Effective Strategies that Marketing Leaders Use to Increase Fan Base

Section 1: Foundation of the Project

Background of the Problem

Women’s professional basketball is considered critical for developing women’s

professional sports in the United States, not only for women athletes but also for girls, so

they could be inspired to become professional athletes. Women’s professional basketball

has continued to grow slowly (Thomson et al., 2022). Although women’s professional

basketball has existed for 25 years in the United States, in those 25 years, they have

continued to operate at a loss (McDonald, 2000). They averaged about $60 million per

season; however, their expenses were about $70 million (Gibbons, 2022). Despite its

recent growth and potential, the WNBA consistently struggles to generate profit,

remaining unprofitable in its 28th (2024) season and heading into its 29th (2025) season

(Kosamia & Moses, 2025). The National Basketball Association (NBA) supports

women's professional basketball, which covers the $10 million loss for women’s

professional basketball to continue playing (Gibbons, 2022). Women’s professional

basketball needs to improve marketing campaigns to generate revenue. Women’s

professional basketball marketing leaders need to expand their footprint using different

social media platforms because half of the world uses them (Abeza, 2023). Marketing

leaders also need to start marketing campaigns not directed towards men but towards

women (McDonald, 2000). Reaching different demographics could help increase fan

loyalty not just to the sport of basketball but to all sports teams.

Business Problem Focus and Project Purpose

The specific business problem is that some marketing leaders in women’s

professional basketball lack effective marketing strategies to increase their fan base.

Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and

explore effective marketing strategies that marketing leaders in women’s professional

basketball organizations use to increase their fan base.

The target population was women’s basketball marketing leaders who successfully

implemented marketing strategies to increase their fan base using online media. I used

purposive sampling of nine women’s basketball marketing leaders who had successfully

used online marketing strategies to increase their fan base and gained access to them

through social networks after I received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. The

nine women’s basketball marketing leaders were in the southeast, southwest, west, and

northwestern regions of the United States. Data were collected through semistructured

interviews and analyzed to identify effective marketing strategies. The conceptual

framework for this project included product, price, place, and promotion, also known as

the 4 Ps, developed by McCarthy in the 1960s (Singh, 2012). The 4 Ps framework helps

companies market a product or service to consumers. Understanding the 4 Ps and how

each is related to women's professional basketball could help improve marketing

strategies for the league to attract more consumers.

Research Question

What marketing strategies do women’s basketball marketing leaders use to

increase their fan base?

Assumptions and Limitations

Assumptions

Assumptions are beliefs or inferences taken as fact without proof that are not part

of what was being tested in a research project (Alkadash & Aljileedi, 2020). I made four

assumptions in this project. First, I assumed that the participants were knowledgeable

regarding online marketing strategies that supported the sustainability of their sports

operations. Second, I assumed that participants would be willing and honest in

responding to the interview questions. Third, I assumed the marketing leader knew about

marketing on different online platforms. Fourth, I assumed that implementing effective

strategies would sustain women’s professional sports term.

Limitations

Limitations are potential weaknesses or restrictions imposed beyond the

researcher's control that could affect project design, results, and conclusions (Theofanidis

& Fountouki, 2018). This research project was limited to a qualitative pragmatic research

project, which is limited to a qualitative method and a pragmatic inquiry design. Other

limitations include not being able to contact women’s marketing leaders during their

offseason, project sample only included women’s basketball marketing leaders,

constraints in terms of methodology to prevent misinterpretation, concerns of candidness

of responses, participants may have provided unverifiable or biased information, and the

project was confined to regions within the United States and does not represent the

industry on a global scale.

Transition

In this study, I explore effective marketing strategies of market leaders in

women’s basketball organizations to increase their fan base. In Section 1, I provided the

background for the problem, addressed the business problem and project purpose, and

discussed the research question, assumptions, and limitations. In Section 2, I review

professional and academic literature and discuss the application to the business problem.

Section 3 includes discussions on project ethics, nature of the project, population,

sampling and participants, data collection, interview questions, data organization and

analysis techniques, and reliability and validity. In Section 4, I present the findings,

business contributions, recommendations, implications for social change, and

recommendations for further research.

Section 2: The Literature Review

A Review of the Professional and Academic Literature

This literature review was created using recent peer-reviewed sources that explore

strategies for online marketing, influencers, social media changes, sponsorships, and how

men’s professional basketball is marketed online. The central research question guiding

this review was as follows: What marketing strategies do women’s basketball marketing

leaders use to increase their fan base?

I reviewed academic literature to develop and support the understanding of the

phenomenon. The concentration in the literature review was on using databases and

search engines such as Google Scholar, SAGE Journals, ProQuest Central, ProQuest

Dissertations and Theses, EBSCO Host Online Research Databases, Emerald

Management Journals, Wiley Online Library, and Walden's Library. The key search terms

and combination of search terms that were input to various online databases included the

following keywords: women's basketball, WNBA, women’s professional basketball,

marketing strategies, fan base, types of fans, WNBA athletes, social media use, increase

sports fans, marketing sports team, marketing women’s sports teams, women’s sports,

NBA, marketing, fan base, media attention of women’s sports, marketing strategies, 4 Ps,

fan attendance, increase of fans in women’s sports, women athletes, women’s basketball

history, Catlin Clark, Angle Reese, famous women’s athletes, online marketing, and social

media use among athletes. The initial articles found were unfiltered, scanned for a

general assessment, and then filtered.

The dates of my research articles range from 2000 to 2025. When searching for

my articles, I verified that the peer-reviewed checkbox was selected the entire time so

that I would receive only peer-reviewed journals. During my searches, 154 references

were found, which included periodicals, journals, books, and dissertations. Of these 154,

144 or 93.5% were peer-reviewed and under 5 years old by the target graduation date of

2025 (see Table 1)

Table 1

Summary of Literature References.

References

Count

% of Total References

Published within 5 years of 2020

149

96.7%

Published more than 5 years from 2020

7.7%

Peer-reviewed published within 5 years of 2025

144

93.5%

Total

154

Application to the Applied Business Problem

The purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore effective online

marketing strategies that women’s professional basketball marketing leaders use to

increase their fan base. The 4 Ps theory was the conceptual framework for this project,

and it allows marketers to create and implement marketing strategies to address a specific

business problem. Women's professional basketball marketing leaders should use the 4 Ps

to improve marketing strategies for their team to attract more fans. This theory is related

to my research problem, marketing strategies that women’s basketball marketing leaders

use to increase their fan base, because it provides an appropriate lens through which the

phenomenon can be studied. As my chosen conceptual framework, the 4 Ps can offer

constructs that women’s professional marketing leaders can view and consider vital to

increase their fan base.

Approximately 20% of the literature review was committed to exploring possible

themes and phenomena associated with the 4 Ps framework. Emphasis was placed on

analyzing studies directly related to the central problem and the purpose of this study. A

relevant examination of diverse perspectives and prior findings was included with an

awareness of variables such as sample size and geographical differences. Through the

synthesis of current literature, the literature review aimed to provide a comprehensive

understanding of both strategies used to advance women’s sports and increase the fan

base.

4 Ps Theory

The 4 Ps framework was first introduced by McCarthy, representing product,

price, place, and promotion for the concept of marketing strategy. It allows marketers to

translate the 4 Ps into a marketing strategy to improve meeting consumer needs. Goi

(2009) suggested that it is the most powerful concept because it makes marketing easy to

handle, separates marketing activities from the rest of the organization, and can change its

competitive position. Nuseir and Madanat (2015) agree that all four aspects of the 4 Ps

are essential for organizations to be successful. They also suggest that the relationship

between consumer satisfaction and loyalty is tied together, and understanding how to

utilize the 4 Ps to their full extent will help consumers become loyal.

