UM London’s Post

𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒: 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 Diversity in sports ensures that there is fair competition, improves team performance, is in line with the society’s culture and enabled high participation. Still, the goal of attaining diversity in sports is not without its problems to this date. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 It has not escaped scrutiny that a major difficulty is the come-by-arrival nature of systemic bias. Preconceptions of organizations within an institution act as barriers to members of underrepresented minority groups especially in matters of employment opportunity, resource allocation, and support for athletes of color. In order to tackle the existing bias, it is necessary to work on creating more diverse and equal policies in organisations. Moreover, the majority of such sports organizations’ leadership are still comprised of majority of white males, with a relative lack of female, people of color, or physically challenged officers, which all add to the exclusion. It results in overlooking the opportunities to address such issues and concerns of the various diverse members of the population. Lastly, cultural bias also becomes a barrier to diversity in sports. These stereotypes can be disruptive in setting the tone regarding the different athletes affecting their treatment and discriminating them equally. The inequalities in resources aggravate diversity issues. Lack of equal access to training amenities, master trainers, and funding can deter sports talents from embracing sports careers. The equal distribution of resources is fundamental in countering prejudice in the sporting fields. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 Regarding these challenges, the Hamburg Sports Summit presents different actions and good practices. Strategies such as ensuring gender mainstreaming and diversity at all of the sports organizations levels. Some of the strategies include raising awareness about unconscious bias and diversity as well as educating coaches, administrators and athletes. It is critical to reach out to different people and populations for them to embrace sporting activities. Therefore, the key stakeholders in sports can engage these communities and adapt to their needs to make the sporting activities environment-sensitive and all-inclusive. 𝐀𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 The goal of the summit is to identify issues and share successes in the creation of an equal sports environment. Diversity makes the sports experience lively and global society fosters more unity. To the Hamburg Sports Summit team, I say thank you for their commitment to such topics and their efforts to create change.

The rise of womens sports is undeniable, and during lunch today, I took a deep dive into Wasserman's archive and stumbled upon a compelling article from last summer. Here's what stood out: Equity Disparities: Despite women athletes generating double the fan engagement, male athletes earn up to 24 times more in sponsorship deals. It's high time for a change in the status quo! Income Gap: On average, men earn 21 times more in playing salary compared to women athletes. It's crucial to bridge this income gap. Fan Engagement: Women athletes serve as inspirational role models, motivating social action. Brands should take note of this influential impact. Next-Gen Fans: Women athletes attract a younger and more affluent fan base, presenting a golden opportunity for brands to engage with the future consumer demographic. These insights suggest: - Companies should invest in women athletes to recognise their value. - The current athlete compensation model doesn't reflect women athletes' true impact. - Brands can adjust partnerships for fair compensation and resonant collaborations. - Women athletes have passionate fan bases, presenting opportunities for impactful marketing campaigns driving social action. - Aligning with women athletes allows brands to connect with a younger, affluent audience, fostering long-term brand loyalty. Brands should allocate resources to women athletes, modify partnerships to ensure fair compensation, and use their appeal to attract the next generation and new audiences, thereby creating impactful campaigns and fostering enduring brand loyalty.

Happy International Women's Day! 🚺 📈 United Nations's theme for this year is “ Invest in women: Accelerate progress”, one that perfectly aligns with the vision and work we do at READY. We are committed to the growth and success of women's sport, and we believe innovation and technology are key to achieving that. 🚀 Today, we want to celebrate and promote the women who are innovators in tech, Web 3.0, and sport. We'll kick things off by spotlighting Trailblazers previously featured in our newsletter "READY Read," who offer different consulting services, and we encourage you to join the conversation by tagging more inspirational women or promoting yourself and your work in the comments below. Mary Beth Sales - Keynote Speaker & PR Expert, USA-based entrepreneur who consults for people and brands operating in sports and in Web 3.0. She’s also a regular keynote speaker, moderator, workshop curator and PR / branding specialist. Julia Landauer: NASCAR racing driver, Forbes list 30 Under 30 in Sport, who uses her racing platform to advocate for STEM education and women’s empowerment. Silvia Mogas, a close friend of READY, Chief Marketing Officer and founder of a Web 3.0 marketing consultancy. She marketed and activated the hugely successful Espanyol FC NFT collection with Fayre NFT marketplace and is a renowned Web3 marketing expert. Sarah May, Chief Marketing Officer at Run It Wild, the company that built the legendary Australia Tennis Open metaverse experience. Sarah is an inspiration to us, not only for being a metaverse and marketing guru, but also for being the kind of industry leader we aspire to be. Sharon Tuff, Founder of Clique Squared, a consultancy that drives growth of business, innovation and purpose in sport and entertainment. From quantifying the social value of sport in monetary terms to growing a gamified platform that encourages a billion people to give 1% of their time to social causes - and not to mention over a decade of commercial leadership in sport, Sharon is all about collaboration and synergies to do more and better together! Kelly-Anne Perera, founder and consultant with expertise in web2 to web3 strategy, metaverse, gaming, community building, web3 education, and more. She’s on a mission to help bring women into the underrepresented worlds of sports and web3. Karen Jouve, CEO at Doors Sport, a France-based Web 3.0 consultancy that boasts clients such as French Football Federation, Ballon d’Or, and the French national rugby league. 🌟 For those out there wanting to champion women and women's sport, we encourage you to share this post and invest in the remarkable women mentioned here. 🤝 Let’s team up to transform the present and forge the future of women's sport. #internationalwomensday2024 #internationalwomensday #investinwomen #womenintech #womeninsports #womensports #web3 #womeninweb3

