August 6, 2025 • 27 mins
When the U.S. Women’s National Team won the 2019 Women's World Cup, a stadium full of fans chanted “equal pay” instead of “USA”—and Laura Correnti took note. She tells Inside the Ice House how that moment inspired the journey to founding Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment, what brands need to know about strategic investment, and why the growth curve is just getting started.
00:44 The Rise of Women's Sports
01:25 Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment
01:40 Key Trends from Cannes Lion
02:53 The Evolution of Brand Storytelling
03:35 The Impact of AI and Individual Creators
05:53 The Business of Women's Sports
09:02 Challenges and Opportunities in Women's Sports Marketing
17:05 The Future of Women's Sports
23:10 Strategic Approaches for Brands
25:50 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
From the New York Stock Exchange at the corner of
Wall and Broad Streets in New York City. Welcome inside
the Ice House, our podcast from Intercontinental Exchange is your
go to for the latest on markets, leadership, vision and business.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
For over two.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hundred and thirty years, the NYIC has been the beating
heart of global growth. Each week we bring you inspiring
stories of innovators, job creators, and the movers and shakers
of capitalism here at the NYIC and ices exchanges around
the world. Now let's go inside the ice House. Here's
your host, Lance GLIM.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Women's sports are breaking barriers and commanding the spotlight like
never before, reshaping the landscape of athletics and marketing alike.
With record breaking viewership and soaring fan engagement, Female athletes
are stepping up not just as competitors, but as powerful
brand ambassadors. Big brands are recognizing their influence, tapping into
(01:04):
authentic stories and fierce talent to connect with passionate, purpose
driven audiences. Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment helps brands turn
investments in women's sports into real business drivers bylining purpose
with performance. Using strategic storytelling and data driven insights, they
create meaningful connections with fans. Founded in twenty twenty three
(01:27):
by Today's Guests CEO Laura Currente, deep Blue has grown
to become the trusted partner for those ready to do
more than support from the sidelines. Laura, thanks so much
for joining us inside the ice house.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Thank you so much for having me. Thrilled to be
here so Laura.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment made a powerful statement at
can lyon this Yune with the Women's Sports Yacht Club.
Supported by JP Morgan Chase. The activation brought together athletes, brands,
and change makers for panel discussions that explore the evolving
landscape of women's sports and its role in marketing. Just
taking it all in, what key trends or takeaways did
(02:03):
you observe and how brands are now approaching women's sports
and the broader entertainment ecosystem.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Sure well, I think first and foremost, if there was
one thing that was a clear takeaway judging by the
steady stream of attendees and participants we had over the
course of our three days, is women's sports is not
a fluke. It is a very viable business. It is
a very viable market, and there's one that is accelerating
(02:31):
at warp speed, both in terms of investment coming into
the space as well as the returns that those investors,
be it you know, private equity, venture all the way
through to brand and media are seeing as a result
of their interests and overall support of the space.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
And you know, can lyon often serves as a crystal
ball for where the marketing world is headed. So stepping
just outside of sports for a moment and looking at
the broader themes from the festival, how do you think
brand storytelling is evolving and will change over the you know,
the year plus to come.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Sure it was an interesting uh year in that to
your point, every year you look at for new formats
or ways of storytelling. Right, it is the largest creative
festival in the world, and so everything you hope is
in service of improving, iterating, optimizing how storytelling is not
only captured, told, but also distributed. And the two biggest
(03:29):
I would say banners that were hanging across the quasette,
if you will, were that of AI. I think the
advertising industry is absolutely enamored with the potential prospect and
also implications of what you know, this this industry will
bring into the world of creativity, advertising, media marketing, and
(03:51):
at the same token, the other one would be that
of influence, be it creators, be it influencers, those who
are taking creativity into their own hands, and you know,
many of which are using some of these tools to
help storytell to help distribute their work. But ultimately, you know,
definitely this this interesting transition over the years of the
(04:13):
way of institution perhaps falling to that of the individual,
and how those individuals are leveraging the tools, technology and
resources available in the free market and across the free
web to help them accelerate their platforms and the stories
that they want to tell.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
And so you operate right really at the intersection of media,
marketing and culture in a world increasingly influenced by AI,
which you obviously mentioned, you know, data and really rapidly
shifting cultural moments. How are you just seeing creativity being redefined?
What does it mean to be truly original and resonant
(04:50):
in this evolving landscape?
