Niche becomes mainstream. That is the message when it comes to sponsorship in women’s sport. A long-neglected market is developing into an economic powerhouse in which international companies operate. According to the Nielsen 2022 Global Sports Marketing Report, sponsorship investment in women’s sport increased by 27% in 2022 compared to 2020. In 2018, VISA signed a 28 million dollar contract with UEFA until 2025. Barclays reportedly invests ten million pounds a year in the Women’s Super League in England, and in women’s golf Amundi Asset Management, one of the world’s leading asset managers, has become one of the most important sponsors of international women’s golf.
Mood of optimism continues
Why women’s golf ? At first glance, the answer is obvious: where men’s golf has dominated the public image for decades, women’s golf is in a phase of awakening. While top players in Asian countries have enjoyed star status since the first successful phase of Se-Ri-Pak at the end of the 1990s, the media frenzy surrounding top players in the USA is picking up speed again. A record-breaking run, such as that achieved by world number one Nelly Korda at the start of the 2024 season with five LPGA victories in a row, fuels the hype. The prize money paid out on the American LPGA Tour has increased by 69 percent to around 118 million dollars since 2021. The themes that can be conveyed with women’s golf are obvious.
The Leaders in Sport Report 2021 by YouGov’s in England found that 75 percent of Europeans still believe that there is inequality in coverage and sponsorship between men’s and women’s sport. However, 21 percent of all adults also stated that they were increasingly following women’s sports.
Equal opportunities and diversity
Equal opportunities for women and diversity – these are the topics that women’s sport uses to convince sponsors. Natacha Andermahr, Head of Communication at Amundi, speaks of a “long-term commitment” when she explains why Europe’s largest financial services provider Amundi has been active in women’s golf since 2021. Amundi’s program is multi-layered and pyramid-shaped. Right at the top is continental Europe’s only major tournament, the Amundi Evian Championship. This is followed by sponsorship activities at the Amundi German Masters, the KPMG Irish Open and the Amundi Czech Ladies Challenge. The commitment is rounded off by talent teams from Europe, the USA and Asia as well as a junior program.
Women’s golf, as sponsors who get involved in women’s golf learn, is a rewarding business on the one hand, but also a difficult one on the other. At least in Europe, the fact that women are currently still paid less means that they are more open to interview requests, media and client work. This appeals to the fans and makes it easier for them to get the autographs and photos they crave. Ladies’ golf is tangible, “we experience the ladies as friendly and cooperative when it comes to marketing the tournament,” explains Daniel Reitz, Chief Marketing Officer of Amundi Germany. Entry fees in the millions, which have long been standard on the men’s DP World Tour, are unheard of for Europe’s women.
Challenges in Europe
From this perspective, sponsorship in women’s golf is a wonderful thing. At the Amundi German Masters at G&CC Seddiner See the golf world is purple and pink, the flags are fluttering on the driving range and German protagonists such as Berliners Alexandra Försterling and Chiara Noja are in high demand alongside former Solheim Cup player Sandra Gal. This is the third edition of the Amundi German Masters and “we want to make the event even better,” says Reitz.
Which brings us to the challenges of sponsorship in women’s golf: Women’s golf in Europe is not yet a sure-fire success like in Asia. Whether in Spain, France or England, viewer numbers are limited and TV stations are calling for production subsidies when it comes to broadcasting. Anyone visiting the Centurion Club in England in 2023 to watch the Aramco Team Series event as part of the Ladies European Tour was met with huge grandstands, a huge press tent and a very lavish public area – but only a very manageable number of spectators and journalists. At the LIV Tour event, which also took place in Centurion against the same backdrop, the grandstands were packed. The names of the male golf pros are better known in the golf scene, and ultimately more men than women play golf throughout Europe, which may also have an influence on viewer interest
Amundi Evian Championship flagship model
The Amundi Evian Championship proves that the development of women’s tournaments is a long-term process, but one that can be crowned with success in the end. Idyllically situated on the slopes of the Swiss municipality of Evian-les-Bains, the tournament organizers have earned their success. As recently as 2015, when prodigy Michelle Wie was supposed to be the crowd-puller here, the fans on the sidelines could be counted out one by one, and the gathering of people on the clubhouse terrace resembled a high-class family reunion. Television stations around the world broadcast images of the idyllic setting and the players were thrilled by the atmosphere of the event. Evian and Rolex continued to invest in the tournament.
Almost ten years later, the situation has changed: Those who attended the Amundi Evian Championship in 2023 encountered a fully attended first-class event with packed grandstands, busy VIP areas and the world’s international elite of female players. The best thing about it: the feeling of being much closer to the women’s professional golf than to the men’s event has been preserved. Anyone sitting in one of the lounge chairs in the VIP area directly behind the chipping and pitching green gets a free lesson in perfect golf technique, as the practicing players are so close to the spectators.
Hundreds of balls are always placed at the flag with sheer endless calm. Women’s golf, so the lesson after extensive observation of the training sessions, has quite a lot to do with endurance and perfection.
If you have both, you are also in good hands in sponsorship and are obviously part of a future trend: 381 new sponsorship agreements have been concluded in women’s sport since 2021 alone. And the trend is rising.
