Capstone Project
To complete my Master's degree, I was tasked with choosing a topic in Sport & Entertainment that I am passionate about & doing a research project to apply the skills & curriculum I learned during my two year program.
My project is a case study analysis of Nike's "So Win" Super Bowl commercial & coinciding campaign. Then, taking the lessons I learn from that to make recommendations for brands on how they can intentionally market female athletes.
Why?
In recent years, I have begun to pay a lot more attention to how female athletes are marketed. Initially I wanted to look at this idea of "inspiring future generations" that seems prevalent in the space. I have always had some issues with this concept, as I started watching women's sports for the in-game talent & competition not because I wanted to be inspired to become a pro athlete. This idea sparked because of Nike's campaign for the 2024 NWSL Championship. It was a series of billboards that read "I am not here to inspire dreams. I am here to live mine," (see left). That was the first time I had ever seen an ad like this. So, I started digging and found that my brain wanted to know everything about the marketing of women's sports. After research & conversations with friends & my advisor, I finally narrowed down my vast interests to one question: How can brands learn from Nike's "So win" campaign and create intentional advertisements to market female athletes?
4x WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson for Nike's "So Win" Campaign
Up first: A survey
As a part of this project, we have to do some sort of qualitative or quantitative research. I chose to survey consumers. It was important to me to collect data from fans & non-fans of both women's & men's sports. The survey had three parts, sports watching habits, questions about the Nike campaign, and finally demographic information.
So what?
After reading through all the data and interviewing an individual who worked on the campaign, I came up with three recommendations for brands looking to intentionally market female athletes.
Diversity
Diversify your talent pool. In particular, diversify the sports you're including. Basketball & soccer are certainly the most popular right now, but there's so many other amazing sports growing too, like hockey and volleyball! Also, include more Queer, masc-presenting athletes. The women's sports fanbase leans very Queer, make them feel welcome.
Empowerment
It's about empowerment, the right way. It's time for women's sports marketing to move away from this mindset that female athletes have to carry out inspirational labor and inspire future generations. Let's switch to a success-focused mindset where we highlight the accolades of these athletes because they are there to compete and win.
Commitment
Brands need to really commit to it. Nike's campaign was so successful because it was more than just one commercial. It was the mainstay of their early 2025 marketing. They gave consumers many ways to connect and engage with their brand. Women's sports fans have a demonstrated high brand loyalty that turns into a proven ROI for brands through sales.
Stay Tuned!
Currently in the process of getting my capstone paper published, so stay tuned for more information on that!
If you're itching to read it before then, send me an email at burke.ac18@gmail.com and I'll gladly share it with you!
I am super proud of this project & want to share it with world however I can!