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Sure, you know, I think one thing I've learned over
the course of my twenty plus years in the industry
is data is directional, right, freethinking, free flow of creativity
and ideas is something that cannot be automated, it can
be enhanced, that can be advanced. But ultimately, I think
figuring out the roles and responsibilities of creative in conjunction
(05:15):
with not as opposed to or and in sort of
fighting against the tide of technological advancement is something that
the advertising industry needs to be prepared for. And so
I think what you're seeing is this great period of exploration.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
We are at the earliest days.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Some are well out in front in leveraging, how they're
using it, you know, to apply it to creative thinking
about you know, even use case of research for strategy
all the way through to the distribution and development of content.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
But what informs it right, the prompts that.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
We put in the way that we're developing the algorithm,
how we're eliminating biases, all of these things are important
for the advertising industry to consider, not just with respect
to how it can support the output, but ultimately how
we can shape and inform the inputs.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
So I want to turn the spotlight now onto women's
sports because its rise has truly been one of the
most compelling stories in media and marketing. I have a
sports background. While I'm at the NYC now, I started
off in sports media covering detail. Yeah, I covered college
football recruiting for Paramount and did podcasts for them for
(06:23):
about three years. So I have a little bit of
an idea of just the sports landscape and the sports
media landscape and how it's evolved. And the rise of
women's sports has been just so wonderful to see. You know,
we've seen athletes like Caitlin Clark, Page, Becker's, Cocoa GoF
some owned bios, just to name a few. They've become
marquee faces for major brands. There's clearly, I think a
(06:45):
shift happening and how companies are thinking about these athletes
and just about women's sports as a whole. So from
your vantage point, how is the momentum or how is
this momentum I should say, reshaping just marketing strategies really
across industries does have to just be sports, right, They're
they're becoming the brands and the faces of industries from
(07:06):
insurance to skincare to you know, cars to whatever it
might be.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Yeah, I think it's important to break down sort of
the why now, why are we experiencing this pechgeist breaking
moment and you know, some of the things we were
just referencing with respect to technological advancement's access through things
like social media, the ability for these athletes to bypass
some of the gatekeeping that has happened that has kept
women their platforms, the sports they play, their off court regimens,
(07:39):
for example, out of the media and out of the press,
to mainstream and create access and awareness for fans has
all been disintermediated thanks to the advancements in technology, social media,
you know, and many of the other tools that they
have available to them to build the fandom that we're
all seeing and experiencing and able to measure today. But
(07:59):
when we started deeply sports and entertainment, you know, it
was important to understand, I should say, it's important to
go back to the origin of why we developed the
company in the first place, and then sort of take
a full throttle two years later to how this is
manifesting at the Canline Festival. But ultimately, when we got
into the business, it was really informed by an interesting
moment that happened in twenty nineteen. This was the year
(08:22):
that the US women's national team had won the Women's
World Cup in France. This also happens to be the
very same year the US women's national team, a number
of their players sued their employer in US Soccer for
equal pay and one and in that final game when
they were lifting the trophy, something really sort of chilling happened.
(08:43):
The entire crowd in that stadium started chanting equal pay
instead of USA. And it was this moment in time
where many of the broadcasters, commentators, a social media feed
was lit up around are we experiencing a new moment
in women's sports? Felt that level of you know, shape
shifting happened since perhaps Brandy Chestin and rips Off her penalty,
(09:05):
you know, with rips Off for Jersey and her penalty
shot winning moment in ninety nine. But the reality was,
inasmuch as there was a ton of consumer excitement, fan hype,
commentating inquiry, the reality is the advertising, media and marketing industry,
which is very critical in making sports and entertainment economies
(09:26):
go round, wasn't batting an eye. Not only were they
not interested, they weren't investing, and you start to dig
into why, and with women's sports, what we've come to
learn over the course of the last few years is
that it wasn't a product issue. That team I was
just referencing in the US women's national team is probably
one of the most winning teams in the world men
or women period. So it's not a product issue. They
(09:49):
were dominant for decades. It's not a story issue. You've
got athletes and you covered many of them, so you
know who are multi dimensional, multi hyphen it. You know,
I love seeing athletes today like Flage john Soon, he's
a star basketball player for LSU's women's basketball program, and
also recording artists. Know the dimentionality of what these women
bring to the table wasn't being covered. And when you
(10:12):
start to ask why it's not being covered and why
it's not being invested in, you start to realize it's
not a product issue.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
It's not a storytelling issue.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
It's a system's issue and a small microcosm of that.
Just to give you an example and to get nerdy
with it for a second, the way women's sports is
transacted on and what I mean by that is how
advertisers come to the table to buy inventory. So advertising
space in and around women's sports competition, be it games, playoffs, championships,
(10:40):
whatever the case may be, is on the same currency
and the same measurement system as that of men's So
if you're somebody who's buying on behalf of a brand,
and you're presented Monday Night football or perhaps the WNBA playoffs,
and you have a dollar to spend, and most advertisers
are driving you to get as many eyeballs or scale
(11:01):
as possible, as cost efficiently as possible, I can tell
you where that dollar is likely going ten out of
ten times, because I don't have to justify the decision
in something that has been scaled and something that has
been measured over decades. And so you start to realize
the system is broken. And so we got in and
around this space, not just to celebrate, of course, we're
(11:23):
doing that and highlight so much of the incredible work
that these athletes are doing, but it's really the right
size the systems and infrastructure that sits around it to
ensure that the coverage and the awareness exists so that
it's a commercial opportunity that is viable, that is sustainable,
and that can grow.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
And you know, to that point of growth, I would say,
just from you know, an outside observer's standpoint, the audience
for women's sports is growing immensely. I mean, just look
at the WNBA and you know, whether you think it's
because of Kaitlin Clark or Angel Rees or pagebackers, whoever
you may think may be driving this sort of interest
(12:05):
in the league, it's clear that that interest has increased substantially,
and it's far more evidence and notable on TV, in endorsements,
just in you know, overall marketing and advertisements as a whole.
