WNBA Case Study

Name

November 5, 2021
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1. What are some of the advantages the WNBA has as it seeks to grow?

The WNBA is the only basketball league that has full backing and support of the

NBA. This gives them an established platform due to how big the NBA is worldwide with its

wide recognition. The backing of the NBA gives the WNBA legitimacy and is a major

advantage for future growth. The WBNA also has an agreement with ESPN which ran from

2009 to 2016. The agreement was given an extension and has been signed till 2022. This

gives the WNBA an extensive viewership base as they enjoy stability with a long-term

agreement allowing them to grow their viewership. Alongside, Amazon Prime Video also

signed a multiyear deal with the WNBA as secured rights to live-stream season games. This

will further allow the WNBA to reach an international audience as Amazon Prime is

accessible worldwide. The extensive media exposure through these deals will allow the

WNBA to further expand and build the league. All these factors give WNBA recognition as

the major basketball league in the US. This will further allow them to indulge in further

growth as they move towards catering to multiple communities in their fan bases. Further

working on their marketing and identifying their fanbases will allow the WNBA to grow as it

has the advantage of having a head start already due to its recognition. The commitment and

dedicated of the fans of the WNBA gives them a major advantage as they have their steadfast

support.

2. What are some of the challenges they have faced and will continue to face as they

attempt to continue to grow?

The WNBA is highly reliant on the backing of the NBA as five of the teams have

direct NBA counterparts and are held by the same owners. To maximize potential, they need

to work towards building their own brand so that they can be self-sufficient and sustainable.
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The WNBA has faced instability in terms of the NBA lockouts as well as strikes to reach

labor agreements. These problems that the WNBA has faced in the past draws negative

publicity and delays in the season. One of the most prominent problems faced by the WNBA

is in regards with salaries of the players as they only receive 20% of revenues as compared to

50% for the NBA (Berri, 2018). This is one challenge as players would remain unsatisfied

and affect growth as it can lead to potential strikes in the future disrupting the expansion of

the WNBA. The WNBA is also riddled with the issue of financial instability as the league is

not financially stable enough to be self-sufficient. This raises the issue of the need for a larger

investment for a secure future of the WNBA. There is a need to work on building a stronger

fanbase for the league. The league had known for years the significance of the LGBT

community but were late in capitalizing on it which leads to the challenge of timely

marketing and translating fans behind the screen to encourage them to going to games,

becoming ticket holders or sponsors. The league also has 12 teams currently and can look

towards expanding their number of teams which can be difficult to handle as they navigate

the current issues they face. So, as the league continues to grow, they need to divert focus to

sorting out the challenges they face to ensure successful expansion of the WNBA.

3. Why did it take the WNBA 18 years to enact a marketing strategy that specifically

targeted the LGBT community?

The WNBA has been aware since years that the LGBT community amounts to a

significant percent of its fanbase, but they had not taken initiative to target this segment

through their marketing. In 2012, the WNBA carried out a study which revealed that 25%

lesbians watch games on TV and 21% attended a game (Hess, 2014). Their reluctance of the

league to market towards the LGBT community despite knowing these stats may be due to a

fear of alienating other fan segments or anticipating a bad public reaction. The LGBT
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community is one of the discriminated against segments of the society up until recently when

the US allowed same sex marriages which contributed to changing the social and political

atmosphere drastically. Post this legal development, there has been wider acceptance in recent

years as prior, it had remained taboo to be inclusive. The social stigma surrounding the LGBT

community can be seen as a contributing factor for the WNBA to have taken years to enact

targeted marketing. Another cause can also be due to the negative reaction other teams had

gotten previously. Examples of these are a controversy are when a local lesbian group was

displayed on their scoreboard, the Washington Mystics became embroiled in a controversy.

The Sacramento Monarchs also caused a commotion when team executives refused to

advertise the name of a local lesbian group, alleging it was insulting. In addition, the LA

Sparks' marketing department declined to put gay and lesbian families on a billboard (Mumcu

and Lough, 2017). This can be discouraging for the WNBA to market to the community as

other teams had not been largely successful navigating this. The change in public opinion has

encouraged a recognition in targeting the LGBT community but as public perception evolves,

it remains a risk area as marketing towards this community may have a detrimental impact on

its other consumer groups.

4. Why did the league target this segment? Was there a better segment to focus on?

According to research commissioned by the WNBA in 2012, roughly a quarter of

lesbians polled watch WNBA games on television, and about a fifth had attended a game,

making the marketing campaign a clear choice (Wiener-Bronner, 2014). The league’s

decision to target this segment comes because of knowing the fact that the LGBT community

makes up a significant portion of its fan base, as stated in the case study. It would be ignorant

of them to ignore the facts and to not capitalize on this fact that they have known for years. It

allows them to further strengthen their fan base and make sure that all members of their fan
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base feel seen and heard. With the timing of the supreme court ruling same sex marriages as

legal, the LGBT community is the best segment to focus on due to an overturn in the political

and social realm. The WNBA is the first league to explicitly reach out to the LGBT

community which gives them a head start and allows them to set precent for other leagues.

