Writing for The Media Leader, Newsworks communications manager Lewis Boulton encourages advertisers to harness the Lionesses’ mounting support this summer — both for the commercial benefits and to support the next golden generation
England’s 2022 final triumph attracted the biggest British TV audience ever for a standalone women’s football match — 17.4 million people. With rising momentum at the UK grassroots level and soaring global viewership, the dial is finally moving on women’s football. However, Boulton urges advertisers not to lose momentum.
“Advertisers can’t afford to ignore this year’s Euros”, he writes. “Commercially, it offers brands significant opportunities to harness the Lionesses’ growing fanbase. However, this tournament could also be vital to ensuring girls inspired today can become England’s footballing heroes tomorrow.”
With news brands a key part of football fans’ diet, publishers also saw a bump in attention during England’s run to Euro’s glory. Time spent on news brand football content during the month of the 2022 competition’s final stages was 71% higher than a year later, the month before England’s run to the World Cup final.
The Euros success led news brands to invest heavily into World Cup coverage the following year, becoming a big hit with the millions of football fans who read news brands.
Boulton writes: “This rising engagement will make news brands valuable for advertisers come Euro 2025. While 13m UK adults consume both women and men’s football coverage in news brands, women’s football fans are 20% more likely to read UK news brands and 71% more likely to turn to them for purchase inspiration than the average adult.”
However, ad investment has an impact far beyond brand success; supporting the game with exposure and financial backing could help build a lasting legacy for generations of young girls to come.
.“Short-term investment isn’t sustainable in the women’s game,” Tottenham and England striker Bethany England told the Newsworks Speakeasy at MAD//FEST last year.
“Investors need to know it’s not going to be an easy ride but you’re in it for the long haul to sustain the sport and help people achieve their dreams.”
Read more insights in Lewis Boulton’s full piece for The Media Leader.