It's clear that the fan base for women's sports, it's passionate,
(12:30):
values driven, obviously fiercely loyal. But when it comes to brands,
how are brands adjusting their messaging and creative strategies to
authentically tap into that passionate, loyal, value driven fan base
and connect with this engaged community, This community that I
think can sort of tell a part the brands that
(12:54):
are just getting into it because they think it's a
nice trend, but the brands that are in it, you know,
with authenticity.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Yeah, before I answer that question, I think two notable
points to the coverage and the explosion of audience. I
just did a great podcast on my show called Courtside
with Loura Curreny with Coley Edison, who's the chief Growth
officer of the WMBA. So I encourage your listeners to
check that one out, because the amount of statistics that
Coley rattled off in double and triple digit lift just
(13:23):
over the course of her time there, which was starting
in twenty twenty two to twenty twenty five. I don't
know that you see many of those types of returns
in any industry. So I think there's definitely something to
everything you just alluded to, but a lot of it
does come with coverage. WNBA legend Sue Byrd as a
partner in Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment, and Sue often
reminds me that she was playing in sould that arenas
(13:44):
when she played for Yukon. But the coverage, the interest
from the media, the awareness of the advertising community perhaps
wasn't just up to part yet. So it is interesting
to see the implications of what media coverage, what advertising investment,
what overall resource and infrastructure means to increase that fandom. Yes,
(14:05):
but it is interesting to see the coverage and how
it's impacted that. So fast forward to your question with
respect to brand investment. Many brands coming into the space
first of all recognizing that the returns are astronomical.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
In that same podcast I was alluding to with Coley Edison.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
She talked about for league partners, between the twenty twenty
four or twenty twenty three to twenty twenty four season,
they saw thirteen x an average of thirteen X return
on their investment. I'm talking to the center of culture
and Commerce right now at ICE. You know that that
type of return is really phenomenal and a lot of
(14:41):
that you know, then you start trickling down into what
contributes to that. Yes, ticket sales are up, merchandise or
sales are up, ratings are up, and you know, you
can attribute it to so many different things. But ultimately,
at the end of the day, what we are most
concerned with is how do you sustain it? And when
it comes to brands and investment, many of them are
(15:01):
recognizing this isn't an industry. You're coming in and applying
the men's sports playbook to the women's sports playbook, and
that meaning you're just coming for reach. You're slapping a logo,
you're running a thirty second TV spot knowing that the
audience is there, tuned in and ready to receive it
because they've had decades of familiarity in that game day experience.
Perhaps to engage women's sports is a much different situation.
(15:24):
You're building something from the ground up and so authenticity storytelling,
how you're leveraging the storylines the athletes is really important.
At the Cannline Festival this year, we were fortunate enough
to have a number of experts across the space and
there was one panel in particular which featured Coally from
the WNBA on Maal Melhotra from Snap obviously seeing the
(15:47):
rise gen z Jen a fastest growing audience in women's sports,
absolutely dialed in, but dialed in differently and that's equally
important to understand as well as as well as Molly
mcgardal from Genus Sorts and Molly mcgardal cited an example
a case study of CarMax for example, who is a
partner of the w n b A and when Carmacks
(16:09):
decided to feature w n b A athletes in their commercials,
full stop, triple digit lift and overall brand returns. So
the level of influence, you know, brands starting to recognize how,
where and when they engage, recognizing that you have a
rabid fan base you use the word loyal one that
(16:30):
has been part of building this thing from the ground
up and will hold advertisers accountable for how they decided
to engage and enter the space, and so it does
require a level of education and understanding that you're not
just picking up something that worked over there and applying
it over here. It is a unique fan base with
unique needs and unique interests, and I think it's those,
(16:52):
I should say, those who pay attention to that and
put real strategy around it are the one that we're
seeing thrive and succeed with rates of return that you
know you'd be hard pressed to find in many other
industries as an advertiser.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Great rates of return. Surely an increase just in terms
of overall viewership and overall excitement and energy towards women's sports.
And with this rapid growth, I think comes even greater
opportunity to build on that momentum. And we're looking ahead,
I think pretty much all of us in the in
the country and those interested in sports right to LA
twenty eight, you know, not too far, not too far away,
(17:31):
only years and we're gonna blink. You know, we're gonna blink.
Twenty six will be past us, and the twenty eight
Olympics will be here. I know, you know, I've talked
to Paul Rabel, We've had him on the podcast, and
I know he's very excited about lacrosse obviously joining the
Olympics that year, and I know there's a bunch of
other sports coming in twenty six twenty eight. But when
it comes to LA twenty eight, the Olympics, they offer
(17:52):
a massive global stage and a massive global marketing moment,
not just here in the United States but around the world.
How do you see an event like that serving as
a launchpad for women's sports and women's sports marketing, both
in terms of just visibility and long term investment from
brands and media platforms.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Yeah, I think LA twenty eight won't be a launch
It'll be about longevity.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I think what we saw in the Paris Games.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
This was the first Olympic Games on record where there
were equal number of participants of male and female athletes.
But you could argue, and there is data to back
this up, that the female athletes absolutely dominated with respect
to press coverage, interest, overall awareness. I mean alone, a
mare capture the hearts not just of Americans and the
rugby community, but fans around the world, putting rugby on
(18:39):
a map, and a level of awareness that I don't
know that we've ever seen when it comes to women's rugby,
perhaps rugby at large. The US women's national team winning
gold under the new leadership of Emma Hayes and her
first major tournament as a coach. Simone Biles, I mean,
Katie Ledecki, I mean, go down the list of just
dominance the US women's national team. The USA women's basketball
(19:03):
program hasn't lost a basketball game since nineteen ninety two.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
One gold again.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
So the storylines are there, and I think women were
the story in Paris last summer, and I think what
we're going to see in twenty eight, which it's being reported,
will be the first time so we were at equity,
or I should say we were at parody in the
Paris Games. Women participants will actually outnumber that of their
male counterparts going into that. And to your point, so
(19:31):
many new storylines, so many new stars to be made,
so much to cover. I'm excited to see things like
flag football and how that's shaping up. You're already starting
to see breadcrumbs of it from the NFL and other
organizations around the country, And so I think what it
presents perhaps not a launch pad for the women's sports industry,
but a launch pad for new stars, a launch pad
(19:53):
for new storylines, the ability for us to fall in
love all over again with those who we've come to
know and learn and love during their time playing to
date and those that will be cheering in their debuts
and moving forward. And so I think these markers are
incredible spikes, incredible peaks for that scale that women's sports
has been missing, and a chance to understand how do
(20:15):
you keep it there, how do you build that sustained
engagement coming off of it? And I think what we're
excited to see on the back end of twenty eight
is the hopeful of the United States being the host
country for the twenty thirty one Women's World Cup. So
for us, it's a let's keep it going. But I
think being very strategic about the peaks and valleys, sustaining
these periods of professional growth in between these big global
(20:38):
moments to your point, but making sure that they aren't
every four year moments, because I think that is something
we suffer from in the advertising community. Quick to rally
around those peaks, but how are we leading into them
and how are we sustaining them? And I think that
is what many of US are strategizing now getting ready
for twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Absolutely so as women's sports gains this moment or has
gained momentum and will continue to do so. Just how
do you see the future shaping up for brands that
were early champions compared to those now entering the space.
