ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will look at the subject of women’s sports and how there are unique challenges and opportunities both on the team and individual levels. We will also look at the differences in publicity in women’s sports outside of the United States and how these issues can be addressed. Now, some of the suggestions in this chapter may seem repetitive or generic to promoting any sports entity, regardless of whether the sport is co-ed, men, or women. However, it is the experience of those working in entities that involve women’s sports that these thoughts bear repeating or establishing with clear examples geared to women’s athletics. The reason is this is still very much a growth area and is a prime entry point for those entering the sports publicity field. The social acceptance of women as athletes has grown in light-years since the 1980s, and with it the participation in athletics as socially acceptable has also risen dramatically. That growth has begun to take a foothold in developing countries as well, and that area of growth will also be an area for the emerging publicist. The establishment of women’s athletics in the mainstream is growing, but is not at the point of across the board acceptance in what has traditionally been a male dominated field. This chapter will look at the specificities of women’s sports from a publicity vantage point. From the advent of Title IX to the growing discretionary spending of women and girls and the continuing emerging of marketing to a female audience, the opportunities appear endless. The success of the WNBA as a league, along with the strong continued force of women’s athletics in gymnastics, figure skating, tennis, and golf, appear to have the opportunities for publicity at an all-time high, especially in the United States. Still, there are the many failures when the element of sports is brought to the marketplace. Leagues like the ABL, WUSA, WPS, even the AVP (where elite female volleyball players were the real stars) and others have tried and failed to crack the mainstream. The name recognition in the male-dominated sports world, especially outside the United States, is lacking behind male athletes, and in doing so the sponsor dollar also lags behind. Although that is not great for
the dollar value in women’s sports, it is not a terrible thing for the publicity side at this time. As women’s athletics continue to establish a foothold, the driving force behind the growth has been the publicity angle. We will take a look at some case studies in the chapter of some of the successes in crossover publicity on the collegiate and professional level, but before here is a look at the differences and challenges in publicizing women, or women and men together as opposed to a male athlete focused sport or event.
