Why Women's Cycling is the Next Big Thing: 5 Key Learnings
Global revenue in professional women's sports will exceed $1 billion for the first time this year, consultant Deloitte predicts. Among the abundance of sports available for sponsorship, women's cycling stands out as a particularly effective platform for brands to showcase their products and values. Let's delve into why.
Growing Popularity and Exposure: Women's cycling has been experiencing a surge in popularity in recent years, with events like the Tour de France Femmes ( 20 million viewers in France alone) and the spring classics ( 1 million Belgians witnessed Lotte Kopecky winning her second Ronde last year) gaining significant traction globally. The increased media coverage and viewership provide brands with a broad platform to connect with fans and showcase their products or services to a diverse, growing and engaged audience.
New Stars Emerge: Every sport lives by its athletes: the stories they create, their appeal and charisma, their athletic exploits and their personal likeability. Women's cycling is fortunate to have a great generation of women, with strong personalities like Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes, Elisa Longo Borghini, Marianne Vos and and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. Though male riders still have on average a larger following on socials, female profiles grow at a much faster rate ( 21% vs. 9%).
Alignment with Brand Values: Associating with women's cycling allows brands to align themselves with values such as determination, resilience, and empowerment. In today's socially conscious consumer landscape, consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that support causes they care about. By sponsoring women's cycling, brands can demonstrate their commitment to gender equality and support for female athletes.
Positive Brand Perception: Research has shown that sports sponsorship can significantly enhance brand perception among consumers. According to a recent study by Nielsen Sports, 84% of sports fans have a more favorable view of brands that sponsor sports they follow. By investing in women's cycling, brands can foster positive associations and build stronger connections with their target audience. The average women’s cycling fan is 39.5 years old and has a relatively equal gender split (56% male vs. 44% female), much more balanced demographics compared to men's cycling which attracts a traditionally older and more male audience.
Measurable & unbeaten ROI: One of the most significant advantages of sports sponsorship is its ability to deliver measurable ROI. Through metrics such as brand exposure, social media engagement, and sales data, brands can gauge the effectiveness of their sponsorship investments and refine their strategies accordingly. With reasonable entry fees for partners and growing attention to the sport, women's teams can currently offer on average a x10 advertising value equivalency to their partners, figures that men's teams simply cannot match.
At Wasserman, we are on top of all things cycling (and women’s sport in general through The Collective, Wasserman’s women’s focused think thank) and we sense a growing interest in women's cycling as a potential marketing tool in a lot of companies. Recent success stories in women's cycling sponsorship, such as SD Worx, AG Insurance, Danone HiPro, Škoda Auto, Lidl International and Zwift show the diversity of sectors drawn to women's cycling and highlight the tangible benefits that brands can reap from such collaborations. With the Le Tour de France Femmes Grand Départ Rotterdam 2024 and the Paris Olympics on the horizon and the projected continued growth of women's cycling, there has never been a better time for brands to capitalize on this winning platform.
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Sources:
Deloitte
Nielsen Sports Cycling24 by Zwift
Wasserman research & reports
Public viewership data France Télévisions and Sporza/RTBF