being at the forefront of something new. But if you are at the forefront of something new, we'll get into it in a little bit. But the returns are going to be so much greater. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker B: And I think too that like this something new, we've seen it before. Like it's not actually new, it's brand new. But we see what happens with men's sports as time has gone on and just the impact and influence it's had. I think when we think of influencers, even at the very beginning, like, that was super risky and it wasn't like people weren't like influencers is amazing. Millions of dollars, like that took time. And then I think people then get off of influencers and then they're like, what about the YouTubers? And this, like, we're either going to constantly be chasing every new fad, or we're gonna find some things that are, like, real. And I think that that's where sports is pretty unique, because it does something that, uh, Instagram doesn't do the same way.

Speaker C: Right.

Speaker B: It brings people together around something, and it brings real people together around something. And I think that that is something we saw with Allison. Like, would have never thought that Alison would be selling strollers and diapers. She's a track runner, but she's a person.

Speaker E: Yeah.

Speaker B: Right. And she's a mom.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Speaker B: And then to see the way that that's, like, found its way into her business, it's now one of our strongest categories. And now she's creating mom content.

Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker B: Looking at it like, wow, this is amazing. This is. Yeah, this is really different.

Speaker C: Cosette, were you gonna.

Speaker D: Yeah. I just wanted to add, too. It's one step to engage talent in the women's sports space, but then something else is. It can't stop there. You can't hire a female athlete, but then give them the same brief as the influencer. Because then I feel like we see that kind of half step a lot. And then no one wins in that situation because the marketer is sitting there, hey, I tried. It didn't work. And I'm getting pressure from above. And at the same time, the athlete's like, well, that's not what resonates with my audience, because I'm not an influencer. I do have a different story to tell. So I will say that we find that, too, of, uh. If you're committing to a female athlete or women's sports, it's also committing to the power in. That is the storytelling, not the transactional brief.

Speaker E: That.

Speaker D: And that must be so exciting for

Speaker C: your clients, too, who, again, going back to the conversation of, like, they walk in and they're like, I don't even know if I can get a deal. But to hear like, oh, it could be diapers or strollers or something, that has nothing to do with how I've made money thus far.

Speaker E: And I think a lot of it is just listening and going back to, what is this athlete who's a person, what are their interests and what are they into? What comes to mind to me is becoming a mother and having this passion for supporting other athletes who are moms and pushing that forward.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker E: And that made it all the way to a partnership with Pampers and bringing a nursery to the Olympic Games. So it's really starting with, what are the real things in your life? And what are the things that matter? And then how does that make sense to collaborate with brands who also want to show up in a meaningful way?

Speaker B: I think that's to that point, because there is so much in that Pampers partnership that I won't give you the details of where we started that deal. You probably don't even know the details where we started. But it was not good.

Speaker C: And in what way? I'm not going to really want it. But, like, financially, because they didn't see the value or they didn't think it was worth it.

Speaker B: I think it was outside of the box. You know, we were going to them saying, okay, Allison's not competing in the Olympics. She's not racing. You've had a partnership with her for the last 12 years.

Speaker C: Yes.

Speaker B: But it's always around her, racing. She's still going to be present. She's still going to do something impactful. What does that look like? And so I think that her typical fee with them that we had done in the past came in a tenth of, uh, what that was. And so what we were saying was, we're going to bring this nursery to the Olympics. We've already got the IOC on board. That's the hardest part. It's incredible, you know, and this is going to be such a big thing. And they were kind of like, like, we'll try. You know, it's you we want to do it with. And it felt more like a favor. And I think that the candid conversation that we were having internally was, what is Pampers doing at the Olympics? That doesn't make any sense. What do Pampers have to do with the Olympics? This is just a brand that's showing up.

Speaker C: Yeah.

Speaker B: Saying it's the Olympics. Our parent company is there. We should have a presence, too. But what's the story? You know? And it's hard when you're especially a new agency, but like an agency, period, and you're going in and you're talking to P&G's agency and P&G's leadership and saying, hey, we're going to give you a purpose for being at the Olympics.

Speaker E: Right.

Speaker B: It's a way in, actually, what we're doing. And then the amount of money we're talking about is embarrassingly small. For what we're telling you, we're going to be able to help you. Do we go and we do it. The nursery's there. And I was standing with one of the women on the team, and she goes, the press yesterday was unbelievable. There were 50 articles written about this nursery. And I was like, oh, that's great. And she goes in Japan. Oh. And she was like, it's just bigger than we ever.

Speaker F: Yeah.

Speaker B: So I think it's there, but you have to take the chance on it.

Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Alison, you've mentioned this a couple times now. This idea of like, one thing Athleta did well is. And one thing you all do well is you listen. And that seems so good basic, like the fact that you had to call it out as like, I went to Athleta and they listened to me. Like, what a novel idea. So, I mean, listen, like, we're in a room full of marketers, CMOs, agency leads. We have a thousand people here. What do you all feel like they need to hear beyond listen, which seems like an obvious one, but, like, what do you want them to know?

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Speaker E: That women's sports is not a trend. It's not a fact. Uh, you know, it's here to say, and that these women are worth betting on, that we are just at the very tip of the iceberg of where we can go and where the potential is. But we have to make a long term investment. This is not something that is going to happen overnight. As we talked about before, we need to invest in the entire ecosystem. This is not just leagues and teams. It's going to fall apart if we only stay there. And so really looking at the whole thing and buying into all of it and doing it in a really bold way.

