Sportswear Marketing Strategies Shift to Recognize Female Sports Fans

Big-Name Companies Improve Products and Messages in the Scramble to Gain a Larger Share of the Athleisure Market

There’s been a shift in how marketing and advertising messages about sportswear are being presented these days. The industry has moved beyond strategies that simply modified the products and ads once directed toward the guys, and it is recognizing the interests and buying power of female sports fans.

“Historically, the majority of sports marketing has been targeted at men—but that’s changing,” wrote Ann D’Adamo in a blog for Women’s Marketing. She pointed to major brands, including Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas, that have “created women’s sports apparel that appeals to the fitness-minded woman and use empowering, stereotype-busting messages in their advertising campaigns.”

D’Adamo quoted Andrea Van Dam, the CEO of Women’s Marketing: “Sports marketers walk a fine line when speaking to women. They need to reach out to them in an authentic way that advocates for women, without being pandering. As participants or spectators, sports play a huge role in women’s lives.”

In an article in USA Today, Hadley Malcolm talked about the shift. “In previous attempts to attract the female buyer, many apparel sellers took products designed for men and made them smaller and more colorful for women, a strategy dubbed ‘shrink it and pink it,’” she wrote. “But companies have become more sophisticated in how they court female customers, both in terms of designing products for women as well as using more targeted marketing messages.”

Sales Fuels Competition

As sales of women’s athletic apparel have increased, so has interest from big-name companies. “Sales of women’s fitness apparel has [sic] soared in recent years and continues to outpace the overall fitness apparel industry,” Malcolm wrote. “The women’s apparel market is now a competitive field with major retailers vying to grab market share. That’s thanks in large part to the rise in women who dress in athleisure, wearing workout clothes for exercise, as well as in the office, at happy hour gatherings, and for running errands.”

The trend has resulted in many women choosing yoga pants over jeans in various situations, according to an article by Hollie Shaw in the Financial Post. Interestingly, one market study showed that less than half of those activewear pants were purchased with plans for athletic activity. “I think a big part of it is comfort, style, fit, and how it makes you feel,” Inez Blackburn, president of market research firm Market Techniques and Innovations, was quoted as saying in the article. “Yoga pants are reinforced with spandex and Lycra, and although some jeans have that functionality, yoga pants are designed with those added features to make you look good when you wear them. They are often more flattering then [sic] jeans.”

The success that apparel company Lululemon has shown in this area in recent years has pushed the big sportswear brands to work to catch up, according to an article by Ashley Kindergan in the Financialist. She quoted Gwen Manto, a former chief merchandising officer at Sports Authority and Dick’s Sporting Goods, on the topic: “As people [sic] like Lululemon put more fashion into their products, then it really forces Nike and Under Armour and the traditional athletic resources to put more fashion—and quality—into their products as well.”

Numerous other companies—including Athleta and Victoria’s Secret—also are competing for sales of women’s athletic apparel, which grew 9 percent in the 12-month period that ended June 15. That compared favorably with the 6.8 percent growth in the overall category, according to the NPD Group, as reported by USA Today. That article also stated that Nike believes that sales in its women’s category will nearly double over the next five years—from $5.7 billion to $11 billion. It noted that Under Armour is nearing $1 billion in sales in its women’s apparel segment.

Competition Fuels More Targeted Messaging

Those companies and others in the market are appealing to a demographic that includes a growing number of females who identify themselves as sports fans. One estimate has women making up 46 percent of all NFL fans, according to an article in Adweek. The NFL’s vice president for consumer products, Rhiannon Madden said the organization took a look at all of its products for women a few years ago. “We had a growing female fan base who were just as avid as the male fans, but we weren’t giving them the best outlet to express their fandom.”

Adweek continued, “The NFL worked to create more sophisticated offerings for women, like vintage-inspired tees and apparel, more plus-size and juniors apparel, and a full line of women’s-size jerseys.”

Madden also discussed the NFL’s strategy in a Fashionista article by Maura Brannigan. “Each year we get a little smarter about it, a little more sophisticated about it,” Madden said. “We look at what’s happening in the marketplace, what’s on-trend, what women are wearing on the street and also what women are wearing in stadiums. We take cues from our fans, as well as what’s happening in fashion.”

In a Forbes article, contributor Bridget Brennan suggested that the increased focus on the women’s market is easy to understand. “In their role as primary caregivers, women not only buy products for themselves, they buy on behalf of their families and friends, and organize most household social activities. This creates a powerful multiplier effect. As a result, tapping into women’s buying power and embracing female ‘fandom’ represents a multi-layer opportunity for the NFL, and gives women an opportunity to feel more connected to the game.”

Contributor Alana Glass pointed out in another Forbes article that even with female consumers making the vast majority of purchasing decisions, it has only been in recent years that businesses have put aside the old “shrink it and pink it” strategy and are actually listening to women.

She quoted Donna Orender, a business/brand strategist and founder of Generation W, about the change: “The conversation and noise level around this issue has gone up. The more we raise our hands and exercise our market power—which is what we are starting to do—then the market is reacting.”

The message seems pretty clear. Anyone listening?

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