E-Poll Market Research

Who Are The Top Female Athlete Endorsers and New Faces?

sperry, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Live sports continues to be a competitive marketplace for both networks and streamers looking to sweeten the pot for a fickle consumer base.  Looking at growth potential, women’s sports are trending up and finally starting to break through in terms of better media rights deals and media coverage in general (here are some recent examples*):

  • The 2022 NCAA Women’s College Basketball Championship aired on ABC.
  • The Women’s College World Series averaged over 1 million viewers for the third year in a row.
  • ESPN reports that ratings for the 2022 WNBA playoffs have reached their highest mark in 20 years.
  • National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) will air their championship game in primetime on CBS for the first time in the league’s 10-year history.
  • FOX will televise the U.S. Women’s National Team match with England at Wembley Stadium.

This is all welcome news for female athletes who deserve the increased exposure and marketing dollars.

Female Athletes Under 30 to Invest In

With E-Score Celebrity, you can go beyond just awareness and unlock other important talent qualities to help identify a good fit.  For this example, we took a closer look at 10 female athletes under 30 who counter low Awareness (under 10%) with above average performances for Appeal and some key Attributes.

  • Sydney McLaughlin is a track and field prodigy specializing in hurdles and sprints.  At 23, she’s already won Olympic gold and multiple World Championships.  Sydney is just at the start of expanding her multi-hyphenate status with deals that include New Balance, TAG Heuer, and Gatorade.
  • Britain’s tennis star Emma Raducanu burst onto the scene when she won the 2021 US Open at the age of 18.  Her exciting play mixed with a charming personality opened the floodgates for brands trying to lock in on her earning potential early.  Emma has become a true multihyphenate with deals that include Nike, Wilson, Tiffany & Co., Dior, British Airways, Evian, Vodafone, Porsche, and HSBC.

Power Endorser Serena Williams

Serena Williams may be stepping away from the court, but she is showing no signs of slowing down off if it with deals and partnerships that run the gamut:

  1. Airlines (Delta)
  2. Apparel (Nike)
  3. Automotive (Aston Martin)
  4. Beverage (Pepsi)
  5. Consumer Electronics (Beats by Dre)
  6. Entertainment (Amazon Studios)
  7. Financial Services (Chase)
  8. Food (Wheaties)
  9. Satellite TV (DirecTV)
  10. Technology (IBM)

Serena Williams is in rarified air as one of the few female athletes to reach a level of consumer recognition and endorsement power that rivals a top male counterpart such as NBA superstar LeBron James.  Both athletes perform more than 30 points above the average for Awareness and Endorsement Score.

What makes Serena such a great brand partner? Serena posts strong scores for 10 key attributes (min. +5% above the average).

Passing of the torch: The Next Power Endorser?

Here are five female athletes who share many of the same positive traits as Serena Williams.

  • It’s only right that Naomi Osaka is tied at the top (with Olympic gymnast Suni Lee) when it comes to most attributes in common with Serena Williams (above average scores for 8 out of 10 attributes).  Naomi ranks 19th on the Forbes World’s Highest-Paid Athletes list with 58 million  from endorsements and she represents 1 of only 2 women to make the top 50 (Serena Williams being the other at #31 with 45 million in endorsements)**.  Naomi has proven her multi-hyphenate status by starting her own sports management agency (Evolve), a media production company (Hana Kuma), and a variety of endorsement deals: automotive (Nissan), watches (TAG Heuer), luxury (Louis Vuitton), apparel (Levi’s), beverage (Bodyarmor) to name a few.

*Source: https://justwomenssports.com/wnba-playoff-tv-ratings-up-highest-mark-20-years/#:~:text=Ratings%20for%20the%202022%20WNBA,playoffs%20since%202002%2C%20per%20ESPN

**Source: https://www.forbes.com/profile/naomi-osaka/?list=athletes&sh=29738afc384e

Female athletes continue to gain media traction due to the surge of popularity among women’s sports, making the ability to identify the next power endorser a huge advantage for brands. Using E-Score Celebrity you can hone in on specific talents and strong attributes that can be used to determine a top endorser candidate among female athletes around the world.  

The E-Score Platform

Our E-Score Platform gives you Trends, Endorsement Scores, Social Media Buzz, NPS, Fan Scores, and much more based on the product or products. When E-Score products are paired, advertisers, brands and the creative community own a powerful interface allowing them fine tune their content and campaigns.

How do our clients use the E-Score Platform?

Your suite platform includes the E-Score products below which are designed to work harmoniously to provide the answers marketing, network and advertising executives rely on.

Depending on your specific needs, you can simply purchase a single E-Score, license an individual product, or gain access to the suite options below:

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