Marketing strategy is about identifying what the consumer needs and wants and

understanding what the wants and needs are allows marketers to respond by creating

place, product, promotions, and price (Xia, 2023). Place is used to delineate a product’s

physical or online placement. A product, event, or brand is recommended through

interaction with target consumers, which results in sales between employees and

consumers. Promotions are attributes, advantages, designs, packaging, and branding. The

last key component is price, which is how much the consumer is willing to spend on the

good or service. Paul et al (2022) revealed that companies that use the 4 Ps effectively

outperform those who do not. The 4 Ps are vital for women’s professional basketball

marketing leaders to understand and implement to effectively enhance the fan base.

The Era of Innovation with Digital Marketing

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to understand the power

of digital marketing. Athletes and leagues have embraced the idea of utilizing different

platforms like Instagram and TikTok to increase their followers and become popular.

When the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) puts video content on their

TikTok account that is funny, realistic, and relatable, they receive the most views;

however, if the video content is about game highlights or press interviews, they are not

viewed as frequently (FierkeLeep, 2024). TikTok continues gaining users because of the

app’s ability to predict interests and present content automatically without requiring the

user to choose (Scovel, 2025). Celiker and Gul (2025) understand that digital tools like

social media, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled sports marketers

globally, allowing them to create personalized marketing campaigns and enhance brand

loyalty. Understanding and utilizing these tools to their full potential can enhance

outreach to potential fans for women’s professional basketball. Women’s professional

basketball marketing leaders need to be fluent on these platforms to keep up with the

ever-changing digital market.

The ever-changing digital market is something that women’s professional

basketball marketing leaders need to be at the forefront of. Jinga (2024) outlines

successful strategies that sports marketers need to be successful. Jinga (2024) suggested

that the marketing teams be able to adapt to dynamic changes, integrate digital

technology, sustainable and social responsibility, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the

strategic role of sponsorships. Apostu et al. (2025) add that digital platforms have

transformed sports marketing, enhancing the reach to fans and fostering deep connections

with fans. Gaining knowledge about how to use digital platforms to increase fans

successfully is extremely important for women’s professional basketball marketing

leaders to understand. It also gives women’s professional basketball marketing leaders the

opportunity for innovation and consumer engagement.

Innovation and consumer engagement are essential not only to maintain the

current fans but also to attract new fans. Pourgholi et al. (2024) conducted a qualitative

study with semistructured interviews and found that innovation, development, resource

management, and digital marketing are key factors to bring in fans. They realized that the

more innovative and creative marketers were, the more likely they would capture new

market opportunities and meet consumer needs to attract more fans. Ling and Zhao

(2024) agree that innovation will be the key to success with the rapidly changing digital

platforms because it allows marketers to develop new ways to interact with fans and

deepen their global influence. Being innovative and flexible with what is working is just

as important as leaving behind something that does not work. Women’s professional

basketball marketing leaders must continue to be creative and agile as the digital

platforms change and hire capable people who understand the intricacy of digital

marketing.

Digital marketing, although not new, might be hard for marketing leaders who

have not traditionally marketed to consumers this way. Although marketing leaders are

willing to embrace technology, it was discovered that they are hindered by the lack of

technical and marketing competency in today’s digital environment. (Olazo, 2022). Even

though the digital environment has opportunities to break through barriers, it still brings

unprecedented conflict and uncertainty because of the cross-media environment that

sports marketing leaders need to be aware of (Zheng & Mason, 2022). Regardless of the

struggles in figuring out how to have a successful digital marketing campaign, hiring

technologically capable employees who understand how to market to consumers is vital.

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to verify that they have the

correct personnel who understand how to use their digital platforms and know what

consumers want to see to be successful.

Captivating Women’s Professional Basketball Sports Fans

Women’s professional basketball leagues have two central revenue streams: ticket

sales and broadcasting rights. Another way they generate revenue is through a secondary

source: parking fees, game day merchandise sales, and concessions. Women’s

professional basketball marketing leaders must understand the variables affecting game

attendance. Johnson and Bo (2023) understand that the cornerstone of the WNBA has

been social justice initiatives by the teams and players, as well as being able to interact

with the players before the game starts. Part of the WNBA initiatives is launching a

campaign such as “More than just a game,” “WNBA got game,” and “Girls is players

too” (Jackson, 2025). Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders create a sense

of belonging, allowing fans to identify with the team. Allowing the WNBA to embrace

speaking up on social initiatives and interactive activities, the game can lead to positive

attitudes towards customer satisfaction.

Professional sports have positively affected the community, the city, and the state

they play. Popek’s (2024) study highlights that professional sports hold a unique place in

society by providing entertainment, inspiration, and economic growth. Reilly &

Rodriguez (2024) take it a step further and found that where there are WNBA teams, they

see a rise in high school girls’ basketball participation and an increase in women enrolling

in college. The study concluded that the women were influenced by the WNBA franchise

location and the operation in their state. Knowing that professional sports can energize a

community just by having a presence in that area is something that women’s professional

basketball marketers can use to increase their fan base.

Utilizing Star Power

College athletes already have star power before becoming professional athletes,

which can help women’s professional basketball marketing leaders increase fans of the

league and the team the athlete is drafted by. The National Collegiate Athletic Association

(NCAA) in 2021 instituted name, image, and likeness (NIL) legislation so that athletes

could have the ability to monetize their brand through endorsements and marketing

efforts through different avenues like social media (Harris & Brison, 2024). Elite college

athletes now can build their publicity and are allowed to build intricate digital brands on

the athlete’s own time (Scovel, 2025). The NIL legislation has now allowed college

athletes to become stars through endorsements before they even become professional

athletes. Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders can use the athlete’s star

power by partnering with these athletes once a team drafts them to increase the fan base.

Women athletes have created their brands with social media platforms like TikTok

and Instagram, embracing using social media to market themselves in a free marketing

sporting environment. Scovel (2024) gives an example on TikTok about Hanna and Haley

Cavinder, who played for the Fresno State women’s basketball team, having more than

3.3 million followers, which allowed them to sign lucrative endorsement deals. This

phenomenon of athlete-endorsed products has allowed these athletes to become

superstars and to influence consumers because they are deemed trustworthy. Celebrity

players being drafted to a women’s professional basketball team gains consumer

recognition because of their talent, being likeable, trustworthy, and having name

recognition (Rai et al., 2021). Mansouri et al. (2023) agree that the team gains consumer

recognition because the athlete influences their fans to support the team they are playing

for; however, when they leave the team, the fans may or may not continue to follow the

individual player but the team. Zheng et al. (2024) suggested that marketers should

understand the influence of their athletes’ achievements on fans so that the athlete can be

utilized to market to the fans to attract fans of the team. Loyal fans follow the athletes

into their professional careers and continue supporting them as individual players;

however, it is vital for women’s professional marketing leaders to leverage the athletes’

followers to create a sense of belonging so the fan will become a team fan.

Star power is a unique opportunity for women’s professional basketball marketing

leaders to use to increase their fan base. Women’s professional marketing team looking to

increase their fan base must understand the importance of audience perception. Murtas et

al. (2024) agree that perception is essential for fans, highlighting athletes’ achievements

and celebrating athletes at a national team can increase engagement and strengthen the

team’s image. According to Ahn and Noh (2024), women’s professional basketball

marketing leaders should also utilize their athletes in team branding efforts by closely

managing branded athlete fan interaction. Influencing consumers by highlighting athletes’

achievements, celebrating their success, and helping facilitate athlete and fan engagement

can contribute to an increase in fans.

