Unilever’s Kathryn Swallow says women’s game remains a “fast-growing space” which is “nowhere near” where it should be.
- Rexona sponsored last year’s Women’s World Cup and is also a partner of Manchester City and Chelsea women’s teams
- WWC led to “massive” spike in sales and drove brand recall for Unilever-owned company
- Swallow urges brands not to “take their foot off the gas” in women’s soccer
A senior executive at Unilever-owned deodorant brand Rexona has acknowledged that it would be “hypocritical” if the company did not invest in women’s soccer alongside its sponsorship of the men’s game.
Kathryn Swallow, Rexona’s global brand vice president, told SportsPro that sports sponsorship has grown “massively” as an area of focus for the company, which in recent years has become an increasingly prominent investor in the women’s game.
Rexona – also known as Sure and Degree globally – has longstanding partnerships with Premier League sides Chelsea and Manchester City and expanded its partnership with the reigning men’s English soccer champions in 2020 to incorporate the club’s women’s team.
Since then, though, it has also served as an official sponsor of the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and more recently became a partner of Saudi Arabia’s women’s national team.
“We’ve already invested in football quite heavily,” Swallow said. “Then you look at women’s football, which is such a fast-growing space that is nowhere near where it should be.
“So it feels like a perfect moment for us to continue partnering and playing in the space of football, but to achieve our purpose by really encouraging more girls into football.
“That then allows us to keep that long-term commitment going and the equity we’ve been building up by showing up in the sport.”
Rexona’s decision to invest more in women’s soccer has not come at the expense of the men’s game, where it has continued to strike new deals, including for this year’s Uefa Euro 2024 and the Copa America, which also took place over the summer.
Swallow said it is a natural step for Rexona to support male and female soccer, particularly because the company sells products to both men and women.
“Honestly, I think it would be hypocritical if we didn’t [sponsor women’s soccer],” she said. “We’re a brand that wants to inspire everyone, so if we want to be in football, then that should mean everyone.
“And of course, female football is one of the areas where there’s a lot of traction. With the partners, when they work well for us, we both bring scale to the table. And I think with our scale, and the likes of Fifa’s scale [for example], you can really make that difference and get more girls into football.”
Swallow said women’s soccer is attractive to Rexona because of its “very engaged”, “more family-focused” and younger community, while she also pointed out that there is less sponsor clutter than there is in the men’s game.
At the same time, Swallow emphasised that Rexona measures the success of its partnerships against whether they drive growth for the business. The company also analyses the impact that sponsorship has on its brand health and awareness.
Swallow noted that Rexona saw a “massive” sales spike during last year’s Women’s World Cup, which also saw the company rank number one for brand recall among females in Latin America and Australia and New Zealand.
In the US, Rexona said one in four members of the general population were aware of Degree’s sponsorship of the Women’s World Cup, while one in two individuals within the ‘sponsor aware’ cohort in Brazil had a high purchase intent as a result of the company’s backing of the tournament.
While women’s soccer is delivering a return on investment for Rexona, which is among 76 brands that have been recognised in the Laureus Sport for Good Index since its inception, Swallow cautioned that the game is still developing and requires further investment across the board.
“My personal view is I actually think it’s really worrying right now, because I think everyone’s busy saying it’s going gangbusters and it’s not,” she said. “We’re scratching the surface. You can grow a hell of a lot from a base of nothing.
“So of course, it’s amazing, momentum is there. But the thing I’m worried about is too many people are saying, ‘oh, look, well done, there’s equality’. No, there’s not. So my worry is brands will take their foot off the gas.
“I think as long as brands keep going – and we need the rights holders, the media partners as well – I think the future is really bright, but I’m more concerned when people think it’s further along than it is.”
Credit: https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/rexona-womens-football-sponsorship-unilever-world-cup-man-city-november-2024/