Raising the bar

The GIST: The NHL has generated plenty of buzz through beer and liquor partnerships, so the PWHL borrowed from its playbook and announced Woody Creek Distillers as its first premier U.S. partner yesterday. With the move, the Colorado distillery follows a trend of alcoholic beverage companies investing extensively in women’s sports. Drinking it all in.

The details: The partnership follows the PWHL’s successful opening week and will include venue imagery, broadcast assets, and a social media series. Woody Creek will also play host to watch parties and PWHL season awards. Cheers.

• The small company is going big as the PWHL’s first American premier partner, but it’s not the first bev brand in women’s hockey. In 2021, Budweiser Canada furthered its campaign for gender equity in hockey by partnering with the PWHPA to erect a monument dedicated to the sport’s women athletes.

The context: Alcohol is an easy sell at sporting events, but beverage companies deserve credit for being early adopters of women’s sports sponsorships. Securing exclusive product partnerships is a smart business move regardless of the game, and the loyalty of women’s sports fans is an added bonus.

• ⚽ Soccer: Bud Light has been kicking it for many years, first as a longtime FIFA sponsor, then by inking an expansive 2023 NWSL sponsorship to replace Budweiser, the league’s first-ever beer sponsor. In 2019, Budweiser ran a campaign calling out gender disparity in soccer sponsorship, something Heineken emulated in a 2022 UEFA campaign.

• 🏀 Basketball: Molson Coors inked the first WNBA beer deal with the LA Sparks in 2021, while Michelob became the WNBA’s first-ever global beer partner in 2023, debuting a merch capsule at WNBA All-Star Weekend. Hennessy also forged NBA and WNBA ties in its 2020 partnership, which was extended last year.

• 📺 Media: Beverage companies’ support for women’s sports extends beyond the playing field. Michelob Ultra pledged $100M to equal representation in company advertising, including 50% of media inventory for women athletes. It also became the Women’s Sports Network’s first major sponsor last March, proving again that bev brands are first to the party.

The GIST: Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment — a new agency dedicated to amplifying women’s sports — announced a groundbreaking partnership with retired WNBA legend Sue Bird on Monday. It’s not just a major win for Deep Blue, but it’s another way Bird is cashing in on decades of athlete experience. From the backboard to the boardroom.

The details: Bird is the firm’s first partner and chief strategy officer and will support founder and CEO Laura Correnti. In the role, Bird will offer unparalleled athlete-driven insights to help shape strategy, marketing, communications, and partnerships. She will also be involved with tentpole events like Deep Blue’s Business of Women’s Sports Summit, Cannes Lions, and the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Off-court endeavors: Deep Blue is just the latest adventure for Bird — in 2021, she founded athlete-centered media brand Togethxr alongside Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, and Simone Manuel and established production company A Touch More with fiancée Megan Rapinoe in 2022. Bird has also teamed up with fellow WNBA legend Diana Taurasi to cover basketball on ESPN.

Zooming out: Brands should always look to industry veterans for expertise, and Correnti hit the women’s sports knowledge jackpot with Bird. While we’ve seen countless male athletes retire with golden endorsement parachutes, it’s rare to see it on the women’s side. Leave it to Sue to show us how it’s done.

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