As brands seek to reach female audiences during Women’s History Month, see how innovative campaigns are using a “less is more” approach to create emotional connections.
Caitlin Clark has received a lot of well-deserved attention as she continues to smash records. Her success —and that of her peers— has fueled important discussion around the earnings disparity between men and women in professional and college athletics.
Beyond direct endorsements, however, there are other ways that brands can deepen relationships with female consumers. As Women’s History Month continues, we can expect to see new campaigns attempt to capitalize on the growing popularity of women’s sports.
Less is more
Coinciding with International Women’s Day, Molson is partnering with the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) to launch an innovative campaign, dubbed “See My Name” that shifts attention to the athletes themselves.
The idea is simple and based on the insight that female athlete names are often obscured by long hair. Molson is moving its logo above the numbers on athletes’ jerseys where it’s more likely to be hidden, while the athletes’ names are below the numbers where they can be better seen.
Early response to the 30-second spot introducing the emotional campaign has been highly positive. However, as as Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News points out, putting names below the numbers isn’t a completely new concept.
A new twist on an existing concept
Similarly, the idea of a brand giving up its logo in service of a cause isn’t entirely new either. In April, 2022, Smartsheet unveiled its innovative Sponsor X campaign in partnership with the McLaren Formula 1 team and Australian non-profit Deadly Science. In this ongoing campaign, Smartsheet replaces its logo on F1 cars with the logo of a non-profit. According to Smartsheet, coverage of the inaugural Sponsor X execution reached 675M readers and garnered 15M engagements across various social media platforms.
This success has led Smartsheet to continue the campaign, partnering with other non-profits such as The Hidden Genius Project and STEAM Co. More recently, the company has donated its logo to Girlstart, whose mission is inspire girls’ interest in STEM.
Molson and Smartsheet are just two examples of brands connecting with audiences by putting others first. As Women’s History Month continues, it will be interesting to see if other brands follow suit.