Do you think there is like a distinct sort of
first mover advantage for those who invested early or could
(21:18):
you see brands that maybe waited a little bit and
are now investing still have their moment at the top.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Well, I think those that invested early, and you know,
I think brands like Alli Financial is a great one
to point to, who made a very strategic and measurable
bet a few years ago in their fifty to fifty
pledge where they were the first brand ever on record
to say, for every dollar media dollar will spend in
men's sports, we will spend in women's sports in a
quantifiable period of time. They are aggressively approaching that goal
(21:46):
in real time as we speak, and the numbers prove it.
Andrew Brimmer, their CMO, has gone on record, you know,
can be looked up by anyone to see what the
measurable returns have been. So from a business dam point.
Those who got in early, invested in the long game,
absolutely have benefited on the bottom line, but they can't
(22:07):
rest there the amount of inbound, especially those of non endemics.
I think we've seen a ton of financial service brands
who have come into the space, Telco, tech, you know, auto,
et cetera. You know. Now we're what we're starting to see,
you know, in our own backyard here in New York.
I love some of the partnerships that the New York Liberty,
for example, have been bringing to the forefront. Last year
(22:31):
we broke he Deeplu Sports Entertainment broke her to deal
with Bumble, the dating app to talk about women making
the first move. This year, we just broke her to
partnership with vadgisil, first ever partnership for that brand in
the sports arena. And so you're starting to see non endemics.
But those that are endemic to the female consumer, to
the female athlete come online in ways in which they
(22:54):
are benefiting. So the space is getting crowded. The famous saying,
you know, yesterday's price is today's price. So those that
got in early cannot rest on that first mover designation.
They need to be you know, all gas, no breaks,
because the market is heating up, and so in order
to maintain that, you need to continually iterate and find
(23:15):
new and differentiated ways to break through. And what I
anticipate will be a very crowded market between now and
that LA twenty eight goal post you just spoke about.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
So, Laura, as we wrap up our conversation at Deep
Blue Sports and Entertainment, how are you advising your clients
and the brands you work with to approach the women's
sports space differently today compared to just a few years
ago when you started the company in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Sure, I mean we're talking about And one of the
biggest takeaways from the can Line Festival, just to bring
it full circle, is this shift from breakthrough to build out.
I think it was very easy to get in and
hang your banner and say we support women's sports just
two years ago. I mean may not talking about a
very long time ago. Two years ago as this Zeitgei's
breaking moments started to happen. But as the space matures,
(24:04):
as more investment in infrastructure comes in, as more facilities
are being built, teams are coming online, leagues are being formed.
It's important for advertisers to take a strategic approach, right.
This is not just about coming in and hanging your
banner and logo, slapping a badge and you know, saying
we're here to support this space. This is about strategic
growth and the same way you would approach anything from business,
(24:25):
men's sports, technology, I mean, any industry that you are
looking to break through in and advertise it warrants a
strategy and so ultimately for us, this is really about
value exchange. The way forward that we see at women's
sports for people to extract the most return is not
just about looking at this as a scale play, but
as a deep engagement play, and that requires a two
(24:46):
way street with respect to women's sports. Those that are
seeing the biggest returns are not only coming in and
reaching the women's sports audience, they're also really providing some
sort of value exchange, whether it's more access, free access
to content, whether that's meet and greet with their favorite players,
whether that's enhanced game day experiences, thinking about things like
media training for athletes, and how they can create an
(25:08):
overall more sophisticated ecosystem for example. So value exchange is
something that we talk a lot with our brand partners
about and by the way, that isn't always financial. That
comes down to strategic and human capital as well. So,
for example, if ICE and the Stock Exchange were to
invest in women's sports, you know, use it at the
epicenter of how business operates. Well, many of these athletes,
(25:30):
our business operators, our entrepreneurs are multi hyphenates. They can
of course benefit from your investment with respect to dollars,
but also in your intelligence, know how, in access, and
so we're really working with brands to say, when we
think about investment, it isn't just about dollars and cents.
It is about intellect, it is about human capital, It
is about strategic capital and resource capital.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
In many instances.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
And so the more we can bolster and bolt on
to this, the farther expanse and accelerant we think women's
sports will be with respect to growth markets.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Well or the rise of women's sports has been incredible
to see. In the rise of women's sports and marketing
has been incredible to see. Thank you for all that
you do for it, and thank you so much for
joining us inside the Ice House.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Loved to being here. Thank you for the platform that's
our conversation for this week.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Remember to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen, and
follow us on x at ice House podcast from the
New York Stock Exchange. We'll talk to you again.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Next week Inside the ice House.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Information contained in this podcast was obtained in part from
publicly available sources.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
And not independently verified.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Neither ICE nor its affiliates make any representations or warranties
express or implied as to the accuracy or completeness of
the information, and do not sponsor approve, or endorse any
of the content here in, all of which is presented
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any security, or a recommendation of any security or trading practice.
