The Challenge

Despite record-breaking viewership and huge opportunity for brands to spur fan engagement, women’s sports receive less than 10% of media coverage.  As a brand committed to financial/social inclusion and a sponsor of the National Women’s Soccer League and its Players Association, Ally Financial knew progress in the fight for equity in women’s sports was imperative. But they knew it wouldn’t be easy, and wouldn’t be won with advertising dollars alone.

The Solution

Ally needed to make a series of bold moves to amplify viewership and result in lasting change for women’s sports by inspiring other brands to follow suit. Ally challenged its internal PR team and Tier One to develop and execute a multi-faceted advocacy campaign with measurable objectives:

• Drive awareness around the inequity that exists and the opportunity to be had within women’s sports
• Make strides in breaking the cycle of inequity through bold and impactful actions
• Take the stage as an industry leader, encouraging other brands to invest in women’s sports
• Make Ally one of the top brands synonymous with the advancement of women’s sports

Tier One orchestrated an opportunity for Ally’s Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer Andrea Brimmer to make a first-of-its-kind announcement at the espnW Women + Sports Summit; there, she announced Ally’s commitment to reach equal ad spending across women’s and men’s sports by 2027. With Ally already a substantial advertiser in men’s sports across NASCAR, Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball and college football, this was no small commitment. The announcement was followed with the launch of a national advocacy campaign titled “Watch the Game to Change the Game,” running across national digital and TV.

Then, Ally delivered the first decisive outcome in its push to elevate women’s sports coverage in primetime. Together with CBS and the NWSL, Ally moved the Women’s Soccer Championship game from its original noon ET kickoff to 8 p.m. ET. This marked the first time a women’s championship game in any sport would be aired on a major network in primetime.

The Result

166M+ total impressions: The Athletic, Adweek, The Gist, Just Women’s Sports, Business Insider, American Banker, Fortune, Front Office Sports, Sports Business Journal.

The campaign resonated, with 40% more consumers likely to open an account at Ally, 1.6x higher than Ally’s historical average (source: Ace Metrix).

Ally is featured as a top five brand in women’s sports – alongside Nike, Gatorade, Adidas and Coca-Cola, all of which have had a presence in sports for decades longer (data: SponsorUnited).