Speaker C: So we talked a little bit about metrics and Cosette, I think you were the one who said, like, maybe the KPIs need to change, like, that's how brand marketers need to think about it. So talk a little bit about these data points. Are you able to read them from the. Yeah, you probably have them memorized at this point. But talk about these and why they're so impactful.

Speaker D: Yeah, 100%. And it's building off what Allison just said. This isn't charity. This isn't a moment. This isn't a flash in the pan. But the whole ecosystem needs to work together. And what's crazy is the data is already there. We're not at yard zero. We're already down. And you'll see there's a million stats we could pull similar to this. But when brands are betting on women, they're also winning. And the good news for this room is we're still early enough. Where your dollars are going to go so much further. Right. With women's sports than men's sports. Right. You know, one to ten at least. But it's not going to be that way for forever. And we talk about. I think LA28 in particular is going to be a huge watershed moment and a massive point on that journey for many reasons we may or may not have time to get into, but now is the time, and you're going to see results, Your business is going to grow, and you're going to look really good doing it. But the. The time is now, and we need everyone investing in these women telling the stories and really seeing it as a sustainable marketing channel versus a box to check.

Speaker C: Yeah. Well, let's talk about the Olympics for a bit. So let's look forward. I think we're all hoping it will be a pivotal moment and there will be a real shift. But what are your predictions? What do you think, specifically, when it comes to brands, what do you think

Speaker F: we're going to see?

Speaker B: Yeah, I think that it's really going to be up to this realm. What's gonna happen.

Speaker C: Pressure's on everybody.

Speaker B: Yeah. Like no big deal. But I think what we know for sure is this will be the first time more female athletes compete in the Olympics than male. Allison and I come from a track background, and when I think of Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner, Kersey, Michael Johnson, those names that most of you in the room have heard and are just viewed as American icons, there's something that we would. Allison and I would always talk about of, uh. There's one thing that they all had in common, and it was they got to compete at an Olympics that was on U.S. soil. That's where stars are made interesting, and it's where they are created. We think that if Allison would have had one of her Olympics on US Soil, her whole. A lot of things would probably be very, very different because of the way that. That fandom works. And so right now, you all have an opportunity to go and create iconic names that will live on. Jack who? Joyner Kersey. I was joking with them at lunch. Like, she still gets name checked in rap songs. She competed, like, 40 years ago, you know, like, it's crazy. Like, the rappers didn't even know. I'm, uh, remotely couldn't remember her. But this is the moment where those icons will be created. And on the women's side, there's so much room. So thinking Olympics specifically, if we think we're going to create Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, like, Wendy competitor out of LA 28, like, I think that's pretty tough. But women's side, it's wide open. You know, this is the time that female American icons will be born. And it's around story, and I'll be super quick. But the thing we've seen in Olympics that is heartbreaking is, again, this idea of this, like, herd mentality around storytelling. And the only thing that a lot of Olympians have in common, when you watch commercials, it's just that they're all Olympians. That's it. They're from different sports. It's all. They had a dream to go to the Olympics. That's not a particularly great story. And when you watch Olympic commercials, if you really think about them, which ones stand out to you? Are they all pretty much the same? This is a leading question. Um, are they all pretty much the same commercial with a different end card, or are they telling unique, different stories? And I think that that's an opportunity for the brands that are not top IOC sponsors to come in and say, like, no, we're going to commit to LA28 and the storytelling around it leading into the Games, instead of just thinking we're going to wait until a week before and we're just going to go get whoever the biggest name is. And that's how it's going to work, because you've got to be one of the top IOC sponsors to do that. And, um, that's a different budget.

Speaker C: All right, well, I feel optimistic about it. So real quick, we talked about different categories and who's getting it and who's not. Sephora seems to get it. So Beauty talked about Pampers, Athleta. What is a category or a particular brand that you would love to see come in and get it and partner, whether it's with always Alpha or female athletes in general, like, what do you want to crack in the next year? They might be in this room.

Speaker D: So, yeah, I'll start my top two. Beauty and fashion. They're just starting to get in, but the opportunity there is unmeasurable.

Speaker B: Yeah, I would say tequila. Uh, that might be selfish, but no, I think like alcohol, like the beverage industry, you know, you watch a W game and Michelob Ultra is the logo on the floor. And I don't know a ton of women who drink Michelob Ultra, but I know a lot that drinks. And who are we marketing to? And so if women are going to be fans of women's sports and they're going to see logos on the floor, to me would make sense that it would be something that women are very interested in drinking. And I think that alcohol, it just still feels very traditionally male. And there are so many female owned alcohol brands or brands that are really trying to reach female consumers that could have a huge opportunity in sports.

Speaker D: I just want to add a tiny thing there that may seem obvious, but we also sometimes get caught up talking about the fans of female athletes are not just women.

Speaker C: Sure.

Speaker D: That's an important point too, right? Yeah.

Speaker C: All right, I want to end with a question. In one word, how would you sum up the current state of women's sports right now?

Speaker D: I will go with pivotal.

Speaker E: From our conversation this morning, I think I'll go with a Sunday.

Speaker D: I like that.

Speaker B: I would say hopeful.

Speaker C: I like it.

Speaker D: All right, well, thank you all so much and congratulations on everything.

Speaker A: That was a conversation recorded live at Brand Week. You can find more coverage, analysis and interviews from across the marketing and media world@adweek.com thanks for listening to Ad Speak. If you like the show, be sure to follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker D: Foreign.

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