The gender gap in men's and women's football revenue has begun closing over the past 4 years. ➡ ⬅ Part of the reason for this are the consistently positive statistics supporting brand alignment - for instance fans of women's sports are 54% more aware of brand sponsors and are 45% more likely to consider or purchase from a brand sponsor compared to men's sports. We believe that there is more opportunity to create stronger brands in this space that recognise and value women's football as its own experience. Check out the comments below to read our white paper 'Ready for Kickoff! Branding the Women's Game. 👇

Was scrolling on Instagram the other morning, and an account for a publication had posted a video of Jason Sudeikis posing in a sweatshirt that read "Everyone watches women's sports" on the back (this post is not about Jason, or Ted Lasso). I try not to expand the comment section on IG posts anymore; while many comments are supportive, trolls tend to dig their heels in here. But I did this time, and was struck by how many people (men) felt compelled to say this, over and over in response: "No, they don't." It's somewhat hilarious because that's not 👏the 👏point👏. Not everyone watches sports anyway (I know a lot of people who couldn't care less about watching live sports). But there are MILLIONS more people watching women's sports than in past years, and that means millions more young athletes of all genders are paying attention -- and that kind of imprinting through representation matters to our collective future. It means exposure on a scale unprecedented for women's sports, and it's not just the live broadcast. With NIL enabling college athletes to take endorsement deals, people are seeing these athletes in advertising campaigns, and that means frequency in addition to reach. My sister and I - both athletes since we could walk, and products of the 90s Mia Hamm era - were texting over the weekend about how emotional the NCAA women's basketball tournament felt this year. Inspiring, validating, epic. Too many amazing storylines to capture. Grateful that there are businesses emerging with a specific focus on women's sports, and increased investment across our industry. My colleagues at Horizon Sports & Experiences are doing some cool things and launching a new women's basketball tournament, and I've loved following what Alexis Ohanian Sr. posts about it just being good business. Growth is growth, green is green 📈 To all those people saying "no they don't"....this is inevitable. Now to get these women paid fairly ❗ 💵 💰

Social media presents brands with an unmatched chance to engage directly with their audience, nurturing a feeling of community and interaction that holds significant importance for brand development and progression. - Instant Interaction and Feedback: Social media facilitates immediate engagement with clients, offering prompt responses on products, services, and promotional efforts. - Narrative Crafting: By delivering compelling and consistent content, brands can utilize social media to narrate their journey, convey their principles, and showcase their distinctive identity. - Cultivating Community and Support: This community atmosphere has the potential to turn customers into loyal brand supporters.

The business of women's sports is booming 🔥 brands, marketers and investors are stepping up. Had an incredible 360 discussion from the lens of athlete, investment, brand and talent management about women's sports as the next big play 🏆 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity "The next generation isn't going to be thinking "men's sports/ women's sports - they're thinking sports" Heather Hopkins Freeland, Adobe "By 2050, I think women's sports will eclipse men's sports. The market doesn't meet the value right now. There is pent up demand, and the market needs to adjust. Sports is a great investment, but women and athlete-led in particular, is going to continue to push the industry" Angela Ruggiero Sports Innovation Lab "Business is business, but when you have good people, business can be personal. And that builds security and trust with the athlete. When I choose a deal, it's about deciding if a brand really cares. " Flaujae Johnson Laura Desmond Lina Polimeni

What a powerful discussion about the impact and trajectory of women’s sports. Beyond the right thing to do, supporting women’s sports builds brands. It builds business.

“In another economically challenging year, a people-centred focus must be a priority for brand strategy and business growth,” Dentsu UK & Ireland CEO, Angela Tangas said. Seems I'm not alone in my thinking that we need to put people right at the heart of our business growth strategies... You can read more here: https://lnkd.in/e22FWVjr I was all over this - was completely in line with my thinking and values. The importance of authenticity, social equality and the need for purpose at least alongside profit - maybe I was born too soon?! #genz #humancentricmarketing #peoplefirst #marketing #purpose #brand #brandstrategy #marketingstrategy #socialequality

The Rise of Women's Sports: Fad or Untapped Gold Mine for Brands? The remarkable success of the 2023 Women's World Cup and the explosive popularity of icons like Caitlin Clark have thrust women's sports into the mainstream spotlight. But is this a fleeting trend or the start of a seismic shift that forward-thinking brands can't afford to ignore? The numbers speak volumes. Women's sports viewership and participation are rapidly outpacing their male counterparts, driven by an impassioned global demographic whose influence and spending power continue to swell. Brands who dismiss this cultural movement risk alienating a coveted audience and missing a golden opportunity for authentic connection. From increasing brand equity to attracting top talent and future-proofing marketing strategies, the tangible upsides of investing in women's sports are undeniable. Yes, risks exist in any untapped market, but the potential rewards for early movers and innovators are staggering. As demands for equitable representation intensify across industries, brands tied to the rise of women's sports will be better positioned to grow alongside this burgeoning force. At Forma Media, we use AI tools like Gamma AI and Perpelixity to enhance the output exponentially by providing data-driven insights to help inform strategic partnerships within this blossoming sector. Brought to You with Prompt Engineering by Forma Media, Gamma AI, and Perplexity. CC: Brett Whelan