Why have some of the biggest brands in the world been showcased on the front of our favourite teams’ shirts for years? All football fans have that iconic sponsor they remember, Carlsberg for Liverpool, Sharp for Man United, O2 for Arsenal. And, of course, who can forget Paul McGrath in Giants Stadium shutting down Roberto Baggio in scorching heat, sporting that Irish shirt, with automotive giants Opel front and centre? Slight caveat, what do all these iconic sponsors have in common? They were sponsors during iconic sporting moments and successful teams. Miracles, Treble Winners, Invincibles. You get it.
Marketing Network Group, always the strategists, got us thinking. Did Carlsberg really expect that Liverpool team to pull off the Miracle of Istanbul? They even got a 2026 Netflix Documentary out of it. Unwavering coverage, the marketing department could have only wished for. So as the strategist, you have to think: who are the next Invincibles? But we’re marketers, not sporting experts. Then, with the Finance department breathing down our necks about ROI, KPIs and saying ‘How much will this cost?’ (we know in the words of Roy Keane, ‘that’s their job.’) Time to think. “Yeah, but where actually is my audience?” Enter the women’s game? Is that a commercial gold mine?
Traditional sports fans are longing for the less commercial but compelling sports viewings that made them fall in love with the game. Taking the Premier League for example, fans are less engaged than ever (in our opinion). Flooded with content, with yet another piece of content sponsored by Gillette. The actual sporting content is being diluted. That’s where the women’s game enters the fold. A highly engaged audience engrossed in the nature of competitive sport. Bank of Ireland have recognised this, activating sponsorship in the Women’s League of Ireland, which will only benefit the game itself in the long run ensuring the pyramid receives the funding it has lacked for years. From a marketing and PR perspective, Bank of Ireland will be known as the catalysts who helped catapult the women’s game to the next level. That’s communication.
Enter Heineken, who just gave us a masterclass in how to sidestep administrative red tape while leaning straight into the uncommercialised soul of the game. With the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final taking place in Oslo, Norway, local laws tightly restrict alcohol brand advertising, meaning the long-time tournament sponsor couldn’t show up in the host city. So, what does a clever strategist do? You bring the final to “Oslo”, specifically, the Oslo bar in Hackney, London.
Taking over the East London hotspot for a massive watch party, they’ve anchored the event under their global “Fans Have More Friends” platform to celebrate the pinnacle of the women’s game. But here’s the real kicker for the finance department looking for authentic engagement over empty impressions: Heineken has committed to donating 100% of the proceeds from every single pint poured on the night directly back into grassroots women’s football communities, even promising to top up the final donation pool out of their own pocket. It proves that when the traditional channels close, the brands who actually understand the unique, community-driven nature of the women’s game they buy the next round for the fans.
You ask, why talk about this? Everyone knows the women’s sporting world has lacked funding for years, but what no one talks about is what actually drives sports revenue: the commercial funding, which the women’s game has also lacked. And with the Irish women’s rugby team releasing a range of merch for the Six Nations, embracing their inner Bohs (JerseyFC), the new methods of sports marketing catch-up is starting. Slowly, but surely.
But with 32,000 people packed into the Aviva for Ireland vs Scotland this month? That’s more than attended Irish men’s friendlies during the dire years. Sorry Stephen Kenny. Why would brands not launch activations centred on these games? Corporate Dads having a Daddy Daughter Day, is that where your target audience is? (cough, cough) The Big 4. We can’t give too much away, but just think outside the box (football pun intended)!
Competition, jeopardy and that feeling of belonging, that is what sport means. Not commercial deals, fancy jerseys or half-time pantomime shows. You’re thinking, “I can’t believe a marketer is saying they don’t love the commercial side of sport.” But what drives brands to use sport as a commercial commodity? It is the audience it attracts. So, without the key essence of sport, the skill and competition itself that is the driving force behind all these lucrative TV and sponsorship deals. And all these activations can help grow the women’s game to get to that same level the men’s is at.
The long and short of it is the aforementioned age-old marketing cliché , “Yeah, but where actually is my audience?”
By the looks of things, they might actually be looking for some uncommercialised sporting exploits. Packing the Aviva, Croke Park or following the girls to the Hockey World Cup. Don’t sleep on the value of being a part of an iconic team’s journey. Who knows, could your brand become the Sharp of the Raheny United who launch themselves in the Women’s Champions League Final when Katie McCabe arrives home next season (unconfirmed, speculation)! An Irish Sports marketer can dream.
Marketing Network Group. We Lead the Way.