Athletes are not just people who play sports, but influencers who can make money

by signing prominent endorsements. Cahillane (2023) wrote an article about how WNBA

star Angel Reese had over 2.6 million followers on Instagram and TikTok. Angel had

made deals with lucrative companies such as Amazon, Reebok, and Tampax, which she

promoted as an influencer on her social media platforms, like Hanna and Morton (2021),

who wrote an article about how Kobe Bryant was an influencer of the WNBA and the

unfinished legacy of how he was a huge advocate for not only the sport of basketball but

also of women’s basketball. There are many opportunities for athletes in the WNBA and

NBA to promote women’s professional basketball because they have star power. Social

media influencing or star power could positively affect branding, marketing, and products

because fans might focus solely on the influencer instead of the brand.

An Opportunity to Enhance Spectator Attendance

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to focus on

entertainment for the fans at the stadium. They need to understand that fans want to watch

a competitive game and be entertained during warm-ups, time-outs, and half-time.

Satitsamitpong et al. (2024) emphasized that if marketers want to get people to attend

games in person, they need to enhance the event’s attractiveness within the community,

manage event rewards, consider price strategies, and utilize in-game promotions.

Napontun et al. (2023), using the 7 Ps marketing mix theory, agree that there needs to be

an event attractiveness to increase fan attendance. They suggested emphasizing the

quality of service, appropriate event start time, halftime shows, and stadium decoration to

enhance the spectators’ interest. Sports marketers need to develop targeted strategies that

encourage interest and engagement among spectators, which complements the sporting

event experience and helps grow the fan base.

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders should understand what

motivates fans to attend games. A study about men’s and women’s football teams in the

same city by Clarke et al. (2022) outlined the motives for why men and women attend the

games. They discovered that the most significant motive for women to attend a women’s

football game was feminism, physical, and aesthetic; for men, it was drama, physical, and

aesthetic. It also suggested that women’s positive correlation between increasing

identification with the team and media consumption led to higher attendance at the

women’s matches and merchandise purchases. Kim et al (2022) agree that people who

attend women’s sports are significantly influenced by physical skill performance;

however, they also report that fair-weather fans of women’s sports attend games for the

in-game entertainment and staff quality. However, a study by Wu et al. (2023) points out

that the University of Notre Dame women’s basketball program has a larger loyal fan

base of women season ticket holders aged fifty-five to eighty-five because they have a

strong sense of identification and pride in their women’s basketball program. As older

women, it also enhances their social contacts and friendships that promote a sense of

community with other women in their program. Women’s professional basketball

marketing leaders should not only try to make a positive correlation to increase team

identification and sense of community to create long-term fans, but also market to the

fair-weather fan coming to the game for entertainment. It is up to the women’s

professional basketball marketing team to win over fair-weather fans while they are in

attendance, not only through entertainment but also by creating a connection to the team.

Marketing

Team branding and identity are significant building blocks to successfully

developing professional women’s sports. Wear and Heere (2020) collected longitudinal

qualitative data using a multilevel growth curve about the role of branding association

and team identity. The researchers found that when using the minor league baseball

franchise, establishing a sense of community within the stadium facilitates social

interaction and the ability to market and promote these characteristics as key brand

associations for new teams. Women’s professional basketball team owners need to create

an ideal environment so that fans can have a positive interaction, which would create a

sense of belonging to the team. Fans want to support the home teams within the city

because they feel a sense of connection.

Fans who connect to men’s basketball can leverage this connection with women’s

basketball teams. Through similar research, Doyle et al. (2021) agreed that new teams

must increase branding association and team identity. Using a free-thought listing and

semistructured interviews on women’s sports, they uncovered that brand linking to men's

sports will help shape consumer perception of women’s sports because of the difference

between men's and women's sports branding. Women’s professional basketball teams are

sometimes associated with an NBA team; for example, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los

Angeles Sparks have the same team colors and play in the same facilities, allowing

marketers to sell the NBA and the WNBA if branded correctly. If more women’s

professional basketball teams could leverage their men’s counterparts, it would create

brand recognition between teams and give fans a sense of community by supporting both

teams in their city.

Marketing to Fans: Gender

There are various marketing strategies to entice fans to try attending women’s

sports. Adachi et al. (2022) studied the difference between male and female fans of

Japan's top-level volleyball league. They discovered that although the fans watched the

same sports, men tended to become fans based on achievement, interest in volleyball, and

supporting teams and athletes, while women fans became loyal fans once they became

hooked on a team or sport. Women fans were also most likely to have played the sport,

enjoyed volleyball, and attended games with friends with the same interests. Qian et al.

(2022) revealed the same results in tennis: the skill and achievement of women athletes

drew in women fans through their formative hierarchical component model addressing

men and women sports fans. Clarke et al. (2022) put out an online survey in England to

do a comparative analysis of men’s and women’s sports fans; however, they found that

both men and women were motivated to become fans based on physical skill and

achievement. Wear and Heere (2020) noted a significant difference in the consumption

and engagement of individuals as fans of women's sports. For example, women had

access to sporting events for the initial draw, but the quality of the athletes is what kept

them there. Regardless of the various marketing strategies employed to draw viewers to

women’s sports, fans were inevitably hooked by the quality of athletes.

Furthermore, fans of women’s sports stay loyal due to the athletes’ skill level and

ability to win, rather than showy or theatrical gameplay. In response to a comment by

Shaquille O’Neal suggesting that the WNBA would gain more attention if players dunked

more often, Walker et al. (2022) conducted an empirical study to test whether

spectaclebased features such as dunking, star power, and three-point shooting affected fan

engagement. After analyzing factors that influenced NBA gate revenue, they found that

fans primarily cared about winning, not flashy plays. This finding aligned with Adachi et

al.’s (2022) study, which examined gendered perceptions of sports information and

concluded that skill and performance were the most valued attributes across men’s and

women’s sports. These findings suggest that marketing women’s sports should emphasize

competitive performance and athletic excellence, rather than trying to mimic the

highlight-reel aesthetics of men's leagues.

Consequently, the differences between male and female consumers were

understood, and branding campaigns were purposely targeting specific genders to

increase the fan base in women’s basketball. McDonald (2000) noted that sports had

traditionally been marketed to men; however, with the expansion of marketing women’s

sports, it was vital to market to a diverse demographic, starting with women, families,

and businesses. Doshi (2023) used a survey method to understand the perception of

marketing between men and women in professional sports leagues. After getting

responses from 437 participants, Doshi (2023) utilized Jamovi software for data analysis,

which determined that participants thought there were marketing differences between

men’s and women’s professional sports. They both agreed it was important to market

women’s sports as family-friendly and community-oriented, while men were marketed to

a broader and more diverse audience. Women’s professional basketball markets need to

understand the difference in marketing techniques to ensure they are marketing to men’s

and women’s families and businesses to increase the sport’s growth.

Women’s professional basketball marketers should be able to leverage popular

men’s team brands like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armor in order to gain brand

recognition. Doyle et al. (2021) explored brand association with women’s professional

sports teams. They uncovered that men’s and women’s sports brands were from the same

portfolio, which helped marketers identify brands to market women’s professional sports

teams. Using popular brands already identified by men’s sports teams could help increase

brand awareness of women’s sports teams by providing women’s team logos on already

exciting merchandise.

