Adam MillerSports Marketing

February 15, 2010

In deciding whether or not the WNBA segmented and positioned its product correctly,

it’s important to realize that marketing the league was naturally going to be an uphill battle even

though there was demand for a women’s league. Throughout the case study, the WNBA

constantly drew a correlation that stated basketball fans who liked the NBA would automatically

like the WNBA as well. These assumptions automatically meant that the WNBA was going to be

unsuccessful in marketing its product because it tried to use some of the same strategies an NBA

team would use, while at the same time trying to be different. Part of the process also included

assessing other smaller leagues to see what their strategies are and whether or not they are

successful. From a realistic standpoint, the WNBA is competing with minor league sports such

as Arena Football, the American Hockey League and Minor League Baseball. While none of

them are as successful as their major league counterparts, they still bring fans to the stadium with

a marketing strategy that is practical for the WNBA to follow.

One of the main audiences the WNBA targeted was men who are 20-39 years old.

Although it would make common sense that sports fans who watch a lot of television would like

another sport, the league didn’t take into account that it competes with baseball, which is perhaps

even more popular than the NBA. Baseball is much more of an obsession to sports fans than

basketball ever could be (except for the Michael Jordan era) because of the statistics. Baseball

fans care so much about their sport that many of them keep their own stats or try to derive

formulas that figure out which player is the best. If there is any hardcore fan base in the WNBA,

it’s very small, which is why the WNBA will always struggle to get that kind of fan interested in

women’s basketball. It’s likely that the hardcore sports fans are the ones who picked up the sport

they love since they were kids and as adults aren’t going to want to add a new league to their

interests when baseball is around. It’s also very difficult to get men that age to watch women’s

sports because women are generally not as athletic as the men are so watching a women’s sport

is sometimes equated to watching an inferior sport. Even if it is a stereotype, the budget for

women’s sports generally isn’t as big as men’s sports, which makes it lose some of the glamor.

Many men’s college basketball players and NBA players are seen as celebrities around the

country. Women athletes generally aren’t considered celebrities unless they’re on the cover of a

magazine or are dating someone famous.

The WNBA made a conscious effort to position its league as one full of role models. This

strategy could’ve been very effective, considering how much complaining the general public has

about athletes being bad examples for children. However, in some of the other aspects the

positioning statement mentions, it tries too hard to be similar to the NBA when it should’ve tried

to make itself like a different sport. The AFL is a good example of that. It’s still a football league

and is opposite when the NFL is, but it was successful because it had more relaxed rules than the

NFL and it promoted high scoring with a 50-yard playing field. The WNBA has the exact same

rules, but lower scoring, which makes the game a lot more boring. Another example that is not as

drastic, but just as effective in the AHL compared to the NHL. For many years in Chicago, the

Wolves were more popular than the Blackhawks because the team provided such a fan-friendly

experience and tried to create a family atmosphere. The WNBA needs to do the same, because it

cannot expect to emulate the NBA and get the same results since the quality of play isn’t as high.

However, if it markets itself as something different and tries to make the game more exciting, the

fans will eventually come out.

In order for the WNBA to be successful, it has to do a better job at making itself stand out

from the NBA. If the NBA is going to be part of the promotional strategy, it should be only as

complementary partners, but not as a comparison. For instance, when WNBA fans buy a ticket

package, they should receive some sort of voucher to buy tickets for that city’s NBA team or

make public appearances with players on an NBA team. This sort of promotion would be a lot

more productive than trying to create an NBA arena experience where the crowd is at least twice

the size of most WNBA crowds. In addition, there needs to be more of an effort to target people

who aren’t already big sports fans by making the game fan-friendly and the players more

available to the public. There is plenty of precedent to suggest that leagues that aren’t in the Big

Four can do well if it implements the right strategy. The best way to be successful is to promote

the league as a fun, but cheap family outing. It should focus on the middle-class demographic,

who might be sports fans, but can’t necessarily afford a baseball game. It can attract the family

by turning the game into more of a spectacle, such as having the mascots more involved, offer

more prizes and giveaways, or providing more entertainment.