This also all allows them to be more inclusive as they aim towards a diversified and inclusive

environment. The WNBA has had a big fan following among this community for years and it

is a necessary step to focus on this segment as there had already been a delay in doing so. A

further delay could have resulted in resentment among fans and the WNBA losing out on a

significant portion of their fan base. To translate the dedication of this segment for further

gains for the WNBA, there was no better segment to focus on as it would be absurd to let go

of the support of the fans by further ignoring them and not providing the recognition that is

essential.

5. What is the importance of the WNBA’s TV rights deal with ABC/ESPN?

The WNBA’s TV rights deal with ABC/ESPN to televise regular-season games and

playoff games brings both monetary benefits to the team as well as wider exposure. It is a

landmark deal as with it came the first ever rights fees to be paid to a women’s professional

sports league as stated in the case study. These deals give a guarantee to the WNBA for the

games to be televised on such a large network giving them a solid platform. It will serve as a

steppingstone for the league as they have a secure future with this deal with ESPN/ABC and

is a step in the right direction. It is also positive news for the financial status of the league as

this deal will bring an influx of cash for the league and the players. The deal also reassures

acceptance and confidence from these networks which reiterate the league as a major player

in the sports world. It will also give access to a wider viewership and has potential to expand

its fanbase as ESPN is one of the biggest networks. It also consolidates the women’s league
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in the basketball world as it offers further legitimacy as postseason games would also be

broadcast including Finals which helps create hype and will give it a platform to solidify

themselves on their own basis and to extend themselves out of the shadow of the NBA. The

TV rights deal will also help the WNBA is building its own brand and gain further exposure.

Furthermore, the deal also demands commitment from the league long term and aids in

building morale among fans as it shows that the WNBA is here to stay. The deal also gives

them a basis for negotiating better deals in the future with higher salaries and other perks.

6. What other segments could/should the WNBA target in their marketing efforts?

The WNBA’s marketing strategy has been targeting women and families mainly since

its inception up until 2010. The missing target audience that the WNBA is not focusing on is

teenagers. Along with this, the core television audience for the WNBA is mainly African

American. These are segments, besides the LGBT community, that the WNBA can target in

their marketing efforts. For the WNBA to be as recognized as the NBA, they need to target

across the board. The WNBA should also investigate targeting men and trying to build a

fanbase there. It goes without saying that the WNBA is supported by women, and they are the

focal target audience but to expand beyond that and reach a wider audience they can follow

strategies to market the WNBA to men as well. Besides this, as mentioned, teenagers are big

consumers so the WNBA should also market accordingly. Teenagers are a huge market that

can be tapped into with a strong social media presence and use of new platforms like

Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok. They can market their players in a way to develop a brand

that becomes a trending topic which will attract this specific segment of the youth. To build a

presence beyond the game of basketball, the WNBA can put their marketing efforts into

publicizing their players so that a fan following is built for them. This helps and contributes

towards the WNBA becoming larger as there is more passion involved and the consumers
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become more invested and would help in creating hype around the seasons. Marketing

directed towards the youth and by moving beyond the women audience, it will help the

WNBA in building themselves up in a way pre basketball season so that it becomes a thing

that is not to be missed.

7. What is the significance of the Phoenix Mercury being the first American professional

basketball team to sell a jersey sponsorship?

When the Phoenix Mercury sold an ad on the front of their jerseys to LifeLock

Insurance in 2009, they became the first American professional basketball team to have

advertisements on their uniforms. This set the stage for future sponsorships which allow

teams to get exposure for the companies that they are representing. This helps them in having

access to larger revenue channels as sponsorships bring in money for the league.

Sponsorships provide fresh revenue streams for the WNBA in a league where TV deals, ticket

sales, and merchandising may not bring in the same amount of money as other professional

leagues (Knecht, 2020). Leagues heavily depend on sponsorships to meet their financial

needs as advertising is a big industry in today’s digital age. It not only helps the league in

securing funds but in turn they also help companies and businesses gain exposure on a wider

scale through sponsorships. The mutual benefit for both parties allow them to make long term

deals which is beneficial and helps marketing strategies in the long run. Before the seasons

start, every team announces a new look for their uniforms. This helps in branding of the

teams in the league and builds excitement for the looks of the jerseys in the WNBA. This is a

big market as fans also tend to buy jerseys of their favorites players and can further help in

generating a revenue stream for the league through the sale of merchandise and of the jerseys.

So, by being the first American professional basketball team to sell a jersey sponsorship, the

Phoenix Mercury allowed for all of this to initiate and help other teams follow suit similarly.
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Since then, the rest of the league has joined on board, and the teams have continued to

involve their partners by representing businesses or companies through additional logos on

their jerseys and displaying them throughout the venues.

