| The Unique Selling Point of Women's Soccer |
By Ian Lawrance, York St. John University
This paper examines the “unique selling point” (USP) of professional women’s soccer in England with a view to outlining its appeal to potential investors. The ability to identify and define the main point differentiating the sport from that of its competitors is crucial to this process. Professional women’s soccer must be distinctive and exclusive if it is to survive. The author suggests what women’s soccer can do in order to challenge the existing male market leaders.
A discussion of women’s sports and in particular soccer is not a new phenomenon. The extent of its popularity was first observed by non-aficionados during the FIFA 1999 Women’s World Cup. The event was widely acclaimed as the largest women’s sporting event in U.S. history with 460,000 tickets sold in advance of the first game and television audiences that measured in excess of 40 million.
The interest in women’s soccer as a media spectacle is self-evident. However, what remains in question is the ability to formulate a strategy that will maintain and enhance media interest further and thereby expand sponsorship and marketing opportunities beyond the spectacle provided by such events.
The challenge is clearly a daunting one for the women’s game both nationally and globally when faced with competition offered by the brand leaders – their male counterparts. In Europe the dominant brand for the men’s professional game is the UEFA Champions League. The appeal of the men’s game can be contextualized from a variety of perspectives, but the allure of the game to a British television audience is clear. The 2006-07 Champions League season provided the television channel ITV1 with record audiences for its coverage, peaking at 14.6 million (60 percent of the total television audience). This statistic and others are an example of why there is a general consensus in the U.K. of pessimism toward the mass-market appeal of women’s soccer as a professional entity (Williams, 2005). The argument? Compared with their male counterparts, women could hope to compete only in “niche” sports that would have limited market potential. The collapse of the Women’s United States Soccer Association (WUSA) in 2003 and re-structuring of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in the United States seem to support this position.
Historically, there has been a perception that female elite athletes offer an inferior level of marketability. This is supported by economic summaries published each year by Forbes Magazine and their ‘Celebrity 100’ list. The publication provides a partial market analysis of the most high-profile individuals in U.S culture.
The highest-ranked female athlete in recent years was Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova (ranked 62 out of 100 with estimated earnings of $18.2 million). Female athletes on average comprise five entries in the top 100; men accounted for an average of 20 entries. No female soccer player is featured on the most recent lists. In comparison, both David Beckham and Brazilian star Ronaldo appear regularly. Based on this list, the most marketable sport for women appears to be the individual sports of tennis and golf; they appear to benefit from being well-established in terms of both their professional structure and history of endorsements.
The implication from the above is that stakeholders associated with women’s soccer need to produce a coherent argument for why investors should invest in a product that has relatively little media interest and profile outside of major tournaments. This form of gender and cultural discrimination as Messner (1988) believes, should be recognized as part of a wider ideological or philosophical debate, and is therefore not within the parameters of this paper.
Identifying Women’s Soccer’s USP
Sport has a significant presence in modern societies (Perraudin, 2005). It has developed a visibility in everyday life that transcends nearly everything else. Within a congested marketplace it becomes imperative that if a sport is to survive in the long-term and prosper financially, it must establish its identity to consumers and therefore have a brand image and “unique selling point.” A brand in this context can be defined as the representation of the overall objective focused toward the target audience (Kane, 2003). In essence, it is both the personality of the sport and an assurance of quality. If the product is perceived as being of high quality, research shows that consumers will buy the new product with greater confidence and certainty (Chadwick & Clowes, 1998).
There are evidently numerous factors that will determine the success or failure of women’s soccer to develop into a commercially attractive enterprise. The appeal to potential sponsors is crucial in any long-term survival strategy. Traditionally sponsorship opportunities for sports typically revolve around a handful of prestigious events, both national and domestic, which provide the mass audiences necessary for companies to address. Large sponsorship opportunities are therefore relatively limited in number and often prove to be balanced on the critical analysis of those benefits that both sponsor and client perceive they can offer.
The most important factor for potential sponsors to examine, and therefore women’s soccer to appreciate, is the evidence of ‘synergy’ between both parties (Wilkins, 1995). From the perspective of any sponsor there is a need for the sport to demonstrate why the event is relevant to both parties. Typically this association would be with products which have a natural identification or synergy with women. The level of attractiveness any commercial enterprise perceives women’s soccer as having is therefore dependent on the audience of the sport matching those of the clients target audience. The “fit” or symbiotic connection between both parties is a complex, but crucial consideration in determining the basis for any long-term sponsorship agreement. Inevitably within this dynamic the level of media coverage and exposure any sport receives is crucial to a prospective sponsor. The current saturation levels of soccer in the U.K via televised media however, mitigate against the women’s game. Inadvertently, the dominance of soccer on both terrestrial and satellite channels in the U.K may prevent the women’s game from being exposed to its target audience and thereby fulfilling its commercial potential.
