The (Hidden?) Female Factor in the NFL
It's been Dads, Brads & Maddies for a while.
Sorry boys, women are at least 46% of the NFL fandom. Pre-Swift. (note:That’s roughly the same percentage of Swift fans that are male, but that’s another post.)
More fan facts:
76% are white
58% make under $50K - data gives no clear indication if this working class number is due to youth, working class jobs, PT work or non-working
Women of Color are more tech-involved & into watching games in person
Working women engage more than non-working
Young fans more engaged than older
Women have been were not-so-secretly the NFL’s only bright spot, according to this 2014 Bloomberg piece headlined:
Then things were starting to decline with women, as this Nielsen chart shows. Why? Scandals. Women were reportedly getting turned off by the off-field antics, the OTT vibe and the low-key “you’re unwelcome here” vibe.
“Women Know Nothing”
So even though women have been a real fandom for a generation or more, an NYU study showed a nasty, loud and pervasive bias that women fans are posers who “know nothing.” There are loud voices claiming women and girls are just in it for ogling hot players, to party or just to dare to leave the damn kitchen.
We certainly see this aggression in the ragey backlash against Swifties bringing new audiences, attention and cash to the NFL. Which is odd, since the NFL has been pretty interested in making money.
It’s not surprising this pre-Swift study showed the female audience could grow if games felt safer and more welcoming for women and families.
There are 10 female NFL coaches
Despite what the haters may want, the NFL is slowly becoming more female-friendly on the business side, and they are investing in it.
The NFL Women’s Forum is a program designed to bring more women into the profession of football. Now 222 women are in operations or coaching staff, with a program placement rate of 50% (!)
“We don’t want to be othered as football fans,” said Sam Rapoport (as in Samantha), the NFL’s senior director of DEI. “We don’t want to have like bedazzled cooking tools or we don’t need to wear Russell Wilson’s jersey in pink.
It’s not like a rah-rah women’s empowerment forum. You could put any 40 people in that room and everything would be applicable to them. So we don’t we don’t start out the music with: ‘I am woman, hear me roar…. But I think it’s very important when you’re creating gender equity programs to ensure that you’re not othering by mistake, and a lot of programs do that.”
She went to acknowledge that buying pink merch is ok too. Which is good, since women buy a lot.
Shop NFL (we certainly do)
Represent 80% of all sports apparel spend, total
Purchasers of 60% of all men's sports apparel
Swifting the Superbowl:
Taylor Swift is credited with $331.5 million in equivalent brand value to the NFL & the Chiefs as of Jan 22
Superbowl interest is +169% over last year.
Interest in the commercials is +903% (could she get Gen Tiktok/Youtube to watch actual TV and a complete ad? )
Viewership among 12- to 17-year-old girls rose 8.1%, with younger fans coming to the sport, too.
Chiefs jersey sales were up more than 460% the day after Taylor Swift’s first appearance in September. Kelce’s agent likely approves.
Her iconic puffer jacket launched the career of NFL wife/self-taught designer Kristin Juszczyk—who got an NFL licensing contract having never charged a dime for her pieces. She’s only gifted them and auctioned her first piece this weekend for charity. (Knockoffs available for $99.)
Final note: Over 130 players have been arrested for domestic violence since 2000, with many more accused of sexual harrassment, impropriety & assault. Few see repercussions.
Meanwhile, women’s soccer in India is packing stadiums:
Tracy Chapman’s surprise duet on the Grammys had GenX crying. The cover appears on Luke Combs’ album Gettin’ Old. Coincidence?
Congrats to Tracy for making an estimated $550,000+ in royalities from the cover and 14,000 downloads the day after the show.
Nostalgia sells. Double it with a fresh take and it sells even more.
Trend alert:
Tingly olive oil
Taste alone? Passé. Welcome to the Chinese food company selling peppers as a tingly sensory experience. Name: 50 Hertz.
Beef!
Megan Thee Stallion revives the hiphop Diss Song Tradition & created war with Nicki Minaj. Making female rivalry artistic again.
Friend Me on Facebook?!
Gen Z women are posting “friendship applications” in female-focused Facebook groups. (yes, THAT Facebook) They’re putting out their hobbies, interests and friend bona fides hoping to connect online as friend apps are losing favor and IRLisn’t working.
Gen Z is not only 2x lonelier than senior citizens, many report they can’t afford to go out and socialize.
I myself did a blog (yes, BLOG) meetup last summer, met over 50 women and it was great. Someday I may even make it to the book club!
Is it me is everyone (except me) on a Times Square billboard lately? Oh wait, I can buy a slot for $40. And so can you!
Young kids are learning therapy speak on TikTok and advocating for mental health support in new ways. Like subway anxiety therapy.
“When I have 9- and 10-year-olds talking to me about ‘dissociative process,’ I’m like, ‘Okay, too much!’” says Marilyn Siegel, a therapist in private practice in Greenwich Village.
L’Oreal* is killing it and their luxury division is now bigger than Estee Lauder. Kudos to smart acquisitions across different niches and price points by L’Oreal and less issues from China’s market softening, which hurt EL.
“Human skin is my passion”
Meta brand campaign PR quote? Or true crime quote of the week?
It’s that quirky Michael Cera on his Cerave campaign, which will have a full spot in the Superbowl tonight after some meta-esque NYC guerrilla tactics to seed the campaign.
But really, it’s not Ogilvy who did this. Redditers have shipped him as spokesperson for years.
*Cerave is now the biggest skincare brand in the US and L’Oreal owned.
Clinical style results are in and their no-nonsense vibe, accessible price, derm and social testimonials are all on point.
At least three cosmetics brands including NYX will have SuperBowl spots as well. It makes sense, we do influence 85% of spending.
Stop the Carletonian Presses, is this Julie Kucinski from Musser Hall of Fame?? I can only imagine yes, due to your usual smart-ass feminist writing aplomb. So so happy to see you here!
Love it. Thank you so much!