More than just a game’: family and spectacle in marketing the England Women’s Super League
A summary of the article:
The article "More than Just a Game: Family and Spectacle in Marketing the England Women’s Super League" analyzes the Football Association's (FA) approach to marketing the Women’s Super League (WSL) in its first three years. The FA positioned the WSL as a distinct, family-oriented product, targeting young girls and their fathers as the primary audience. The emphasis was on presenting women’s football as a "nicer" alternative to men’s football, highlighting fair play and family-friendly atmospheres. However, this approach risked alienating the existing fan base, which consisted largely of adult women and older men, by pushing a narrow image of the league as a family spectacle. The FA’s strategy, which downplayed the actual game in favor of match-day entertainment, also suggested underlying concerns about the quality of women’s football as a standalone product.
The article critiques how the FA’s marketing strategy relied heavily on creating a spectacle rather than focusing on the game itself. This approach was reflected in match-day experiences, where entertainment activities such as face painting and bouncy castles sometimes overshadowed the football being played. Additionally, the FA's use of social media to promote the WSL was seen as trivializing the women’s game, failing to reach new audiences effectively. Ultimately, the study concludes that while the FA’s efforts to commercialize women’s football were well-intentioned, the focus on family entertainment and spectacle may have undermined the credibility of the league as a professional sporting product.
Key Takeaways:
Focus on family-oriented marketing: The FA targeted young girls and their fathers, presenting women’s football as a morally superior, family-friendly alternative to men’s football.
Entertainment over football: Match-day experiences emphasized entertainment and spectacle, often overshadowing the actual game, raising concerns about the quality of the sport.
Alienation of existing fans: By prioritizing a niche family audience, the FA risked alienating the WSL's core audience of adult women and older men, who were more interested in the football itself.
Authors: Beth Fielding-Lloyd, Donna Woodhouse, & Ruth Sequerra
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