National Women’s Soccer League sponsor Budweiser has launched a marketing campaign which rallies corporate support for the competition.
The “Future Official Sponsor” campaign urges brands to follow the lead of Budweiser parent company Anheuser Busch InBev, which entered into a multi-year partnership with the NWSL on the day the United States Women’s National team secured the Women’s World Cup this summer.
The campaign – which includes a video narrated by USWNT and NWSL star Megan Rapinoe – highlights several vacant sponsorship categories in the league, such as the official timepiece, official restaurant and official deodorant. “The more support the league gets, the more the world will watch. The more the world watches, the closer we get to an equal playing field,” Rapinoe states.
Despite increased attention and attendances following the Women’s World Cup in France, the NWSL has just five official sponsors: Budweiser, sportswear company Nike, insect repellant company Cutter, nutritional supplement manufacturer Thorne, and women’s-focused TV network LifeTime. By contrast, Major League Soccer has 24 corporate partners.
Budweiser’s campaign comes after the NWSL announced a new “multi-tier consulting partnership” with sports and entertainment agency Octagon, which will advise the league on its media- and marketing-rights strategy globally for the next three seasons. The partnership was made with the expectation that the United States Soccer Federation will step away from its management role in the coming months.
The nine-team NWSL is expected to announce a Sacramento team for the 2020 season, while it was confirmed that Louisville will join the league in 2021.
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