Women’s soccer is therefore approaching a critical period if it is to build upon its current levels of participation, exposure and promotion. The need to formulate a definable USP is critical given the competition for sponsorship in the U.K market and the disparities between men’s and women’s sports (Shaw & Amis, 2001). In soccer there is a clear contrast between the sponsorship generated by the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Men’s World Cup. The inherent conclusion is that men’s sport is viewed by the media as having greater value than that of women. This message is further reinforced by FIFA in defining it is as the ‘World Cup’ as opposed to the sub-set of ‘Women’s World Cup’ (Williams, 2005).
The task of competing within a biased market is made even more difficult for women considering that in the UK at least, budgets for the marketing of sport are anticipated to drop by 2 percent in the next quarter, according to research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Expenditure on sponsorship also is predicted to fall over the next 12 months by 0.2% (Smith, 2007) because of insecurity regarding a reduction in the level of predicted future market spending. Within this financial climate it seems ambitious that the official objective of the governing body for women’s soccer, the Football Association (FA), is to set in place an infrastructure for ‘professionalizing’ women’s soccer (FA.com, Dec, 2002).
In order to accomplish what the FA perceives as the “inevitable” professionalization of the women’s game, there is a need to critically evaluate the sensitive issue of what women’s soccer brand identity is and how it differentiates itself from its competitors.
Any potential sponsors that can be recruited by the FA will have an expectation of women’s soccer that it can go beyond traditional avenues of television exposure to attract new and sustain current customers. To attempt to base a viable long-term financial future upon the model provided by the current men’s Premiership in England would be financially unrealistic.
Recent research reveals that in 2006-07, television income accounted for 44 percent or £543 million of total revenue (Deloitte & Touche, 2007). A potentially more accurate framework for women’s soccer is provided by the lower echelons of professional soccer in England: The Football League, Division Two and Three. During the above same period both divisions received negligible sums from broadcasting and merchandising sources.
The FA’s ambition to create a professional league may be further argued to be contentious when a review is made of the dominant men’s game finances. The Deloitte and Touche Annual Review of Football Finance (2007) for the 2006-07 season showed that only 15 of the 92 clubs reported an operating profit. Within the Premier League, only nine of the 20 teams recorded a profit. This is despite an unprecedented increase in revenues available from television contracts during this period. Part of the problem is the spiraling costs of player salaries in the men’s game. If a professional women’s league is to be a financially viable venture, control of player’s wages will be essential. A realistic salary cap as applied in the major professional sports in the United States may be one method to achieve this objective.
Women’s soccer clearly needs to carefully analyze and understand the nature of its audience in order to produce an identifiable brand image for itself. Research of soccer supporters in the wider context has demonstrated that fans require “value for money.” Perceptions typically were based upon not just team performance, but also ticket cost, availability and the price of food and drink at the stadium. Competitive and realistic budgets provided for such features will inevitably strengthen the viability of the product in sponsors’ eyes. In simplistic financial terms any proposed professional league structure in England in order to be successful would require a significant financial investment from one or more organizations. The clearest examples of this over the years are the major Italian clubs: Juventus, financially supported by Fiat, and Milan by the ‘Berlusconi Empire.’ In the United States, the WUSA failed despite £40 million from the Discovery Channel, Time Warner, Cox Communications, Continental Cablevision and Comcast Corp.
The fundamental question is whether the women’s game presents potential backers with a more desirable product than what is offered by their male counterparts. Is there a market for the women’s game, which is portrayed by the media as being played at a slower speed, less dynamic with lower technical and skill content? In a world which has a profusion of sports events, differentiation is the key; people require a reason to become associated with the sport.
Currently, the FA regards women’s soccer as being feminine and prefers to focus media messages upon being proud to be a woman. The clear objective has always been to encourage participation in the sport. However, the implication is that there is nervousness in differentiating the women’s game from the men’s by making femininity and glamour its unique selling points. It invokes the very thoughts it seems desperate to counter. This vision is somewhat similar to a view espoused by Marla Messing, President of the Women’s World Cup organizing committee in 1999. “It’s about running around, it’s not too violent, its team-oriented and it’s something they (girls) can play with their friends.” (Wilgoren, 1999, p.B1.) Is this really the brand appeal and unique selling point of women’s soccer?