With women’s professional basketball becoming popular, it is important to learn

how women’s attitudes or thoughts have changed towards sports. Wear et al. (2022)

acknowledged that there was something different about women as individual fans

regarding how they consumed and engaged in women’s sports. Women’s attitudes toward

women’s sports are changing, and evidence shows that accessibility and opportunities to

watch women’s sports have positively changed the image of the team's overall brand.

Allowing women to watch women’s sports will have to change how marketers market.

This transformation will be positive for women fans and women’s professional

basketball.

Women, as consumers, could not be lumped into one classification, but into

multiple classifications. Sutton and Knoester (2021) used data from the National Sports

and Society Survey and used a multivariate regression analysis to determine the sports

consumption of US women. They found that women consumers aligned with social

structure, status, relationship, number of children, sports experience, and sport-related

identity. Qian et al. (2022) agreed with the study, and their study revealed that the

consumption of women’s tennis in China was related to economic status and the time of

day because women were still bound to household duties. Although women watch more

sporting events, sports marketers need to understand that most women still run the

household. Understanding this can help women’s professional organizations attract more

fans by determining the best times to schedule games.

Being able to schedule a game to maximize fans is just the start of increasing the

women’s professional basketball fan base. It is important to know that fans also consider

the quality and diversity of the players. Leslie-Walker and Mulvenna (2022) investigated

the Women’s Football Association Super League and female soccer fans. Since the start

of the England Women’s Super League (WSL), not only has the league grown in the

number of teams, but women’s fans have as well. They attribute this success to the

quality of players and the diversity of the team’s roster. This data about the quality of

players and team diversity could be used to help gain more fans of women’s professional

basketball games.

Digital Platforms

Mass communication has changed how information and consumables are

marketed, especially for the younger generation. Abeza (2023) said that half the world

uses digital platforms for information. Hafiar et al. (2023) noted that teenagers who

follow sports sought information about their idols on digital platforms like Instagram.

Adolescents, like adults, were looking for brand image, athletic performance,

sportsmanship, and rivalry between teams. Women’s professional basketball marketers

need to understand their target market on digital platforms and what trends they are

looking for, so they have options on how they will market to them.

The increased use of social media forced marketers to create new marketing

communication on platforms and channels, but this has also provided them with many

options on how they can do that. Khanom (2023) suggested that marketers should not just

use one platform or channel, but all related to the product to gain brand recognition and

awareness. Zulfikar (2023) agreed that marketers should use multiple digital channels but

stressed the need for “companies to differentiate themselves from competitors and build a

unique and positive brand image”; this would allow the brand to be noticeable from

others. These platforms and channels also allow marketers to assess where women’s

sports stand to determine the overall brand identity, brand image, and company

performance (Rehman et al., 2022). Using multiple platforms allows marketers to reach a

significantly greater population; however, reaching more people means that women’s

professional basketball marketers need to make themselves stand out from other women’s

sports. Digital marketing provided a way to promote products, establish good consumer

relationships, and positively impact the brand. With many digital marketing platforms

available, there are ample opportunities for creative differentiation in marketing

promotion.

Many top sports apparel companies have successfully adopted digital marketing

as a stable strategy to attract new audiences. For example, Chen (2023) took Nike’s

marketing strategy to help market a Chinese sports brand, and the most noticeable

takeaway was that Nike’s strategies understood that on social media, they needed to

interact with consumers and have real-time answers about their products to keep

consumers. Walness et al. (2024) suggested that sports businesses use social media to get

insights from the public narrative to create brand awareness and reputation, develop and

use customer service, and find industry trends to market to. Women’s basketball needs to

gain knowledge about the public narrative about women’s sport to create brand awareness

and a reputation to promote women’s professional basketball.

A tool that women’s professional basketball marketers should be creating is a

digital marketing strategy. Jinga (2024) did a case study to address strategies to make the

sports market successful in the digital age. Sports marketers had to be dynamic and adapt

to changes as they continually evolved with technological advancements and consumer

preferences. Lebel et al. (2021) agreed that possibilities were endless if sports marketers

changed their thoughts about women’s sports stakeholders. After developing a

threequestion survey to determine what was working in women’s sports, they discovered

that it depended on the age and role of the stakeholder, but what everyone agreed on was

pushing to change the way women’s sports marketers thought. Sports marketers should

constantly strategize for the long game to innovate and explore new business strategies.

They should integrate digital technology because it offers a global platform and

opportunities to engage with fans. Using a digital strategy will help increase women’s

basketball fans, through team recognition and players, which will grow the sport.

Digital Economy

Digital platforms are the way that online shoppers can look at reviews, buy

products, and leave reviews of products that have been purchased. Varghese and Agrawal

(2021) used empirical data from 200 respondents who were actively involved in online

shopping. With a questionnaire, they asked how social media influenced consumers. They

agreed that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter were where

consumers could share information, connect, and share thoughts about purchased

products, which influenced their buying habits. Purchasers said they could trust social

media advertisements and customer reviews without interruption. Li et al. (2023) agreed

that a brand could spread quickly among core consumer groups because of social media,

contrary to the traditional path of building a brand. The researchers also suggested that

the brand could further expand into the brand ecosystem in the digital economy. Since

consumers can interact with each other, leave reviews, and trust social media advertising,

it would be beneficial for brands to promote women’s professional basketball on these

platforms.

In conjunction with using digital platforms to build brands and advertise for

companies, they are also utilizing social media influencers. According to Yuliati and

Huda (2022), online marketers used influencers to promote brand awareness and products

because consumers believed in the influencer’s opinions, advice, and views. Influencers

were the carriers that influenced purchasing decisions and were used to make the leading

choice of digital marketing strategies. Hudders and De Jans (2021) agreed that

influencers were being utilized for marketing campaigns, spreading the word about

products and brands, and giving their opinions. Chang and Wu (2023) collected branded

posts from 205 Instagram influencers. They empirically examined four factors,

authenticity, vividness, coolness, and influencer-product, and found that authenticity and

influencer-product positively affected the product. Kalkumbe et al. (2024) conducted a

quantitative survey using Google Docs to assess the effectiveness of influencer marketing

in increasing brand recognition and the relationship between influencers and consumers.

The survey results found that influencers significantly impacted heightened brand

awareness, sharing perceptions, and driving consumer engagement. Each of these studies

confirmed that using influence significantly influences consumers. Using influencers to

market women’s sports would be highly beneficial because they have much influence

over consumers.

Identifying the correct influencer for branding, marketing, and products for

women’s sport. Aw and Agnihotri (2023) agreed when examining the marketing

phenomenon that the most thriving marketing strategy at that time used influencers to

promote products and brands. Pan et al. (2024), using a meta-analysis from 251 papers,

suggested that using influencers to promote a product was another key way to promote

and market women’s sports; however, using the correct influencer for women’s sports

was even more important. Influencers can significantly impact women’s sports, but

finding one who can relate to women’s basketball will be essential. Using current or

former athletes who are influencers can push women’s basketball in the right direction.

In the digital economy, digital platforms allow consumers to establish a direct

connection with the brand, leading consumers to develop relationships. Using consumers'

capabilities, integration, and experience helped them participate in the building of the

brand process and played a decisive role. Companies could interact with consumers

through social media, e-commerce platforms, and other channels that jointly create brand

equality. Li et al. (2023) suggested enabling users to participate in brand-building and

interact directly through social media, where the brand could spread quickly among

consumer groups. This would allow women’s professional basketball marketers to let the

consumers help them spread the word about women’s basketball. However, allowing

consumers to be part of the branding could also have hindered the company.