(26:59):
Some portions of the preceding conversation may have been edited
for the purpose of length or clarity.
From the New York Stock Exchange at the corner of
Wall and Broad Streets in New York City. Welcome inside
the Ice House, our podcast from Intercontinental Exchange is your
go to for the latest on markets, leadership, vision and business.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
For over two.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hundred and thirty years, the NYIC has been the beating
heart of global growth. Each week we bring you inspiring
stories of innovators, job creators, and the movers and shakers
of capitalism here at the NYIC and ices exchanges around
the world. Now let's go inside the ice House. Here's
your host, Lance GLIM.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Women's sports are breaking barriers and commanding the spotlight like
never before, reshaping the landscape of athletics and marketing alike.
With record breaking viewership and soaring fan engagement, Female athletes
are stepping up not just as competitors, but as powerful
brand ambassadors. Big brands are recognizing their influence, tapping into
(01:04):
authentic stories and fierce talent to connect with passionate, purpose
driven audiences. Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment helps brands turn
investments in women's sports into real business drivers bylining purpose
with performance. Using strategic storytelling and data driven insights, they
create meaningful connections with fans. Founded in twenty twenty three
(01:27):
by Today's Guests CEO Laura Currente, deep Blue has grown
to become the trusted partner for those ready to do
more than support from the sidelines. Laura, thanks so much
for joining us inside the ice house.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Thank you so much for having me. Thrilled to be
here so Laura.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment made a powerful statement at
can lyon this Yune with the Women's Sports Yacht Club.
Supported by JP Morgan Chase. The activation brought together athletes, brands,
and change makers for panel discussions that explore the evolving
landscape of women's sports and its role in marketing. Just
taking it all in, what key trends or takeaways did
(02:03):
you observe and how brands are now approaching women's sports
and the broader entertainment ecosystem.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
Sure well, I think first and foremost, if there was
one thing that was a clear takeaway judging by the
steady stream of attendees and participants we had over the
course of our three days, is women's sports is not
a fluke. It is a very viable business. It is
a very viable market, and there's one that is accelerating
(02:31):
at warp speed, both in terms of investment coming into
the space as well as the returns that those investors,
be it you know, private equity, venture all the way
through to brand and media are seeing as a result
of their interests and overall support of the space.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
And you know, can lyon often serves as a crystal
ball for where the marketing world is headed. So stepping
just outside of sports for a moment and looking at
the broader themes from the festival, how do you think
brand storytelling is evolving and will change over the you know,
the year plus to come.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Sure it was an interesting uh year in that to
your point, every year you look at for new formats
or ways of storytelling. Right, it is the largest creative
festival in the world, and so everything you hope is
in service of improving, iterating, optimizing how storytelling is not
only captured, told, but also distributed. And the two biggest
(03:29):
I would say banners that were hanging across the quasette,
if you will, were that of AI. I think the
advertising industry is absolutely enamored with the potential prospect and
also implications of what you know, this this industry will
bring into the world of creativity, advertising, media marketing, and
(03:51):
at the same token, the other one would be that
of influence, be it creators, be it influencers, those who
are taking creativity into their own hands, and you know,
many of which are using some of these tools to
help storytell to help distribute their work. But ultimately, you know,
definitely this this interesting transition over the years of the
(04:13):
way of institution perhaps falling to that of the individual,
and how those individuals are leveraging the tools, technology and
resources available in the free market and across the free
web to help them accelerate their platforms and the stories
that they want to tell.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
And so you operate right really at the intersection of media,
marketing and culture in a world increasingly influenced by AI,
which you obviously mentioned, you know, data and really rapidly
shifting cultural moments. How are you just seeing creativity being redefined?
What does it mean to be truly original and resonant
(04:50):
in this evolving landscape?
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Sure, you know, I think one thing I've learned over
the course of my twenty plus years in the industry
is data is directional, right, freethinking, free flow of creativity
and ideas is something that cannot be automated, it can
be enhanced, that can be advanced. But ultimately, I think
figuring out the roles and responsibilities of creative in conjunction
(05:15):
with not as opposed to or and in sort of
fighting against the tide of technological advancement is something that
the advertising industry needs to be prepared for. And so
I think what you're seeing is this great period of exploration.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
We are at the earliest days.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Some are well out in front in leveraging, how they're
using it, you know, to apply it to creative thinking
about you know, even use case of research for strategy
all the way through to the distribution and development of content.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
But what informs it right, the prompts that.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
We put in the way that we're developing the algorithm,
how we're eliminating biases, all of these things are important
for the advertising industry to consider, not just with respect
to how it can support the output, but ultimately how
we can shape and inform the inputs.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
So I want to turn the spotlight now onto women's
sports because its rise has truly been one of the
most compelling stories in media and marketing. I have a
sports background. While I'm at the NYC now, I started
off in sports media covering detail. Yeah, I covered college
football recruiting for Paramount and did podcasts for them for
(06:23):
about three years. So I have a little bit of
an idea of just the sports landscape and the sports
media landscape and how it's evolved. And the rise of
women's sports has been just so wonderful to see. You know,
we've seen athletes like Caitlin Clark, Page, Becker's, Cocoa GoF
some owned bios, just to name a few. They've become
marquee faces for major brands. There's clearly, I think a
(06:45):
shift happening and how companies are thinking about these athletes
and just about women's sports as a whole. So from
your vantage point, how is the momentum or how is
this momentum I should say, reshaping just marketing strategies really
across industries does have to just be sports, right, They're
they're becoming the brands and the faces of industries from
(07:06):
insurance to skincare to you know, cars to whatever it
might be.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Yeah, I think it's important to break down sort of
the why now, why are we experiencing this pechgeist breaking
moment and you know, some of the things we were
just referencing with respect to technological advancement's access through things
like social media, the ability for these athletes to bypass
some of the gatekeeping that has happened that has kept
women their platforms, the sports they play, their off court regimens,
(07:39):
for example, out of the media and out of the press,
to mainstream and create access and awareness for fans has
all been disintermediated thanks to the advancements in technology, social media,
you know, and many of the other tools that they
have available to them to build the fandom that we're
all seeing and experiencing and able to measure today. But
(07:59):
when we started deeply sports and entertainment, you know, it
was important to understand, I should say, it's important to
go back to the origin of why we developed the
company in the first place, and then sort of take
a full throttle two years later to how this is
manifesting at the Canline Festival. But ultimately, when we got
into the business, it was really informed by an interesting
moment that happened in twenty nineteen. This was the year
(08:22):
that the US women's national team had won the Women's
World Cup in France. This also happens to be the
very same year the US women's national team, a number
of their players sued their employer in US Soccer for
equal pay and one and in that final game when
they were lifting the trophy, something really sort of chilling happened.
