The 2023 Women’s World Cup drew to a close with triumph for Spain and heartbreak for England and its Lionesses. Off the field, the tournament has recorded record viewership, and interest from brands all over the world from the likes of Nike, Sure, and EA. We’ve seen the highlight reel of the top goals and moments from the tournament, but what are the top Women’s World Cup influencer marketing campaigns?
Let’s take a look.
1. Powerade
Powerade is one of the world’s most popular isotonic sports drinks, and a great cure for a sore head thanks to its ability to rehydrate and restore electrolytes, makes a lot of sense that the brand is the official rehydration partner for a lot of the world’s top sports teams.
What they did
Ahead of the Women’s World Cup the brand channeled its #PauseIsPower initiative, which challenges the “win at all costs” mentality in sport by portraying the pause – a moment of laughter, reflection, community and recovery. This is seen by the brand as an act of humanity with regenerative benefits.#PauseIsPower was back on TikTok for the Women’s World Cup, with creators advocating the pause, for a gulp of Powerade.
Why it worked
With football being full of ups and downs, Powerade’s messaging reiterates the importance of embracing the pause and being a fan, no matter what the final score is. The activated influencers do a great job of conveying the brand’s messaging, and promoting a healthier sporting environment by challenging potentially toxic mindsets.
2. Rexona
Rexona is a deodorant and antiperspirant brand serving the underarms of Australia. Fun fact; while marketed under Rexona in most countries, it is known as Rexena across Japan and South Korea, Sure in the UK, Ireland and India, Shield in South Africa, and Degree in the US and Canada. We helped the brand bring its influencer campaign to life ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
What they did
Rexona partnered with the FIFA Women’s World Cup to celebrate the tournament held down under. The partnership saw the launch of a game built within the virtual world of Roblox. The Rexona Obby FIFA World featured a range of interactive games and rewards, offering players an engaging way to learn more about women’s football, and even interact with some stars of the women’s game. We helped Rexona activate creators from gaming and football niches to raise awareness for the new game, the Women’s World Cup, and to encourage more young girls to play football.
Why it worked
Our influencer content was built around the launch of the Roblox virtual world. Influencers promoting this showed viewers how the world looked, the different challenges and rewards available, and the educational elements that sought to raise awareness for the women’s game.
The campaign looked to be a great move for raising the profile of women’s football, and encouraging further participation from young girls. With 44% of Roblox players being female, Rexona clearly did their research on where best to find their target audience.
Roblox has long-been adopted by brands looking to target younger audiences, we’ve seen this from the likes of fashion giant Gucci, and fast-food chain Chipotle. The virtual realm continues to offer value to brands looking to unlock a younger demographic.
3. EA Sports FC
The artist formerly known as FIFA, EA Sports FC is an immensely popular football video game that has rebranded ahead of this years’ release. The current edition, FIFA 23, features a Women’s World Cup playable mode, which enables players to play out the tournament virtually, and own World Cup themed items and players within the FIFA Ultimate Team store.
What they did
EA activated popular influencers from football and gaming verticals on TikTok including Fara Williams, Lil Jr, and Shauna Games. The influencer content sought to raise awareness of the playable World Cup mode within EA’s game. Viewers were treated to ad creatives depicting all the different nations and players competing in the tournament in real life, and that were accessible within the game. The creators also talked through the different features available in-game, and the added incentives for regular FIFA Ultimate Team players.
Why it worked
FIFA, or EA Sports FC, is incredibly popular and is rife with audiences who are interested in football. Those playing the game naturally have more of an affinity for football in the real world. By developing a playable game mode, EA were able to target its hyper-engaged fandom and bring the world of women’s football right to where they spend a lot of their time. FIFA was once a men’s only game that only featured the male teams and nations, so it is great to see EA supporting and raising awareness of women’s football, and driving further viewership and engagement around the World Cup by partnering with creators.
4. Sure
Sure, known as Rexona in other parts of the world, is one of the UK’s biggest deodorant and antiperspirant brands. We helped Sure bring their Women’s World Cup campaign to life in the UK.
What they did
Sure Sport UK looked to raise the profile of its Breaking Limits programme, whilst promoting the Women’s World Cup, Roblox virtual world, and encouraging more women to take up football. Sure’s Breaking Limits initiative equips young people with the confidence and opportunity to move however they want.
Why it worked
While our Rexona campaign was more centered around the Obby FIFA World in Roblox, with our Sure campaign we wanted to put the power behind the message to get moving.
We helped Sure partner with influencers from gaming, lifestyle, and football verticals. We activated creators including Manchester City’s football presenter Natalie Pike, and YouTube gaming duo LetsPlayGamesWithoutSkills. Throughout the content we heard the influencers speak about the lack of opportunities available to women in football when they were growing up. Our messaging sought to reflect the positive changes Sure implemented with its campaign, and how the brand planned to empower young girls and provide them with the opportunities to get involved in football. Across Instagram and YouTube Shorts, our activated influencers took to the field to practice their football skills to show off the different ways in which viewers could get moving.
5. Nike
One of the largest athletic, footwear and apparel brands on the planet, and official kit sponsor of the England national team, Nike needs no introduction.
What they did
Nike’s support for the Women’s World Cup was by far the biggest and most widespread. From ways to style the England home shirt to the #LikeALionessChallenge, there’s a lot to like about Nike’s Women’s World Cup campaign.
To drive the hype around England’s World Cup fixtures and for the Nike sponsored England jersey, Nike activated popular football vertical influencers. Viewers were treated to content from Josh Denzel, who took on a pre match ritual whilst offering styling inspiration for his England jersey. The brand also activated Ben Black to showcase the jersey in what he called “his favorite kit of the summer.”
Nike also set up the #LikeALionessChallenge on TikTok, kicked off with a sponsored post from dancer Becki Louise, and followed up with user-generated content from those inspired to submit their own dance videos.
The apparel brand also activated one of the UK’s biggest influencers in Amelia Dimoldenberg who went behind the scenes with the Lionesses, recreating the #passthephone TikTok trend alongside the players and young girls from the Football Beyond Borders initiative.
Why it worked
Nike implemented a strategy that effectively helped generate engagement around the Women’s World Cup, whilst also tapping into the mediums that are successful on TikTok. Hashtag challenges are excellent drivers of engagement on the platform that encourage participation and content submissions from platform users.
The brand’s understanding of TikTok is even more prevalent considering the use of popular TikTok trends that typically drive a lot of engagement. Nike even nailed its influencer partnerships, partnering with the likes of Josh Denzel and Ben Black whose audiences live and breathe football, but might not have considered watching the Women’s World Cup. By showing their audiences that these influencers support women’s football, Nike are helping to alter the perception of the women’s game.
Brands Raising Awareness for Women’s Football
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will go down in history as a turning point in Women’s football. This year there has been record viewership, a buzz reverberating throughout all of social media, and brands have started to take more action towards representing the game. The influencer campaigns launched around the tournament have not only sought to stand in solidarity with women’s football, but to spark the next generation of football fans.
Unlike men’s football, women’s football does not receive the same astronomical viewership, which means opportunities for brands are far less scarce. If brands were to market around the tournament but focus solely on driving product sales, they would be labeled tone deaf. The brands spotlighted here chose to amplify messaging around Women’s football rather than focus solely on their own intentions. Sure and Rexona, for example, committed to providing more opportunities for young girls in football, whereas Powerade challenged toxic mentalities that arise in sport. These brands have been able to authentically win over support from younger fans across social media, and helped raise the profile of women’s football by using formats frequent with Gen Z like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
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