ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we compare the ways in which women athletes are represented in the media coverage of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and the Olympic Games (OG) and discuss how these presentations are positive for the sponsors of the female athletes. We focused on two sports—cross-country skiing and handball. We collected and examined 867 articles from 4 different sources. The massive coverage of the female profiles in their respective OG is not mirrored in the coverage of the best junior athletes in the YOG. In addition, cross-country skiing is getting significant more coverage than handball. Further, there is a strong link between the main sponsors (Aker ASA (cross-country skiing) and Gjensidige (handball) values and the actual media presentation. Both Aker ASA and Gjensidige accomplish positive brand image transfer of values such as preparedness, collectivity, proud ownership, vibrant soul, team spirit, helping, and caring, from sponsoring and supporting these female teams. Arguably, the media presentations highlighted in this chapter also help establish positive fit between the teams and the sponsors, through inference of associations transferred from the team values to the sponsor companies’ brand values.