(08:43):
The entire crowd in that stadium started chanting equal pay
instead of USA. And it was this moment in time
where many of the broadcasters, commentators, a social media feed
was lit up around are we experiencing a new moment
in women's sports? Felt that level of you know, shape
shifting happened since perhaps Brandy Chestin and rips Off her penalty,
(09:05):
you know, with rips Off for Jersey and her penalty
shot winning moment in ninety nine. But the reality was,
inasmuch as there was a ton of consumer excitement, fan hype,
commentating inquiry, the reality is the advertising, media and marketing industry,
which is very critical in making sports and entertainment economies
(09:26):
go round, wasn't batting an eye. Not only were they
not interested, they weren't investing, and you start to dig
into why, and with women's sports, what we've come to
learn over the course of the last few years is
that it wasn't a product issue. That team I was
just referencing in the US women's national team is probably
one of the most winning teams in the world men
or women period. So it's not a product issue. They
(09:49):
were dominant for decades. It's not a story issue. You've
got athletes and you covered many of them, so you
know who are multi dimensional, multi hyphen it. You know,
I love seeing athletes today like Flage john Soon, he's
a star basketball player for LSU's women's basketball program, and
also recording artists. Know the dimentionality of what these women
bring to the table wasn't being covered. And when you
(10:12):
start to ask why it's not being covered and why
it's not being invested in, you start to realize it's
not a product issue.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
It's not a storytelling issue.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
It's a system's issue and a small microcosm of that.
Just to give you an example and to get nerdy
with it for a second, the way women's sports is
transacted on and what I mean by that is how
advertisers come to the table to buy inventory. So advertising
space in and around women's sports competition, be it games, playoffs, championships,
(10:40):
whatever the case may be, is on the same currency
and the same measurement system as that of men's So
if you're somebody who's buying on behalf of a brand,
and you're presented Monday Night football or perhaps the WNBA playoffs,
and you have a dollar to spend, and most advertisers
are driving you to get as many eyeballs or scale
(11:01):
as possible, as cost efficiently as possible, I can tell
you where that dollar is likely going ten out of
ten times, because I don't have to justify the decision
in something that has been scaled and something that has
been measured over decades. And so you start to realize
the system is broken. And so we got in and
around this space, not just to celebrate, of course, we're
(11:23):
doing that and highlight so much of the incredible work
that these athletes are doing, but it's really the right
size the systems and infrastructure that sits around it to
ensure that the coverage and the awareness exists so that
it's a commercial opportunity that is viable, that is sustainable,
and that can grow.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
And you know, to that point of growth, I would say,
just from you know, an outside observer's standpoint, the audience
for women's sports is growing immensely. I mean, just look
at the WNBA and you know, whether you think it's
because of Kaitlin Clark or Angel Rees or pagebackers, whoever
you may think may be driving this sort of interest
(12:05):
in the league, it's clear that that interest has increased substantially,
and it's far more evidence and notable on TV, in endorsements,
just in you know, overall marketing and advertisements as a whole.
It's clear that the fan base for women's sports, it's passionate,
(12:30):
values driven, obviously fiercely loyal. But when it comes to brands,
how are brands adjusting their messaging and creative strategies to
authentically tap into that passionate, loyal, value driven fan base
and connect with this engaged community, This community that I
think can sort of tell a part the brands that
(12:54):
are just getting into it because they think it's a
nice trend, but the brands that are in it, you know,
with authenticity.
