Your client's ad
at WNBA games
Disappointed with the NBA? Consider women's basketball
By Diego Vasquez
Oct 3, 2011
A good part of the NBA preseason has already been wiped out by the ongoing lockout, but there is still some pro basketball being played this month.
The WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) wraps up its season this week with the finals between Atlanta and Minnesota, and plenty of advertisers and sponsors will be on hand.
The league attracts a larger number of women than most sports, making it a good place for brands trying to reach females, and advertising at WNBA games costs a fraction of what it does in the NBA.
The games draw more modest crowds than the NBA does, but advertisers still reach 5,000 to 10,000 basketball fans at a WNBA game. Plus, tickets to WNBA games are much more affordable than for NBA games, which makes them popular with families. So they are good fits for advertisers looking to reach the entire family.
To find out how to get your client at WNBA games, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Advertising and sponsorship at WNBA games.
Who
Each of the twelve WNBA teams handles its own advertising and sponsorship deals.
How it works
The inventory at WNBA games is nearly the same as what's available at NBA games.
The most common form of advertising is signage. Signage opportunities include the arena concourse, seating areas, scoreboards, ad panels that line the court, and digital LED ribbon displays that run around the arena.
One of the perks of advertising on the scoreboards or court-level panels is that local advertisers receive extra exposure on TV when games are televised locally or regionally televised.
This is not the case for nationally televised games, however. The league handles all scoreboard and court-level advertising for those games.
Advertisers can also run promotions in the arena, whether they're setting up a table or booth in the concourse, handing out sponsored items such as hats or T-shirts, or sponsoring an on-court contest during a timeout or at halftime.
One option that is not available to NBA advertisers but is available in the WNBA is uniform signage, which is rare in U.S. sports leagues.
Phoenix became the first WNBA team to sell signage on its uniforms in a deal with Lifelock, which protects against identity theft, and the league is open to working with other sponsors for similar deals.
Markets
There are WNBA teams in 12 markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Connecticut, Indianapolis, New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Phoenix, San Antonio, Seattle and Tulsa.
All playoff games and some regular-season games are televised nationally on ESPN and ABC.
Numbers
This season the WNBA brought in a total of 1.621 million fans, up slightly from 1.598 million a year ago.
Los Angeles and Washington led the league with more than 10,000 fans per game, while Tulsa came in the lowest at 4,828 fans per game.
How it is measured
Game attendance is tracked and TV ratings can also be used to estimate impressions for televised games.
What product categories work well
Frequent WNBA advertisers and sponsors include auto, beverages, insurance, retail, telecommunications and fast food.
Demographics
Adult WNBA fans are 52 percent male and 48 percent female, according to Scarborough Research.
Thirteen percent are ages 18-24, 16 percent are 25-34, 18 percent are 35-44, 20 percent are 45-54, 16 percent are 55-64 and 17 are 65 or older.
Making the buy
Advertisers typically have season-long or multi-season deals with WNBA teams. Popular teams offer exclusivity for some categories.
Cost can vary widely based on the elements included in an advertising/sponsorship campaign, but they generally range from upper five figures to mid six figures.
Who’s already at WNBA games
Recent or current WNBA advertisers include Best Buy, Target, Medica, Pepsi, McDonald's, Verizon, Allstate, adidas, Gatorade, Sprite and Kia.
What they’re saying
"It goes back to the loyalty--the passion of our fans and the loyalty they have to the team and also to our advertisers. I think in some other sports you don't have that. And it's affordable, family-friendly entertainment. You can go to a game and it's a good atmosphere." – Conrad Smith, chief operating officer for the Minnesota Lynx
Web site info
WNBA
www.wnba.com
Atlanta Dream
www.wnba.com/dream
Chicago Sky
http://www.wnba.com/sky
Connecticut Sun
http://www.wnba.com/sun
Indiana Fever
http://www.wnba.com/fever
New York Liberty
http://www.wnba.com/liberty
Washington Mystics
www.wnba.com/mystics
Los Angeles Sparks
http://www.wnba.com/sparks
Minnesota Lynx
www.wnba.com/lynx
Phoenix Mercury
http://www.wnba.com/mercury
San Antonio Silver Stars
http://www.wnba.com/silverstars
Seattle Storm
http://www.wnba.com/storm
Tulsa Shock
www.wnba.com/shock
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