8. What has the WNBA done to promote its players? What more could it do?

The WNBA has signed contracts for broadcast television of the league’s games on

ESPN/ABC. However, there is not much that is being done to promote its players. Unlike the

NBA, where the players are household names and have become brands of their own e.g.,

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, the WNBA players are less known and marketed. WNBA

players are not promoted enough as their information is hard to come across which shows

that they receive minimal marketing. To match up to levels of leagues like NBA, they need to

focus on promoting their players and marketing them for fans to be more emotionally

attached. The use of social media is a helpful platform. The WNBA should develop a social

media presence for its players so that they are widely recognized. They need to be marketed

in a way that they become celebrities which will help the league and the players get more

endorsements. The WNBA can conduct interviews or develop personalized profiles for the

players on their social media platforms as well as make use of the influencer culture these

days which helps in marketing. To show the players lives outside of the league and where

they come from, their backgrounds help reach fans at a more emotional or personal level

which helps in forming loyal and devoted fans of not only the players but also the league

itself. The WNBA has lesser reach and accessibility compared to the NBA which is why the

WNBA needs to be way ahead in terms of their marketing of the players. It is not enough for

fans to be interested in basketball only as relating to the players and being inspired by them is

what brings the passion into sports leagues and makes fans even more invested as it builds

excitement.
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9. If you were consulting to the WNBA and its teams, what things would you

recommend they focus on for the next 3-5 years?

The two main things I think that would require focus are marketing and promotion

which as discussed previously need work on. The second would be expansion of the WNBA.

The WNBA needs to shift focus on marketing both the games and the players. The league had

not previously been given wide broadcast coverage with set days for games. Although there

has been a shift in this due to the new ESPN deal which will ensure wider broadcast

coverage, the WNBA has still lagged in their marketing techniques. The league has been slow

in investing profit for promotion – since its establishment, marketing the league to generate

interest and viewership has been at the bottom of the priority list. When it came to reinvesting

money in marketing or self-promotion, the WNBA had been stuck for years. They should

focus on becoming aware of their significant fanbase and then work on marketing according

to their needs. There also needs to be marketing of the players who make up the league.

Unlike the NBA, the players in the WNBA are given less importance despite them being the

fundamental part of the league. My recommendation based on these would be to build a

celebrity presence of the league players for fans to be fully committed and display the same

enthusiasm that fans of other big leagues do. This will help the WNBA in reinventing their

brand and to draw attention the league by marketing themselves in a way that the WNBA

season becomes one that is not to missed. The second suggestion would be to work on

expansion in the number of teams of the WNBA. Currently, it is composed of twelve teams

and to have a wider fanbase the WNBA should look towards investing in expansion of the

league. For this to happen, they need to first build on their marketing strategy which will help

in revenue generation which can then be contributed towards expanding the league from the

current twelve cities to all over America. The focus should be on this for the next 3-5 years if

the league wants to be able to stand at the level of the NBA of the NFL.
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10. If you were considering sponsoring the WNBA, what would appeal to you? What

would you consider a warning sign?

The WNBA is a smaller league which is relatively new as it started in 1997. The

league has 12 teams. Some of which are direct NBA counterparts however six of the teams

now hold independent ownership. If I was considering sponsoring the WNBA, the fact that

there is a market for women’s leagues today would be a factor that would be of appeal as it is

a relatively new market which holds potential. The WNBA has also signed a deal through

2022 with ESPN/ABC which is the first to pay TV rights fees to the league’s teams as state in

the case study. Amazon Prime Video has also secured rights to the WNBA – this further

expands the reach for WNBA further due to the easy access to Amazon Prime. All these

factors establish the fact that the WNBA is a prominent league in women’s sports. It has

achieved multiple firsts which showcases its growth potential. The WNBA has recently also

been the first to market to the LGBT community, being the first to openly market to the gay

community. This also would be a plus point as its values align with being politically socially

correct which is an important factor in today’s age. The fact that the WNBA has failed in

marketing and building a dominant presence would be a warning sign as an investor as it

highlights failure in the WNBA management to build a strong foundation for the league. The

WNBA is heavily reliant on the NBA as they fully support the WNBA which gives it room to

fall back on their support. For the league to fully be self-reliant, there need to be

administrative changes that will allow more effective marketing schemes to be put in place

for them to achieve their full potential and maximize growth.

References

Berri, D. (2018, October 3). The Challenges And Opportunities Facing The Next WNBA

President. Forbes. [Link]

challenges-and-opportunities-facing-the-next-wnba-president/?sh=3dc6f5e97007

Halaweh, B., & Halaweh, B. (2021, July 3). You’re Not Watching the WNBA Because No

One is Telling You To. The Wright Way Network. [Link]

watching-the-wnba-because-no-one-is-telling-you-to

Hess, A. (2014, June 11). The WNBA Finally Recognizes Its Lesbian Fans. Slate Magazine.

[Link]

[Link]

Knecht, B. (2020, August 5). WNBA Teams Find Success Through Creative Partnerships.

Front Office Sports. [Link]

Mumcu, Ceyda & Lough, Nancy. (2017). Are fans proud of the WNBA's 'pride' campaign?.

Sport Marketing Quarterly. 26. 42-54.

Regehr, C. (2019, February 27). How does marketing in the WNBA stack up against the

NBA? Swish Appeal. [Link]

wnba-marketing
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Wiener-Bronner, D. (2014, May 21). WNBA's New Marketing Campaign Directly Targets Its

LGBT Audience. The Atlantic.

[Link]

audience/371314/