‘Mission and capital can coexist’: Golden State Valkyries’ Jess Smith on pitch to sponsors
The WNBA’s newest team must navigate measurement demands and marketers wanting to share in the ‘mission’ if it’s to establish a commercial foothold.
The Golden State Valkyries, the youngest team in the WNBA, have been making waves not only on the court but also in the boardroom. Since their formation two years ago, the team has been actively seeking out sponsorship investments as spending in women's sports continues to rise. Securing a fair share of this growing spending will be vital to the team's long-term success.
With established teams having years of data and precedent to support their sponsorship pitches, it's up to the Valkyries to make up the gap. In an effort to level the playing field, President Jess Smith has been working diligently to tailor exclusivity rights and meet marketers' increasing demands for sponsorship impact measurement. This includes a data partnership with talent agency The Team and doubling the team's marketing headcount, as reported by Sportico.
These efforts have clearly paid off for the Valkyries, who have become the first women's sports team to achieve $100 million in annual revenue, thanks in part to their numerous sponsors. Over 40 partners, including long-term sponsors such as Carmax, Rakuten, and Kaiser Permanente, have contributed to this impressive figure. Additionally, sponsorship income for the Valkyries has seen a 30% year-on-year increase, according to Smith.
In this interview, Smith sheds light on how the Golden State Valkyries position themselves to potential sponsors and how they're meeting marketer demands for more data-driven approaches.
Written by urgent.news from Digiday's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
