Brands Who Don’t Support Jenni Hermoso Can Kiss Off

Brands Who Don’t Support Jenni Hermoso Can Kiss Off

There’s been an uptick in coverage and investment in women’s professional sports. As a result, many brands have taken on the barriers and biases of “women in sports” as a cause marketing platform. Yes, obvious brands like Nike, Under Armour and Adidas but non-athletic brands like Frito-Lay and Hilton.

As news of Luis Rubiales’ forced kiss on soccer star Jenni Hermoso makes waves, I can’t help but notice many of these brands have been unusually quiet. Any brand who has used women’s sports equality for marketing purposes had best speak now or forever say goodbye to your piece of the billion-dollar pie. That’s right, women’s sports will cross the billion-dollar revenue mark in the coming years, according to Deloitte.

It’s not just your polished and carefully worded manifesto videos that consumers respond to. They also take notice of brands who put their money where their mouth is when the going gets tough. So, here are three easy ways brands who claim to support women’s sports can prevent becoming an ASS.

1. Acknowledge: This is literally international news. You must acknowledge what happened and how it’s representative of the inequality in women’s sports your brand has been fighting for.
2. Support: Whether it’s a supportive post, donation in her name to a relevant non-profit or a stand against the Spanish Football Federation, your brands should show support for Jenni Hermoso.
3. Serve: Brands can’t just make flashy ads and throw around sponsorship dollars, they need to take action to advance equality in women’s sports. Remind consumers of what you are doing for the cause and how they can participate. If you don’t have anything to point to then start thinking about the skills and strengths of your organization and how to harness them for change.