If women’s soccer is to evolve into a professional structure in the UK, it must have simplicity of message, name awareness, positive association and an opportunity to stand out from the crowd of competitors.
Questioning the Message
Is it ethical to use sex to sell? Or is it selling out?
To argue this question it is necessary to consider the moment when women’s soccer entered the American public’s field of vision. It was the summer of 1999. More than 90,000 people (Schultz, 2004) gathered at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., to watch the American women play China in the final of the World Cup. An estimated 40 million television viewers watched the game, making it the most watched soccer game—men’s or women’s—in U.S. history (Cox & Thompson, 2000). The match was tied when the final whistle blew. A penalty shootout would determine the winner. Brandi Chastain was the fifth American player to walk up to take her shot. If she scored, her team would have the title of World Champions.
Removing her shirt in elation at her triumphant kick and revealing her sports bra presented women’s soccer worldwide with an iconic moment and its greatest dilemma. For the first time in its history, the game had been recognized by the media as having sex appeal. The images of Chastain went around the world.
The American players went on to endorse a range of products from Gatorade energy drinks to Dunkin’ Donuts. The ethics of promoting inappropriate foodstuffs or “junk food” is a wider issue for stakeholders within the game to carefully consider before using what are clearly celebrated role models within what is evidently a highly influential market. Mia Hamm, Chastain’s celebrated teammate, was subsequently named one of the United States’ 10 most marketable athletes, male or female (Penner, 2000). America’s female soccer players have found it easier to persuade their public they are worth watching. Men’s soccer, even at times of growth, has never been more than a minority sport, crowded out by American football, baseball and basketball. Unlike England, soccer in America has no masculine heritage to compete with.
The recent comments of FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Leonard Johannsen, although controversial and arguably politically incorrect, present what could be the USP for women’s soccer not only in the UK, but globally. Blatter suggested he had a vision of how the women’s game might take itself forward, might finally bring itself to the wider notice it craved. His thought was that if only women would adopt “a more female aesthetic” when playing soccer – “they could for example have tighter shorts” – more people might take an interest (Christenson & Kelso, 2004).
Vic Akers, team manager at Arsenal Ladies FC, agrees that there is a need for an innovative approach to the marketing of the game.
“The FA have taken the sport to another level but they are old men stuck in their old ways, trying to run it like the men’s game,” he said. “The women’s game is marketable; they can do something with it.” (Clarke & Kessel, 2005)
Male athletes in a variety of sports such as rugby union and American football have used their sex appeal – even been photographed nude in publications that range from ‘“Playgirl” to officially endorsed calendars – without significant outcry. But women’s sports in its infancy as an industry is clearly at odds with the old-age philosophy “sex sells.” The distinction between selling sexuality and selling a sport is a subjective one. When the sexiness or sexuality takes priority over the athletic experience, the line has been crossed.
Women who look strong, play sports and show their muscularity must be considered the norm if women’s sports are to grow beyond current levels. Otherwise, the glass ceiling may already have been reached. The message that women achieve empowerment through sexuality creates potential new avenues for sports marketers, provided they can successfully produce an argument to corporations that women athletes are bankable. The problem is that women’s sports and their implicit content cannot count on an exclusively female audience to consistently finance and sustain a professional sports league.
An approach that appeals to both men and women is the key. The most high-profile female athlete in U.S culture, according to Forbes Magazine (2005), appears to have an acceptance of the role of sex in selling female sports. Women’s tennis player Maria Sharapova is well aware that looks are as important as winning. “Beauty sells ... I have to realize that’s also part of why people want me. I understand it. It’s fine. I’m not going to make myself ugly.” (Kafka, 2005)
The notion of using sexuality to sell women’s sport has been the subject of extensive debate (Spencer & McClung, 2001). The key issue, despite people’s inherent freedom to represent themselves in whatever format they choose, is the effect upon the brand of women’s soccer as a whole. The market in the UK can be defined as the 7- to 15-year-old girls and their parents. In this context, players who exploit their sexuality may be alienating the market they have ambitions of conquering.
The FA seems to concur. The FA state that “being feminine is about being proud to be a woman” and “the objective has always been to encourage participation in the sport.” The problem is that distinguishing the women’s game from the men’s game by making femininity and glamour its unique selling points suggests nervousness about those qualities in the first place. It invokes the very thoughts it seems desperate to counter.