If consumers do not like a product, the company’s branding campaigns or values

can be destroyed within seconds. Jiang and Phakdeephirot (2024), during their study in

Chengdu, China, also identified key challenges like digital rights, online content, and

maintaining fan engagement. Companies needed to have a crisis management team to

keep this situation under control. For example, if a company branded an athlete and the

athlete did something inappropriate, it could instantly spread over social media,

impacting the brand and the athlete. Rosario and Dias (2022) said that a crisis

management team should be used to observe reactions and responses to develop a

response quickly to consumer concerns. Allowing consumers to be a part of the

usergenerated content on a platform did not allow organizations to filter the information

online. Giving the consumer a voice in the brand’s extended communication could also

bring a bad light to the product. Attitudes, perceptions, and behavior toward a brand on

social media could be disseminated in seconds, regardless of whether they were true

(Abashidze, 2022). With that power, someone must monitor products online as much as

possible.

Sports: Digital Platform

Digital and interactive marketing communication in the digital era has dominated

the consumer market. Sports have also taken to digital platforms, which creates sports

fans. Jiang and Phakdeephirot (2024) conducted qualitative semistructured interviews to

understand the impact of digital media on sports management in Chengdu, China.

Chengdu took action to shift to a digital platform because digital platforms played a

massive role in fan engagement, marketing strategies, and brand building. They suggested

that with technological advancement, companies would use AI, VR, and 5G to enhance

marketing, fan experience, and branding. Kedi et al. (2024), although hesitant at first to

use machine learning because of data quality, system integration, and ethical concerns,

agreed that machine learning provided an opportunity to personalize effective and

complete marketing campaigns, which significantly impacted women’s sports fans.

Girardin (2020) confirmed that social media could be used for specialized campaigns and

run by cultural drivers, meaning that sports could have a cultural effect on people and

women’s professional basketball. Allowing computer-generated AI, VR, or 5G would

help promote women’s professional basketball. It would know who was watching reels,

and reading posts, and continue feeding them that information based on the system's

algorithm.

However, social media would not be effective if participation from the sports

industry or individuals did not respond or repost. If utilized year-round by women’s

professional basketball, it could help boost fans, consumers, and marketing for the sport,

and drive revenue. Another reason to post year-round is that fans could connect with the

team and strengthen their relationship, not just during the season. This would enhance the

worth of fans by appreciating the audience Lee and Na (2023) conducted a study on

social media consumers who feared missing out (FOMO), meaning they watched

livestreaming games and posted about them. Continually allowing consumers to watch,

post, and share things on social media would benefit women’s basketball, even more so if

there were something year-round to post about. Utilizing these consumers with a FOMO

could also help increase reposts of women’s professional sports and help gather social

media groups to help drive revenue.

Social media allowed open communication about sports and, more importantly,

about women’s sports worldwide. This allowed the growth of women’s sports; however,

during the pandemic, women’s sports were still overlooked. Bowes and colleagues (2021)

noted that women's sports were largely ignored during the pandemic, while only

professional men's teams were allowed to resume play when it was considered safe. They

also expressed that women’s sports were rising before the pandemic, with more media

coverage, improved working conditions, and improved finances and professionalism.

Women’s professional basketball marketers needed to pick up where they left off before

the pandemic and gain that momentum again.

Being able to gain that momentum again, it is important to understand what the

fan wants to see. Min et al. (2022), during their empirical investigation of push and pull

factors of consumption of women’s professional basketball games, found that consumers

wanted it all: experience, interaction, and team achievement. With this information, sports

marketers could start understanding the relationship between consumers’ needs and

expectations to gain women’s professional basketball consumers. They suggested creating

accessible game times, rival games, and year-round promotions instead of ad hoc

promotions, which could increase the consumer’s attendance at games.

Using digital platforms has increased the ability to connect with people worldwide

and give people what they want when they want. Digital marketing and advertising

became a part of sports marketing, promoting sports events, increasing brand equality,

and allowing fans to continue to be engaged with players, coaches, and leagues (Byon &

Phua, 2021). Fans connecting with the other fans, teams, and coaches will drive women’s

professional basketball. It allows the fans to see into their lives, not just during the game.

Fans want to feel exclusive, and if women’s professional basketball marketers keep

widening the door for the fans, it will continue to gain popularity. Social media has

opened doors to allow fans near and far to participate in women’s sports, even if they are

globally separated or living next door.

The NBA decided it was also vital for them to have a footprint in the digital

platforms because social media is an important tool for branding and marketing. Einsle et

al. (2023) systematically reviewed the literature on social media engagement within the

sports field, and their findings also agreed that social media was a vital tool for branding,

marketing, and fans to be engaged with the sport in this two-way communication.

Consumers are drawn to the instant capabilities that digital platforms give them, and

because of this, the NBA successfully did a digital transformation, which had positive

results globally. The NBA did a digital transformation to address business and business

models, target social media marketing strategies, increase consumer and sponsor demand,

and accelerate growth in women’s sports and streaming media worldwide (Santomier et

al., 2023). Santomier et al. (2023) conducted an explanatory case study on the NBA’s

digital transformation. They found that the entrepreneurial management team had run a

successful digital business strategy across multimedia channels. By the 2017-2018

season, the NBA had validated a favorable position in global entertainment. To stay

relevant, the NBA needed to move its marketing onto digital platforms to stay relevant

with its fans and continue branding worldwide. This favorable position in global

entertainment will highlight the NBA and the WNBA, creating more interest in women’s

basketball worldwide.

Additionally, the NBA had recognized that even though they had a digital

footprint, they could also take advantage of jersey sponsorships, which allowed fans to

watch the game and see advertisements on their shirt, which helped the advertising brand

to break through the social media clutter (Jensen et al., 2023). Manoli (2022) agreed that

if non-sports-related companies used sports for their branding and marketing, it would

help the company because of sports’ global reach through sponsorship. This allowed the

NBA to gain more revenue by adding advertisements to their uniform from non-

sportsrelated companies, and the teams make money through sponsorship. Branding on

their uniforms is another way companies can get their name out there since the NBA has

a global footprint due to its digital transformation.

Being able to reach fans worldwide in seconds is what digital platforms do, and

taking advantage of that with sports branding is vital, as well as understanding how

people are helping with that. Hoeber et al. (2023) analyzed approximately 6000 tweets to

see how people used social media to advocate women’s cycling during the men’s 2013

Tour de France. They found that people utilized digital practices like links, retweets,

hashtags, influencers, and direct mentions, and that this platform could be a digital

activism tool for women’s sports. Yu (2023) understood the importance of companies

developing social media markets and explained that it helped improve the influence and

recognition of sports brands. Understanding the practices of followers like retweets,

hashtags, influencers, and direct mentions is a massive opportunity for women’s

professional basketball to take advantage of. While creating marketing strategies, they

can use this information to add hashtags, mention influencers, and have two-way

communication with fans in hopes that they will retweet the information.

