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The women's sports industry is growing in leaps and bounds.
Four leaders from the women's sports products and entertainment fields assembled for a panel titled "Dawn of a New Era: Women Leading in Sports Business" at the Women's Student Association's 11th Annual Dynamic Women in Business Conference at Harvard Business School.
It may have been more than symbolic that business rivals Jan Sharkansky, Vice President of Women's Global Product Marketing at Reebok, and Mary Kate Buckley, Vice President/General Manager, Americas, at Nike, were seated next to each other. According to the panelists, the sports business is all about bringing women togetherand into stores and auditoriums. And that's quite a large market. According to Sharkansky, "If you have a body, you're an athlete to us."
If you have a body, you're an athlete to us. |
Jan Sharkansky, Reebok |
Teri Schindler, a Vice President at WNBA Broadcasting and Senior Coordinating Producer at NBA Entertainment, seconded this view. She wants to see more success "not just for athletesfor all women."
Beth Bass, CEO of Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), described the evolution of this campaign. What started as a plea in the early 1980s to female baby boomers and weekend warriors taking up athletics has since changed its focus to embrace "Gen X, Gen Y, and now 'Girl Power.'"
But how do you take a product and make it for women without it being just a takedown of a men's product colored pink? Sharkansky, who came to Reebok from Prada's Cosmetic International Distribution, sees it as understanding the needs of the customer. And who better to understand the needs of women than other women?
"Looking good equals product performance. It's like we're coming out of the closet and saying, 'Yes, we love beauty, but we're still sports fans.'" She described a phone call from Reebok executives who were trying to woo her to the company. One said, "This is our initiative, we're going after women and, quite honestly we're never going to get there on our own." When she asked, "What do you mean?" They answered, "We're men." They told her to build a team and make it happen.
The future
Distribution, product, and marketing were designated as growth factors for the future of women's sports. In embracing a global perspective and international markets, Mary Kate Buckley explained that Nike is connecting footwear with apparel and equipment in a compelling retail environment with integrated marketing campaigns. By bringing that focus and talking to the consumer with one voice, she said, "We've seen staggering growth rates. In Europe we've seen an increase in growth rate of 46 percent for the entire year."
From consumers to fans
Although women have proven to be strong consumers of sports goods, can they also be persuaded to become fans of women's sporting events? Can the success of women's basketball be duplicated for other women's sports programs?
"There are three keys to success in women's basketball," said Beth Bass. "TV, TV, and TV." While men's sports broadcasts tend to highlight the power playsthe drive downfield, the slam dunk, the home runwe're seeing women's sports through a softer focus. "We're learning to tell our stories well," she said.
With women, the networks are selling the emotion, passion, and stories that may be missing in men's sports. It's not often that the camera will cut to a couple of men holding hands on the bench during a Knicks' game, but that's the way to hook female viewers, said Teri Schindler.
On the other hand, said Schindler, "There is a problem with over-exposure of sports on TV in general. TV itself is going through its own issuesmorphing into something unclear." With so many cable channels offering so many viewing options, it's become difficult to retain the viewer's attention.
Child's play
Each woman on the panel agreed: It's vital to get young girls, and all children, involved in physical fitness and sports. With childhood obesity rates in the U.S. and worldwide going through the roof (or, more likely, through the floor), the goal is to get kids interested in fitness at an early age.
The WNBA, says Schindler, is dedicated to youth programs. "We're trying to get parents to bring their daughters to games," she said.
Athletics play an important role in building self-esteem, said Bass. She believes there is a connection between sports, improved school performance, and staying out of trouble. The WBCA is teaching mothers how to support their kids in sports. "Some don't even know the difference between offense and defense!" she said.
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