Caitlin Clarke’s college basketball career may be over, but her professional career is just beginning and she has the support of fans and brands alike.
Throughout her final college season, fans lined up to watch Clark lead the University of Iowa Hawkeyes to the women’s NCAA Tournament championship for the second year in a row, and the games were on repeat. broke viewing records.
When Clark declared for the WNBA Draft in early March, ticket prices to play the Indiana Fever, the first team selected in the draft, dropped. shot. Las Vegas Ace excited their July match against Fever was played at a venue with almost double the capacity, and W’s marketing director said the broadcasters were “climbingfor the rights to Fever games this season. Soon after this the league announced that 36 of the Fever’s 40 regular season games would be nationally televised.
Then its value is ZERO. Clark, who last month became the NCAA’s Division I leading scorer, had the fourth-highest net worth of any college athlete at the end of her run for Iowa, at $3.4 million, according to the college sports publication. On3NIL 100 list. She has already worked with a dozen brands over the past couple of years, including Gatorade, Nike, State Farm, Gainbridge, Xfinity, H&R Block and Buick.
There is no doubt that Clark is a star on the court and arguably one of the best college basketball players in history. But her off-court performance and personality have made her a hot commodity among brands looking to get her noticed, and the brands that have already signed her feel lucky to say the least.
“I can’t imagine the volume of business she’s seeing,” said Minjee Ro, director of life and annuity strategy at financial services firm Gainbridge, which began a multi-year partnership with Clark in March and which has been running it since 2021. naming rights to the Fever arena. “We are excited, honored and beside ourselves; choose.”
Out of the ordinary
Marketers’ excitement is best demonstrated by the records Clark is breaking not only in the NCAA, but also for his brand partners.
When Gatorade signed a net zero deal with Clark in late 2023, the brand’s “You Can Too” campaign quickly became the most viewed social content across all platforms, according to Brandi Rae, the brand’s head of consumer engagement. And in mid-March, Gatorade featured a limited-edition water bottle and towel designed with Clark on its membership platform, which sold out in about a day, according to Ray.
“She is literally one of the most engaged athletes we have. on our listthrough our channels,” Ray told Marketing Brew.
Gainbridge also observes impressive social statistics associated with Clark. On the day their partnership went live on the company’s social media platforms in early March, Roh said video announcement that it received 112,000 views, and a month later the number reached 1.8 million. Working with Clark is “a different ballgame,” Roe said.
Small screen
Brands that advertised during University of Iowa games this season also saw “insane results,” according to Elliot Rifkin, associate director of media buying at television advertising agency Tatari.
“It was an astronomical number of leads and visits we got for the price we paid for these devices,” he said.
Dave Solomon, director of sports partnerships at TV ad sales company Ampersand, said that because “it’s hard to sell on a cultural backdrop,” his team tried to help advertisers understand Clarke’s importance even before she approached the NCAA record.
Clark’s success has prompted some brands to invest more in women’s college athletics across the board, said Larry Mann, a former ESPN vice president of sales and founding partner of the sports marketing agency rEvolution. That’s a change from previous years, when he said some marketers expressed interest in sponsoring women’s sports but weren’t willing to “put that kind of money into it” when they saw the asking price.
“I think the narrative has changed with Caitlin’s success. [and] with success women’s soccer programMann said. “It’s not like, ‘We’re just doing this to check a box.’”
Make a deal
For some of the brands that have deals with Clark, agreements were reached a long time ago. It was during last year’s March Madness game, she said, that Christine Cook, State Farm’s director of agency, sales and marketing, first took notice of Clark as a potential brand partner, especially after an interview when Clark talked about what she was hoping for. her legacy will be.
“She said a couple of things: she wants to make Iowa proud, she wants to bring joy to people, but she wants every young girl and every young boy to look up and say, ‘I can do this.’ I can do it. I can dream big,” Cook said. “I think that’s when we realized she would be a great partner for State Farm.”
Cook and her team reached out to Clark and her family and then traveled to Iowa to have lunch with them and talk about shared values and goals, Cook said. The multi-year deal was announced in October, State Farm’s first net-zero deal and its first with a female athlete.
Meanwhile, Roe said Gainbridge first assessed Clark as a good fit for sponsorship late last year, before the Fever won the draft lottery, giving them the first pick in the WNBA draft for the second year in a row.
Gentle disposition
Clarke’s overall spirit and adoring fans, many of whom are younger, make her an ideal brand partner for many companies, Marketing Brew executives said.
“Not only is Kaitlyn one of the best collegiate basketball players today, but her character and high standards of excellence on and off the court make her the perfect addition,” Ray said, adding that “she represents so much for young athletes. and younger consumers today, which is why it’s so effective for us.”
Clark’s star power among younger audiences is reflected more clearly in some brands. Through its partnership with Gainbridge, Clarke is promoting an annuity product designed specifically for younger clients, Roe said. To State Farm, Clark “represents what it means to be a good neighbor,” Cook said, and she has a signature mascot, Jake from State Farm. stamp of approval.
“For a brand, you’re getting into a lot of interaction, and you’re obviously getting into someone that a lot of young athletes look up to,” said Joe Caporoso, president of sports and entertainment media company Team Whistle. , who worked with Xfinity on the recent commercial starring Clark. “They’re trying to emulate her game, and that’s exactly what you want as a brand.”
Bright future
After Clark’s college career ends, some of her sponsors hope to follow her to the big leagues. this is not something unheard of in the world of NIL. Some sports marketers predicted that NIL has an affair could help grow women’s sports and more niche leagues as collegiate athletes transition into professional sports.
Executives at Gatorade, Gainbridge and State Farm have been fairly tight-lipped about the future of their deals with Clarke as she joins the WNBA, but they all have multi-year deals with the athlete, and State Farm is already including her in its campaign around the project. The insurance brand, which is sponsoring the WNBA Draft, plans to highlight Clark’s college career with a digital installation in Times Square right before the draft and is sending State Farm’s Jake to attend the draft and congratulate her in person.
Even without Clark, the work of all three brands extends into the professional league, with Gatorade and State Farm partnering with the WNBA and Gainbridge maintaining a relationship with the Fever through Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
As Clarke enters the world of professional basketball, brand marketers expect her, and women’s sports in general, to have even more room for growth.
“She has proven herself to be an agent of change,” Ray said. “She has ushered in a new era of basketball and is moving women’s sports forward… We have no doubt that her influence will continue as she heads to the WNBA.”
This report was originally published To Marketing beer.