The WNBA announced that Google will become a WNBA Changemaker through a new multi-year partnership that will drive engagement during many key moments throughout the year.
- As a WNBA Changemaker, Google commits to helping Women’s Basketball and Sports by developing innovative marketing activations, robust storytelling and enhanced Google product experiences.
- Google Collaborates with ESPN and WNBA to Deliver “25 for 25”: 25 regular season games on ESPN networks for the 25th season of the WNBA.
- Google Becomes Associate Sponsor of ESPN’s 30 for 30 & ESPN Films
Series this Spring, and sponsor of the espnW Summit NYC.
- Google Becomes the official trends and fan insights partner of
the WNBA and the presenting partner of the WNBA Playoffs.
As part of the partnership, Google will serve as Presenting Partner of the WNBA Playoffs and as an Associate Partner of WNBA All-Star on ESPN and the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.
We're proud to announce a multi-year partnership with the @wnba and @espn as a WNBA Changemaker to increase visibility and coverage of women’s sports. Learn how we plan to help elevate the game on and off the court → https://t.co/h0ukdwFjtM pic.twitter.com/1s9JTaTyft
— Google (@Google) May 3, 2021
Google is the fourth company to step up and become a WNBA Changemaker, joining the exclusive collective of current Changemakers, AT&T, Deloitte, and Nike.
Huge Boost For WNBA In 25th Season
This is the kind of financial and corporate support and cultural commitment that WNBA players have been longing for. In order to raise the visibility of their exemplary sports league, they also need a boost from a major platform such as Google.
When it comes to marketing the women’s game — especially here in America — the push hasn’t matched the product, but this kind of commitment by Google will surely help level the playing field a bit.
As a WNBA Changemaker, the WNBA and Google will work together on developing innovative marketing initiatives, community-driven programming, and new Google product experiences for fans that will help elevate the league, WNBA players and women’s sports.
The WNBA Changemakers platform is designed to provide direct support to the WNBA in its ongoing business transformation across marketing, branding, and player and fan experience.
READ MORE: The WNBA Is Deeper Than The Score And Transcends Basketball
Changemakers are deeply invested in driving positive change for the WNBA, women’s sports, and women in society, and the platform catalyzes social change by offering Changemaker-only exclusive assets rooted in shared values such as gender, racial and LGBTQ+ equity.
“When we launched our WNBA Changemakers platform at the beginning of 2020, we issued a call to like-minded companies to join us in elevating women’s sports, and Google has answered that call,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We are incredibly grateful to Google for becoming the latest WNBA Changemaker and for their platform of helpful products for everyone. Google’s support will be instrumental in driving our business transformation forward and demonstrates a commitment to the values we both stand for – including building sustainable equity.”
“For too long now, women’s sports have been underrepresented in the media. The WNBA has worked tirelessly to change that and has been at the forefront of progress for gender equity, racial justice, and sport. We are proud to partner with the WNBA and ESPN over the coming years to continue the charge and deliver on our commitment to gender equity and the future of women,” said Lorraine Twohill, CMO, Google. “It’s important to us that our product experiences are equitable for all genders and we want to make sure our media spend is equitable too, bringing more women’s content to television.”
As an espnW Summit NYC sponsor, Google will be tipping off the conversation around the ESPN Film “144” on May 13th with WNBA All-Star & ESPN Commentator Chiney Ogwumike. As a part of Google’s commitment to women’s sports, they will be presenting a montage of the week’s best sports highlights on SportsCenter beginning in May.
“ESPN has led the industry in its long-standing commitment to women’s sports across our programming and platforms, including as a founding telecaster of WNBA games and events 25 years ago and serving fans for over a decade through espnW,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN & Sports Content. “This new collaboration with the league and Google further extends our mission and dedication to elevating women’s sports, adding to the more than 16,000 hours of live sports programming we produce each year.”
Added Rita Ferro, President, Disney Advertising Sales, “At Disney, we strive to super serve our audiences with the best available content, and recognize that equity, inclusion and representation in entertainment and sports are table stakes. Our first-of-its-kind, combined relationship with Google and WNBA is an example of how we’re putting an emphasis on women’s sports and female athletes, answering the needs of our fans.”