Although people are attracted to social media because it is a constant stream of

information, marketers realize that consumers are no longer looking at the information

but just glancing at it. Kennedy and Funk (2023) warned that sports consumers might

ignore social media posts by habitually scrolling through them. Through semistructured

interviews, they identified five themes: passively, distinctly, periodically, habitually, and

universally, which determined that their social media use was habitual based on habits or

learned preferences. Manoli (2022) agreed that social media had dramatically increased

the information consumers received, automatically making consumers filter what they

wanted to look at. Women’s professional basketball marketers need to stand out from the

rest of the digital marketing noise. They need to create creative and eye-catching

advertising so that people will not scroll past it but look at what they are advertising and

hopefully repost it. The digital era changed our perception of how consumers view

information. It has allowed consumers to influence others with their experiences on

digital platforms, including sports brands or teams.

Women’s professional basketball marketers can draw fans from people traveling

to their city by exposing the women’s professional team and branding them with the city

where they play. Ramos et al. (2022) took online reviews of 17 European sports stadiums

on TripAdvisor and conducted a structural equation model to understand visitors’

experiences at stadiums. They found that the visitors positively impacted the team brand

and the destination, which meant efforts were made to expose their team to the city

culture. This opportunity will bring in fans not only from the local area but also from

other cities. Marketers can promote the city, businesses affiliated with the team, and the

women’s professional basketball team. Being able to get this type of visibility would have

a positive impact on women’s professional basketball.

Continuously pushing digital marketing to the team in the local area would also

help fans create a sense of belonging and ownership to the team. This would also create a

space for fans to meet each other and bond over the team. Using a hierarchical linear

model, Katz et al. (2024) found that women WNBA fans were more likely to watch the

game in isolation than social fans. The isolation fans did not want to watch the games

alone but could not find a group to go to, watch, or talk about the game. Chiweshe and

Choto (2022) wanted to understand how women of Zimbabwe had become English

football club fans in a male-dominated domain. Using in-depth interviews, they identified

that women had to navigate male-dominated spaces where football was watched to watch

a game; however, when games started being broadcast over satellite, it allowed women

fans to embrace their team. They could show deep emotional and physical attachments

and wear team gear. They specifically noted that women who were fans were no longer

portrayed in stereotypes as ignorant girlfriends or wives. Marketers using this data might

have drawn fans isolated into cities with women’s basketball teams with whom they

could connect to the city and other fans. When fans connect, it creates a sense of

belonging to the team they are following. If women’s professional basketball markets

could create the same sense of belonging, it would increase the number of women’s

basketball fans.

Earned Media Coverage: Men vs Women

The influence of social media has provided many opportunities to advance

women’s professional basketball, but digital platforms like traditional media still post

more about male athletes than women athletes. Smith-Ditizio and Smith (2022) studied

media coverage, brand image, and performance; they found that men had more digital

coverage than women during the Tokyo Olympics. Salido-Fernandez and Munoz-Munoz

(2021) conducted a similar study and found the same results for men’s and women’s

basketball in the Spanish digital press in Rio. Twitter had the second most users on social

media, with roughly 340 million users (Latimer & Dabbs, 2022). Of 340 million users,

41% comprised sports content, and within that sports content, the retweets were mostly

male college sports. Although this stigma is still out there, social media coverage needs to

help women’s sports by highlighting their quality of play and celebrating their wins. As

women’s sports at the college and professional level continued to grow, there was no

reason women should have taken a backseat to men's sports.

Unfortunately, digital platforms still fall short in promoting women’s sports.

Twitter was at the forefront of digital media, which reflected a traditional media avenue

of gender bias (Ada Lameiras & Rodrigues-Castro, 2020). Ada Lameiras and

RodriguesCastro (2020) found that professional women athletes, although mentioned for

their success on Twitter, were scrutinized for their failures more. There was a case to be

made that the fewer women athletes were mentioned in digital media, the less opportunity

they had to be as successful as their male counterparts. However, it is important to

understand that any media coverage, good or bad, is better than no coverage.

Digital platforms need to change the storyline and start promoting women’s sports

as much as men’s, and it is time for a new era of covering sports. Even as digital

platforms take off, Cooky et al. (2021) did a quantitative study over 30 years of televised

women's and men’s sports coverage. They found that women’s sports were covered once,

while men’s sports, even during the offseason, had more coverage than women’s.

However, during the women’s World Cup, Pope et al. (2024) did a longitudinal analysis

of media coverage compared to printed media during the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s

World Cups in the United Kingdom. They found that coverage had increased, and the

focus in the 2019 media on women’s soccer was comparable to men’s, but there was still

more that media coverage could do. Coche and Bell (2023) conducted a more isolated

study of the US Women’s national team after winning the World Cup in 2015 and 2019.

They did a content analysis of the printed US newspapers on the front cover to identify

how the US Women’s World Cup was covered for back-to-back wins. It was noted that

the coverage for 2015 and 2019 was the same despite being in different geographical

locations and winning back-to-back the World Cup. The media should promote women’s

sports; however, there is still a stigma about women playing sports, regardless of how

skilled the players are. Digital platforms are being used like traditional media, which will

bring about a cultural change for women to have the same coverage as men. Digital

platforms are changing how they report on women’s sports, which can increase the

number of women’s professional basketball fans.

Digital platforms can provide followers with behind-the-scenes photos and videos,

creating an opportunity for followers to feel a sense of belonging. Instagram currently

provides those opportunities for followers. Li et al. (2021), during the 2019 World Cup,

took a deeper look into Instagram, where players and teams can share photos and videos

with their fan base. The Instagram platform has about 30% of its 800 million users who

are sports fans, and the average age is 30 years or younger. Teams, athletes, and

marketers can use this platform to provide insights into their personal lives and behind-

the-scenes clips of preparation before and after games, inside an organization, and pre-

rituals. Using Instagram for teams, athletes, marketers, and branders could impact the

direction of professional women’s athletes.

Even though women’s professional basketball marketing leaders are using

Instagram for behind-the-scenes, it also allows the female athletes themselves to promote

the brand they are representing and their team. Doyle et al. (2020) researched Instagram

as a platform for athletes to promote their brands and engage with consumers. Dakroub et

al. (2023) noticed that women’s sports have continued to grow and that sports enthusiasts

are using the Instagram platform. They collected empirical survey data from 246

international sports consumers at EXPO 2021 to gain a better perspective. They agree that

social media presents an opportunity for female athletes to have lucrative opportunities

for companies and brands to endorse female athletes and increase their online brand

image if they target sports consumers motivated by entertainment, fashion, popularity,

and attractiveness, and positively influence social media engagement. Li et al. (2021)

agree that Instagram has the possibility for professional female athletes to rise by sharing

their personal lives, professional highlights, product placement, and endorsements

because athletes are closer to fans and consumers. Name, image, and likeness in the

NCAA has allowed women’s athletes to gain fans through digital platforms, which has

increased women’s professional basketball. Women athletes are using digital platforms to

gain exposure not only for themselves but also for their sport.

During the FIFA Women’s Cup, female athletes utilized Instagram stories to share

information, express their opinions, promote match-related content, and enhance

communication and brand purposes, which disappeared 24 hours after the post. Although

Instagram was a great place to start building an image for teams and athletes, a study by

Gonkek and Gencer (2023) uncovered that women athletes do not post as much as their

counterparts, and even fewer individual athletes post than teams during their thematic

coding to conduct a content analysis of 24 professional athletes. This information can

help push female athletes, individuals, or teams to use Instagram and post about their

business and personal lives. They suggest that sports marketers teach professional athletes

how to use Instagram for their benefit.

Using digital platforms to their full potential can boost the percentage of female

athletes on social media. Hasaan and Fisne (2021) did a systematic literature review to

understand how to maintain brand authenticity over time. It was determined that

consumers relate to brand authenticity over time through on-field, off-field, and

marketing activities. Ultimately, the consumer brand authenticity impression was relevant

to the consumer, both the athlete’s off-field and marketing activities. Utilizing brand

authenticity categories on Instagram can enhance female athletes’ posting off the field

and look into marketing activities on Instagram.