Speaker 4 (13:01):
Yeah, before I answer that question, I think two notable
points to the coverage and the explosion of audience. I
just did a great podcast on my show called Courtside
with Loura Curreny with Coley Edison, who's the chief Growth
officer of the WMBA. So I encourage your listeners to
check that one out, because the amount of statistics that
Coley rattled off in double and triple digit lift just
(13:23):
over the course of her time there, which was starting
in twenty twenty two to twenty twenty five. I don't
know that you see many of those types of returns
in any industry. So I think there's definitely something to
everything you just alluded to, but a lot of it
does come with coverage. WNBA legend Sue Byrd as a
partner in Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment, and Sue often
reminds me that she was playing in sould that arenas
(13:44):
when she played for Yukon. But the coverage, the interest
from the media, the awareness of the advertising community perhaps
wasn't just up to part yet. So it is interesting
to see the implications of what media coverage, what advertising investment,
what overall resource and infrastructure means to increase that fandom. Yes,
(14:05):
but it is interesting to see the coverage and how
it's impacted that. So fast forward to your question with
respect to brand investment. Many brands coming into the space
first of all recognizing that the returns are astronomical.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
In that same podcast I was alluding to with Coley Edison.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
She talked about for league partners, between the twenty twenty
four or twenty twenty three to twenty twenty four season,
they saw thirteen x an average of thirteen X return
on their investment. I'm talking to the center of culture
and Commerce right now at ICE. You know that that
type of return is really phenomenal and a lot of
(14:41):
that you know, then you start trickling down into what
contributes to that. Yes, ticket sales are up, merchandise or
sales are up, ratings are up, and you know, you
can attribute it to so many different things. But ultimately,
at the end of the day, what we are most
concerned with is how do you sustain it? And when
it comes to brands and investment, many of them are
(15:01):
recognizing this isn't an industry. You're coming in and applying
the men's sports playbook to the women's sports playbook, and
that meaning you're just coming for reach. You're slapping a logo,
you're running a thirty second TV spot knowing that the
audience is there, tuned in and ready to receive it
because they've had decades of familiarity in that game day experience.
Perhaps to engage women's sports is a much different situation.
(15:24):
You're building something from the ground up and so authenticity storytelling,
how you're leveraging the storylines the athletes is really important.
At the Cannline Festival this year, we were fortunate enough
to have a number of experts across the space and
there was one panel in particular which featured Coally from
the WNBA on Maal Melhotra from Snap obviously seeing the
(15:47):
rise gen z Jen a fastest growing audience in women's sports,
absolutely dialed in, but dialed in differently and that's equally
important to understand as well as as well as Molly
mcgardal from Genus Sorts and Molly mcgardal cited an example
a case study of CarMax for example, who is a
partner of the w n b A and when Carmacks
(16:09):
decided to feature w n b A athletes in their commercials,
full stop, triple digit lift and overall brand returns. So
the level of influence, you know, brands starting to recognize how,
where and when they engage, recognizing that you have a
rabid fan base you use the word loyal one that
(16:30):
has been part of building this thing from the ground
up and will hold advertisers accountable for how they decided
to engage and enter the space, and so it does
require a level of education and understanding that you're not
just picking up something that worked over there and applying
it over here. It is a unique fan base with
unique needs and unique interests, and I think it's those,
(16:52):
I should say, those who pay attention to that and
put real strategy around it are the one that we're
seeing thrive and succeed with rates of return that you
know you'd be hard pressed to find in many other
industries as an advertiser.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
Great rates of return. Surely an increase just in terms
of overall viewership and overall excitement and energy towards women's sports.
And with this rapid growth, I think comes even greater
opportunity to build on that momentum. And we're looking ahead,
I think pretty much all of us in the in
the country and those interested in sports right to LA
twenty eight, you know, not too far, not too far away,
(17:31):
only years and we're gonna blink. You know, we're gonna blink.
Twenty six will be past us, and the twenty eight
Olympics will be here. I know, you know, I've talked
to Paul Rabel, We've had him on the podcast, and
I know he's very excited about lacrosse obviously joining the
Olympics that year, and I know there's a bunch of
other sports coming in twenty six twenty eight. But when
it comes to LA twenty eight, the Olympics, they offer
(17:52):
a massive global stage and a massive global marketing moment,
not just here in the United States but around the world.
How do you see an event like that serving as
a launchpad for women's sports and women's sports marketing, both
in terms of just visibility and long term investment from
brands and media platforms.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Yeah, I think LA twenty eight won't be a launch
It'll be about longevity.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I think what we saw in the Paris Games.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
This was the first Olympic Games on record where there
were equal number of participants of male and female athletes.
But you could argue, and there is data to back
this up, that the female athletes absolutely dominated with respect
to press coverage, interest, overall awareness. I mean alone, a
mare capture the hearts not just of Americans and the
rugby community, but fans around the world, putting rugby on
(18:39):
a map, and a level of awareness that I don't
know that we've ever seen when it comes to women's rugby,
perhaps rugby at large. The US women's national team winning
gold under the new leadership of Emma Hayes and her
first major tournament as a coach. Simone Biles, I mean,
Katie Ledecki, I mean, go down the list of just
dominance the US women's national team. The USA women's basketball
(19:03):
program hasn't lost a basketball game since nineteen ninety two.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
One gold again.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
So the storylines are there, and I think women were
the story in Paris last summer, and I think what
we're going to see in twenty eight, which it's being reported,
will be the first time so we were at equity,
or I should say we were at parody in the
Paris Games. Women participants will actually outnumber that of their
male counterparts going into that. And to your point, so
(19:31):
many new storylines, so many new stars to be made,
so much to cover. I'm excited to see things like
flag football and how that's shaping up. You're already starting
to see breadcrumbs of it from the NFL and other
organizations around the country, And so I think what it
presents perhaps not a launch pad for the women's sports industry,
but a launch pad for new stars, a launch pad
(19:53):
for new storylines, the ability for us to fall in
love all over again with those who we've come to
know and learn and love during their time playing to
date and those that will be cheering in their debuts
and moving forward. And so I think these markers are
incredible spikes, incredible peaks for that scale that women's sports
has been missing, and a chance to understand how do
(20:15):
you keep it there, how do you build that sustained
engagement coming off of it? And I think what we're
excited to see on the back end of twenty eight
is the hopeful of the United States being the host
country for the twenty thirty one Women's World Cup. So
for us, it's a let's keep it going. But I
think being very strategic about the peaks and valleys, sustaining
these periods of professional growth in between these big global
(20:38):
moments to your point, but making sure that they aren't
every four year moments, because I think that is something
we suffer from in the advertising community. Quick to rally
around those peaks, but how are we leading into them
and how are we sustaining them? And I think that
is what many of US are strategizing now getting ready
for twenty eight.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Absolutely so as women's sports gains this moment or has
gained momentum and will continue to do so. Just how
do you see the future shaping up for brands that
were early champions compared to those now entering the space.
