Marketing “Women’s” Sports To Men
The de-genderfication of the sports industry has been fun to watch over the past twenty years or so. For example, NASCAR has gone from assuming women weren’t even in their picture to cozying (way) up to the many merchandise dollars those fans spend on t-shirts and the incredible community they have built. And, the extreme sports niche went from assuming their audience was only young men to being awakened by the Hannah Teeter, shred Betty phenomenon to name just one. Now, the sports realm, overall, has come full circle in the ways that previously pegged “women’s” sports must grow to reach more men.
And, how are they going to do that? By identifying what about the particular sport appeals to a men’s market and highlighting that. If the marketing decision-makers are smart, they’ll likely figure out a way to do so without alienating the women who already love said sport. Now, to clarify: It isn’t necessarily men that the more female-fan skewing sports should be worrying about. Instead, those marketing decision-makers should spend time learning to reach all of the human beings who appreciate the (traditionally) more masculine aspects of the sport.
Consider Christopher Lawton’s recent Wall Street Journal story on figure skating, for example. In it, representatives of Skate Canada (a Canadian figure skating organization) talk about trying to tame the sequins and feathers that have become symbolic for the sport, and instead starting to pitch the unbelievable strength and athleticism behind all that grace. As Lawton writes:
Canada particularly wants to drum up new interest in the sport ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
One solution: Get more men to tune in. To do that, Skate Canada is encouraging skating officials and athletes to use words such as “strength,” “power,” “speed” and “risk” when describing the sport. Team members are being asked to play up the fact that they skate faster than most hockey players, jump higher than most basketball players and fall harder than most football players — all without padding.
Not surprisingly, the article goes on to also quote a woman who wouldn’t mind that shift either. Athletically appreciative sports fans, male and female, would love to learn more about the physical fitness-related aspects. And, I bet those fans who have a more creative or artistic mindset, would still be able to see past the muscles to enjoy the costume adornments and the dance-like fluidity.
A few universal questions that arise:
- Who said your sport, product, brand was only “for women” in the first place? Take it back!
- Is it really a gender question, or an interests/passion question, when it comes to serving your particular market?
- Could you take all that you now understand about the women’s market and simply apply that to the core customers you serve (be they male and/or female), without telling anyone you focused on women to achieve your marketing success?
Each fan likes their particular sport for a very unique reason. Who are we to separate them into gendered groups? Instead, marketers should do like Skate Canada and identify the various aspects of the “product” that have the most appeal with today’s fans/customers. From there, a marketer can easily get a read on how to best deliver that – and become very clear on whether consumer gender is a factor at all.
Fitness and strength and grace and style have long inspired sports fans the world over. The goal is to provide those things to anyone who is looking. Marketing methods defined by the most difficult to reach fans will serve men and women in the smartest ways.
