Ally’s partnership with the Unrivaled Basketball League is more than just a logo on a jersey. It’s a blueprint for what it looks like when brands treat women’s sports as an equal and equitable counterpart.
Betting on the vision
In the summer of 2024, Ally Financial became the first Founding Partner and Official Bank of Unrivaled, a player-owned, full-court 3-on-3 women’s professional league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. The company signed on before there was a finished venue, a broadcast deal, or even a full roster announced.
“We felt that we could do more,” said Stephanie Marciano, Head of Brand and Sports Marketing at Ally. During a private press conference with Blavity in attendance, Marciano explained how the sponsorship aligned with its long-standing mission to validate the vision of women’s sports, a commitment the company has upheld since 2018.
She continued, “It’s not just buying rights and doing sponsorships, but to step back and say, ‘What is holding back this industry? What are the biggest barriers to the growth of women’s sports?’ A lot of us are former athletes at Ally, so we had a little bit of a head start in understanding those barriers. And all the insights were telling us that the disparity in media was what was holding women’s sports back. The fact that 90% of media was spent on men’s sports and only 10% was spent covering women’s sports. How could an industry thrive if it only has 10% of media coverage?”
Source: How Unrivaled Is Redefining What Investment in Women’s Sports Looks Like
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