{"id":21034,"date":"2024-04-07T17:45:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T17:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=21034"},"modified":"2024-04-07T17:45:56","modified_gmt":"2024-04-07T17:45:56","slug":"why-adidas-is-betting-on-hailey-van-lith-and-womens-college-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=21034","title":{"rendered":"Why Adidas is betting on Hailey Van Lith and women\u2019s college basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Nike has Jordan, but Adidas has Hailey Van Lith.<\/p>\n

College basketball has been on fire\u2014especially in recent weeks, and especially on the women\u2019s side. This year\u2019s Elite Eight matchup between Van Lith and LSU and Caitlin Clark and the University of Iowa was the most-watched<\/a> college basketball game ever on ESPN, according to the network. Adidas, it seems, saw the signs years ago.<\/p>\n

The German sportswear brand has been shifting some of its marketing focus from pro to college hoops for the past several years as its NIL strategy and roster have developed, according to Chris Murphy, SVP of brand marketing. This year, Adidas ran a campaign in both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s tournaments, but spent more of its media dollars on the women\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started a few years ago to see a rebirth or a growth in NCAA basketball, especially during this time period, especially on the women’s basketball side,\u201d Murphy told Marketing Brew. \u201cOur investment followed that trend.\u201d<\/p>\n

All hail Hailey<\/h2>\n

Van Lith was one of Adidas\u2019s first NIL partners, and the brand has since used her in plenty of its marketing materials, according to Murphy. She was one of the faces of the Exhibit Select women\u2019s basketball sneaker last year, and was involved in Adidas\u2019s March Madness campaign in 2022 when she was playing for the Louisville Cardinals, he said.<\/p>\n

Two years later, Van Lith is an ideal fit for the brand\u2019s current campaign platform, \u201cYou Got This,\u201d which is about promoting \u201cfun, optimism, and joy in sport,\u201d Murphy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHailey embodied that more than anybody else,\u201d he told us. \u201cWe were looking to say, \u2018Do we have a partner who embodies our brand really, really well at one of our [sponsored] schools that is doing well\u2026and is on the women\u2019s side, given the growth we\u2019re seeing in women\u2019s basketball in terms of interest.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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The ad also stars three-time WNBA champ Candace Parker and the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Aliyah Boston. Van Lith recently entered the transfer portal again as opposed to declaring for the WNBA draft, so she\u2019ll be playing at the college level and eligible for NIL deals for another year.<\/p>\n

NIL for all<\/h2>\n

It was around 2019 when Adidas first started to notice an uptick in interest in women\u2019s college basketball, Murphy said, but the 2022 tournament marked a turning point for the brand. That year was the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which gave Adidas added reason to \u201cshine a spotlight on women in sports\u201d with the launch of its NIL network and the signing of 15 women college athletes, he said.<\/p>\n

More than 12,000 student athletes across sports, including basketball, football, volleyball, softball, baseball, and golf, have since participated in the network, which allows any Division-I athlete from a school partnered with Adidas to earn a percentage of the sales they drive for the brand, Murphy said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was a great way for us to help level the playing field a little bit when it came to NIL, to make sure it wasn\u2019t, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re gonna give money only to the folks who are performing the best on the field,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWe can make it a much more inclusive space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Adidas activates the most around basketball during March Madness, given the heightened interest, the sport is a major pillar for the brand year-round, Murphy said. Interest in the men\u2019s game has always been strong, but it\u2019s on the women\u2019s side where \u201cwe definitely see a lot of opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n