Alliance calls for brands to better engage with females to get active

As the nation prepares to celebrate the incredible performances of our Olympians and Paralympians in Rio; the Sport and Recreation Alliance is calling for sponsors to better engage females with their brands. The Alliance believes that brands partnering with sport should recognise that women are the most powerful consumers on the planet making 85% of all purchasing decisions.

In a poll conducted by the Sport and Recreation Alliance in association with Perkins Slade, 68% of women said that they watched the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Yet, of the 70,769 mentions of official Olympic sponsors on social media during the first days of the Games, women accounted for just 33.5% of the conversations.

The poll also revealed that 41% of women said that social media influenced their buying decisions. For females aged 18 – 34 the value of social media is even greater with 67% stating their buying decisions were influenced by what they saw on the like of Twitter and Instagram.

Whilst there is still room for growth, commercial brands are missing a clear opportunity to further increase the value of investment by ignoring the potential of the pink pound.

At any one time 28% of people in England are inactive. Women and girls have been identified as a group that are significantly less likely to play sport and be physically active than the population in general. We know from our own research that women are more likely to be inspired to do more physical activity by major sports events like the Olympic and Paralympic Games than men and therefore it is important that sponsors capitalise on this.

Brands must use the platform of sport as an opportunity to actively engage the captive female audience and create an experience that will inspire women and girls to be involved in sport whether through spectating, volunteering or participation.

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