Even though the owners operate multiple teams of men and women, sports do not

mean they are getting the same coverage. Painter et al. (2021) used local newspaper

coverage of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Major League Soccer

(MLS) from Portland, Houston, and Orlando since they were owned and operated by the

same organization. From their quantitative content data analysis, the researchers found

that the NWSL received less coverage than the MLS, but the coverage was on individuals

and ethics. In contrast, the MLS had more team coverage, focused on philanthropy, and

quoted organizations more frequently. Even though it has been determined that fans stay

fans based on the quality of their skills and winning, the traditional media have not kept

up with what the fans want.

Even though women’s sports are considered valuable and elite, it does not mean

they get the same coverage on social media. Women’s basketball was regarded as one of

China’s most important sports teams, but lacked social media attention. A strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis was done to find that instead of

looking into the team’s strengths, they focused on these three factors: weakness,

opportunity, and threat, all of which had negative social media impacts on the team. Zhao

(2022) agreed that social media could do more for women’s sports. Even though women’s

basketball was regarded as one of China’s most important sports teams, it was not getting

the media coverage it deserved. Shifting people’s perspective about women’s sports is

going to allow women’s sports to shine. Highlighting the team equally and promoting

positive achievements on digital platforms would boost the image of women’s

sport.

Although society has shifted to a digital environment, unfortunately, gender

stereotypes still exist within the sports world. Sainz-de-Baranda et al. (2020) agreed that

women were underrepresented in traditional media and Twitter. Because of this, women

were not being represented, which resulted in fewer female role models in digital media

for young female athletes to look up to and the growth of women’s professional

basketball. Pocock and Skey (2022) recognized that to provide women professional

athletes with more opportunities, they should bypass traditional media and use social

media. However, Pocock and Skey said that they needed to have an appropriate distance

from social media to protect themselves from negative comments and be active enough to

be role models for young female followers. Konczak (2022) would say that women

athletes in 2020 became recognized as mainstream; however, challenges still existed even

though they were getting recognition. Krieger et al. (2022) agreed that social media could

be doing more specifically on Instagram. After completing a thematic analysis of

comments left by men on the “body issue” of ESPN: The Magazine about elite women

athletes, they found that even though the media had progressed into a digital world,

traditional perceptions of women athletes still existed. Women athletes must walk a fine

line on digital platforms because if they post too much, they will receive negative

comments, and if they post too little, they will not come across people’s feeds as often

and be forgotten about. It is, however, important for women athletes to continue pushing

the boundaries to inspire young girls and be their role models.

Digital platforms continue to push the narrative of traditional media, where

women’s sports are talked about less and are not posted as much. Liston et al. (2024)

investigated Sweden and Ireland’s public broadcasting services to understand the

relationship between media and sports. They, too, uncovered that women’s sports were

not covered as much as men’s, but there was a push for equal media coverage. Women

athletes on digital media continue to be harassed for many reasons, which makes it hard

to promote themselves and provide young girls with a role model they can follow,

because the women athlete might not post as much as they would want to. Traditional

interpretation of women’s sports still exists, but digital platforms can help break the glass

ceiling.

Social media has an opportunity to shift the traditional representation of women

and grow women’s spots. Napoli et al. (2024) agreed that women’s sports had grown,

positively shifting media coverage and interest in corporate sponsorships. The researchers

also urged that when corporate sponsors represented women’s sports, they frame the

messaging to embrace the value of female athletes. Jensen and Smith (2024)

quantitatively analyzed the decision-making regarding sponsorships for men vs. women

in tennis and golf. Using a theoretical lens of exchange theory, it indicated that firms

would continue to sponsor women’s tennis and golf because the return on investment

benefited the company. Jensen and Smith (2024) also pointed out that firms wanted to

branch out in sponsorship to other women’s sports because of increased talent and

flexibility in sponsorship asset allocation. Napoli et al. (2023) agreed that women’s sports

were growing, and positive shifts in media coverage had made firms interested in

sponsoring women’s sports. Jackson and Dawson (2021) recognized that the future of

women’s sports relies heavily on funding, representation on social media, and

sponsorship. They also acknowledged the importance of those who influence the sports

market and possess decision-making power. These sponsors needed to ensure they framed

their messaging away from traditional social roles and focused on the athlete in valuing

their feminine and masculine traits. Women athletes needed to continue to push towards

more sponsorships through firms, and when the sponsorships were acquired, women

athletes were not portrayed through social norms but as athletes.

Women’s professional basketball players and teams are harnessing social media

platforms to build the sport worldwide, and specifically the WNBA. Pegoraro et al.

(2021) did an empirical study examining the different broadcasts on game day on WNBA

Twitter accounts. They used data from the 2016-2018 season. When they posted, they

discovered that the team/athletes had positive results, indicating that the WNBA was

developing a star-driven culture similar to the NBA. This could indicate that the WNBA

gets positive results when it uses social media platforms, which will increase its fan base.

WNBA needs to continue to push games on whatever platform they can so that the sport

can continue to grow and bring more fans. They also need to consider the younger

generation and how they will be able to reach them.

Social Initiatives

Understanding the consumer fan base was critical, and as a league, the WNBA

embraced fan engagement through social justice initiatives. Johnson and Bo (2023) used

the Stimulus-Organism-Reponses perspective to understand the impact of product

features of the WNBA events on consumption. They found that the WNBA had been at

the forefront of doing social justice initiatives and personalized fan interaction at their

live events. This allowed the WNBA to lean into issues important to their players and fan

base. Wanless et al. (2024) found similar data using a latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA)

tool. Out of 118,518 tweets, the two main topics with overarching themes were social

justice issues and on-court performance for the WNBA. For example, the WNBA and

NBA athletes publicly supported the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Thomas and

Wright (2021) recognized that LeBron James and Maya Moore launched the initiative to

combat social injustice across many settings, reaching political figures and their fans.

Women’s professional basketball players are using their voices to bring awareness to

social justice, and advocating for such efforts is not only helping communities but also

bringing light to the WNBA.

Understanding those social initiatives helped marketers develop campaigns

specifically for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) community.

Marketers were trying to connect with those consumers to reach that lucrative market. As

more and more players were openly GLBTQ professional athletes, the door to open

communication with consumers was being opened. Melton and MacCharles (2021)

suggested that seeing GLBTQ-open professional athletes play sports would bring the

GLBTQ community out to support openly GLBTQ athletes and their teams. Marketers

could also create GLBTQ-safe events at their sporting events, such as pride nights, or act

as a strong ally for inclusion. Inclusion would make GLBTQ fans feel they have invested

in the team because it would give them a sense of belonging.

Providing safe environments for women to watch sports is as important as being

able to play a sport in a safe environment. Awal (2024) described how using sports in

India helped societal transformation. Conducting a thematic analysis, India used sports to

help address issues like a lack of media representation, visibility, funding opportunities,

and gender inequality. This research identified that sports had increased among young

girls, which gave them confidence and allowed them to become professional athletes.

Being able to provide sports to young girls not only helps them be stronger women but

also helps promote women’s sports.