Images that reinforce sexual difference evidently serve to keep women “inside the box.” Commodity “feminism” of this type is illustrative of attempts to provide commerce with a marriage of feminism and feminity. Women’s bodies can be presented as independent and achievers, but still aim to have flat stomachs. Unfortunately the key to the marketplace for women may still be the body aesthetic.
Conclusions
In wider society it is evident that sex sells. However, marketing the women’s game upon sex is a cosmetic approach when the entire economic structure of the sport has yet to be established. Women’s sports and in this instance soccer, have the potential to rearticulate gender ideals in the wider picture of societal norms.
The unique selling point of women’s soccer will rest upon its ability to sell the emotional experience of the sport in the same ways that Wimbledon represents refinement and the Olympic Games celebrate humanity. An ability to show commitment “off the field” in activities such as charity events and fan festivals is crucial to customer perceptions. Emotional branding and a connection with the target audience evident in the men’s game has been seen to lead to emotional bonding (Kane, 2003). This however did not prevent the majority of teams from recording financial losses.
The potential for sponsors and commercial enterprises in general to exploit a previously neglected market place in the UK has never been more apparent (Spence & McClung, 2001). The emergence of substantial investment in British women’s soccer has yet to emerge, however the relative success of the women’s team in Euro 2005 has dramatically increased awareness and visibility of the game in the UK. If this is to be sustained, a long-term commitment by the major television networks will be required. The issues of how women are perceived by the media will not be resolved in the short term; however, the use of sexual images may skew perceptions further and delay more significant long-term financial investment.
An analysis of the environment in which women’s soccer operates is crucial if it is to develop. A careful matching of business resources and capabilities is required within the highly competitive environment of soccer in the UK. In order for women’s soccer to prosper and develop and reduce vulnerability, the following must occur:
• Establish a good reputation among customers
• Allow fans access to the players
• Have favorable visibility through the media
• Low cost structure
In the words of jazz trumpeter Sy Oliver in 1939, “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it – that’s what gets results.” That perhaps sums up the challenge facing women’s soccer and the key to its longevity in a highly competitive market.
References
Chadwick, S. & Clowes, J. (1998). The use of extension strategies by clubs in the English Football Premier League. Managing Leisure, 3, 194-203
Christenson, M. & Kelso, P. (2004, January 16). Soccer chief’s plan to boost women’s football? Hotpants. The Guardian [On Line]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1124354,00.html
Clarke, G. & Kessel, A. (2005, June 5). ‘Carney and Co add sunshine to English summer’. Women aim to make most of spotlight. The Observer [On-Line]. Available from: http:..football.guardian.co.uk/womensfootball/story/0,12783,1499661,00.html
Cox, B. & Thompson, S. (2000). Multiple Bodies: Sportswomen, Soccer and Sexuality. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 35(1), 5-20.
Deloitte & Touche. (2007). Annual Review of Football Finance. London, Deloitte and Touche.
Football Association (FA). (2002, December 11). Pro-League Update. FA [On-Line]. Available from: http://www.thefa.com/Womens/PremierLeague/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2002/12/33746.htm
Kafka, P. (2005, April 7). The Hot Shot. Forbes Magazine [On-Line]. Available from: http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2005/0704/116.html?partner=msnuk
Kane, G. (2003). Creating, developing and exploiting an event’s or sports brand. SportAccord Conference, Madrid, Spain, 15th May.
Messner, M. (1988). Sports and Male Domination: The Female Athlete as Contested Ideological Terrain. Sociology of Sport Journal, 5, 197-211.
Penner, M. (1999, June 19). With soccer, women sip of superstar cup. Los Angeles Times, p. A1.
Perraudin, M. (2005). What Do Brands Want From Sport. SportAccord Conference, Berlin, Germany, 19th April.
Shaw, S. & Amis, J. (2001). Image and Investment: Sponsorship and Women’s Sport. Journal of Sport Management, 15, 219-246.
Spencer, N.E. & McClung, L.R. (2001). Women and Sport in the 1990s: Reflections on “Embracing Stars, Ignoring Players”. Journal of Sport Management, 15, 318-349.
Wilkins, J. (1995). International Sponsorship Evaluation. IIR Conference, Stockholm, Sweden.
Williams, J. (2003). A Game for Rough Girls: The History of Women’s Football in Britain. Routledge.
Williams, J. (2005) Women, Football and Europe. International Football Institute Conference, University of Central Lancashire. June 12th, 2005.
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