Do you think there is like a distinct sort of
first mover advantage for those who invested early or could
(21:18):
you see brands that maybe waited a little bit and
are now investing still have their moment at the top.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Well, I think those that invested early, and you know,
I think brands like Alli Financial is a great one
to point to, who made a very strategic and measurable
bet a few years ago in their fifty to fifty
pledge where they were the first brand ever on record
to say, for every dollar media dollar will spend in
men's sports, we will spend in women's sports in a
quantifiable period of time. They are aggressively approaching that goal
(21:46):
in real time as we speak, and the numbers prove it.
Andrew Brimmer, their CMO, has gone on record, you know,
can be looked up by anyone to see what the
measurable returns have been. So from a business dam point.
Those who got in early, invested in the long game,
absolutely have benefited on the bottom line, but they can't
(22:07):
rest there the amount of inbound, especially those of non endemics.
I think we've seen a ton of financial service brands
who have come into the space, Telco, tech, you know, auto,
et cetera. You know. Now we're what we're starting to see,
you know, in our own backyard here in New York.
I love some of the partnerships that the New York Liberty,
for example, have been bringing to the forefront. Last year
(22:31):
we broke he Deeplu Sports Entertainment broke her to deal
with Bumble, the dating app to talk about women making
the first move. This year, we just broke her to
partnership with vadgisil, first ever partnership for that brand in
the sports arena. And so you're starting to see non endemics.
But those that are endemic to the female consumer, to
the female athlete come online in ways in which they
(22:54):
are benefiting. So the space is getting crowded. The famous saying,
you know, yesterday's price is today's price. So those that
got in early cannot rest on that first mover designation.
They need to be you know, all gas, no breaks,
because the market is heating up, and so in order
to maintain that, you need to continually iterate and find
(23:15):
new and differentiated ways to break through. And what I
anticipate will be a very crowded market between now and
that LA twenty eight goal post you just spoke about.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
So, Laura, as we wrap up our conversation at Deep
Blue Sports and Entertainment, how are you advising your clients
and the brands you work with to approach the women's
sports space differently today compared to just a few years
ago when you started the company in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Sure, I mean we're talking about And one of the
biggest takeaways from the can Line Festival, just to bring
it full circle, is this shift from breakthrough to build out.
I think it was very easy to get in and
hang your banner and say we support women's sports just
two years ago. I mean may not talking about a
very long time ago. Two years ago as this Zeitgei's
breaking moments started to happen. But as the space matures,
(24:04):
as more investment in infrastructure comes in, as more facilities
are being built, teams are coming online, leagues are being formed.
It's important for advertisers to take a strategic approach, right.
This is not just about coming in and hanging your
banner and logo, slapping a badge and you know, saying
we're here to support this space. This is about strategic
growth and the same way you would approach anything from business,
(24:25):
men's sports, technology, I mean, any industry that you are
looking to break through in and advertise it warrants a
strategy and so ultimately for us, this is really about
value exchange. The way forward that we see at women's
sports for people to extract the most return is not
just about looking at this as a scale play, but
as a deep engagement play, and that requires a two
(24:46):
way street with respect to women's sports. Those that are
seeing the biggest returns are not only coming in and
reaching the women's sports audience, they're also really providing some
sort of value exchange, whether it's more access, free access
to content, whether that's meet and greet with their favorite players,
whether that's enhanced game day experiences, thinking about things like
media training for athletes, and how they can create an
(25:08):
overall more sophisticated ecosystem for example. So value exchange is
something that we talk a lot with our brand partners
about and by the way, that isn't always financial. That
comes down to strategic and human capital as well. So,
for example, if ICE and the Stock Exchange were to
invest in women's sports, you know, use it at the
epicenter of how business operates. Well, many of these athletes,
(25:30):
our business operators, our entrepreneurs are multi hyphenates. They can
of course benefit from your investment with respect to dollars,
but also in your intelligence, know how, in access, and
so we're really working with brands to say, when we
think about investment, it isn't just about dollars and cents.
It is about intellect, it is about human capital, It
is about strategic capital and resource capital.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
In many instances.
Speaker 4 (25:52):
And so the more we can bolster and bolt on
to this, the farther expanse and accelerant we think women's
sports will be with respect to growth markets.
Speaker 3 (26:04):
Well or the rise of women's sports has been incredible
to see. In the rise of women's sports and marketing
has been incredible to see. Thank you for all that
you do for it, and thank you so much for
joining us inside the Ice House.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Loved to being here. Thank you for the platform that's
our conversation for this week.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Remember to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen, and
follow us on x at ice House podcast from the
New York Stock Exchange. We'll talk to you again.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Next week Inside the ice House.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Information contained in this podcast was obtained in part from
publicly available sources.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
And not independently verified.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Neither ICE nor its affiliates make any representations or warranties
express or implied as to the accuracy or completeness of
the information, and do not sponsor approve, or endorse any
of the content here in, all of which is presented
solely for informational and educational purposes. Nothing here in constitutes
an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy,
any security, or a recommendation of any security or trading practice.
(26:59):
Some portions of the preceding conversation may have been edited
for the purpose of length or clarity.
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