Providing opportunities for young girls to play sports drives a narrative change

that challenges traditional structures. Thomson et al. (2023) used a quantitative literature

review of 57 peer-reviewed articles from 2000 to 2019 to determine the future direction

of women’s professional sports. After conducting a thematic analysis, they determined

that women’s professional sports must challenge the traditional structures and practices of

sports and possibly use fit-for-purpose sustainable business models to help grow and

develop women’s professional sports leagues. Women’s professional basketball players

need to continue to push out the traditional narrative so that they can give young girls the

opportunity to play sports without being harassed or underrepresented on digital

platforms.

Transition

In Section 2, I reviewed professional and academic literature and discussed the

application to the business problem. In Section 3, I included discussions on project ethics,

nature of the project, population, sampling and participants, data collection, interview

questions, data organization and analysis techniques, and reliability and validity. In

Section 4, I presented the findings, business contributions, and recommendations for

professional practice, implications for social change, and recommendations for further

research.

Section 3: Research Project Methodology

In section 3, I will discuss key elements related to the research project. I

incorporate ethics, nature of the project, population, sampling, participants, data

collection, interview questions, data organization, analysis techniques, and reliability and

validity. I will also address how I will protect data from biases and compromises. Further,

I will explain the reliability and credibility of data throughout the research process.

Project Ethics

As the researcher, I managed the data collection process, including gathering

suitable data to address my research question. The primary duty of the researcher is to

coordinate all aspects of the research to mitigate the risk of methodological failure and

compromise research, including recruiting potential participants, collecting data from the

selected participants, and analyzing the data collected to find the answer to the study’s

research question (Busetto et el. 2020, Mwita, 2022). I selected the appropriate data

collection approaches and techniques to develop the necessary rapport and mutual

orientation with the participants and collected quality data to support my research

question.

My role in relating to ethics and the Belmont Report involved conducting my

research by respecting the people involved, beneficence, and justice for them. The nature

of qualitative studies obligated the researcher to address areas of ethical concerns and

competency to complement research conduct oversight (Moriña, 2020; Potthof et al.,

2023). I obtained an approval number 01-14-25-1171808 from the Institutional Review

Board (IRB) before starting my research to ensure my research was carried out ethically

and complied with the Belmont Report protocol. I upheld the standards of ethics in both

form and practice.

I followed the IRB rules and obtained information after all participants had

consented, and I acknowledged their role as a sign of respect. I obtained consent by

providing potential participants with information about the research and how they would

be involved, and ensuring that they understood that the information that I would be

collecting during the interviews was voluntary and that they could withdraw at any time

after consent related to the research and confidentiality. I used the IRB’s consent form

and reviewed it with the potential participants so they could understand the process. I

gained consent before proceeding with the scheduling of interviews. There were $20 gift

card incentives for participants in this project.

Participants could withdraw from my research project at any time by a verbal or

written indication from the participant in their decision to no longer participate without

explanation. I reiterated the nature of volunteering in the consent form and discussed with

participants their right to withdraw by email, text, or phone without explanation and

penalty.

As the researcher, I ensured that the ethical protection of participants was met by

hiding the identity of research participants as required by the IRB to protect names and

keep participants’ information confidential. I assigned codes to each participant, such as

P1, P2, P3, etc., as well as the organizations and places of participants. Any reports,

presentations, or publications related to my project only contained patterns and not

anything specific to the participants from the data. As the IRB required, I also included

password protection on the interview transcripts for at least 5 years to protect my

participants’ confidentiality.

Nature of the Project

I used the qualitative method to address my research question. Qualitative

research facilitates exploring, describing, and understanding contextual phenomena

(Quintão et al., 2020). This approach was appropriate for my project because I wanted to

explore a phenomenon. Using qualitative methodology allowed me to understand

effective marketing strategies and provide actionable recommendations.

My research project design was a pragmatic inquiry that addressed a real-world

problem. Qualitative pragmatic inquiry is used in business research to identify and

interpret strategies, develop potential best practices, or analyze complex phenomena

within a trans-organizational context (Holdo, 2022; Kelly & Cordeiro, 2020;

Ramanadhan et al., 2021). Researchers using this design could also better discover

themes, and it should have enabled me to look at real-world successes and make

suggestions for women’s professional basketball to increase the number of fans.

Population, Sampling, and Participants

The target participants were nine women’s basketball marketing leaders who had

successfully implemented marketing strategies to increase the fan base. The eligibility

criteria for these participants included (1) women basketball sports marketer leaders, and

(2) expertise using effective marketing strategies that increase the fan base. When

qualitative researchers use eligibility criteria for participants, it increases the value of the

data collected for the research question (Braun & Clarke, 2022).

Access to participants involved using email addresses from websites, making

phone calls to appropriate participants, and using professional associations to gain access

to marketing leaders in women’s professional sports. I accessed and collected data

directly from marketing leaders who had successfully implemented strategies to increase

their fan base.

Strategies that helped me gain a working relationship with the participants

included sharing information about the research project, explaining the process for

volunteering consent, and helping them prepare for the interview by reviewing the

consent form. After the initial contact with participants, Zoom meetings were set up

without video, and I followed up with each to develop a relationship with the women’s

basketball marketing leaders. These strategies helped develop legitimacy and improve

participants’ understanding of the research project.

Data Collection Activities

As the researcher, I collected and gathered appropriate data to systematically

address my project’s question. I was the primary data collection instrument in my project.

Data collection included semistructured interviews to obtain relevant data for my research

question. In qualitative research, the semistructured interview is important because it is

informal and uses open-ended questions, allowing the participant to expand on the

question without interruption and allowing for random follow-up questions related to the

research question (Elhami & Khoshnevisan, 2022).

When conducting my interview, I used an interview protocol to ensure that I was

consistent with the interview process, mitigate bias, and support validity and reliability.

Using an interview protocol was vital to ensure that I collected valid data and did not ruin

the entire research project. My interview protocol included a scripted introduction,

interview questions, prompts for probing, and closing comments. Having clear, detailed

procedural steps followed consistently when conducting semistructured interviews with

participants was important and helped the participant and the researcher. The interview

protocol was given to and discussed with each participant in my project. It described

using semistructured interviews to collect data for my project.

I recorded the interview with Zoom to ensure my data was reliable and valid

during my collection process. I followed up with the participants to ensure that they

agreed with the interview transcripts to verify the accuracy of the shared information. I

also used methodological triangulation from data from multiple sources for my project.

Qualitative researchers could enhance validity and reliability using member-checking,

rich data (verbatim transcripts), triangulation, and reflexivity (Coleman, 2021; Singh et

al., 2021). These tools and methods could give readers confidence or trust in the project’s

conclusions and findings.

Interview Questions

1. What marketing strategies are you using to increase the women’s basketball

fan base?

2. How do you use social media to increase fans for women’s basketball?

3. How does your marketing team adjust to the continuous changes in social

media?

4. What platform do you find most profitable to promote women’s basketball

and why?

5. How have you found league promotion through social media?

6. What type of promotions has the women’s basketball league used to gain fans

to attend games?

7. How have individual players in women’s basketball who use social media

increased the number of fans of the game?

8. What promotions are used by individuals and teams on social media?

9. What has your marketing team found most beneficial in promoting women’s

basketball?

10. What additional information do you have about marketing and marketing on

social media?

Data Organization and Analysis Techniques

Step One: Familiarize yourself with the Data

According to Braun and Clarke (2022), this step entailed immersing oneself in the

data that had been collected, taking notes, and starting to understand the data provided.

Therefore, following this step, I found a quiet room to read the data and became intimate

with the information I had been provided. I reread the data and started taking notes

related to the research data. Then, I stepped away from the information to process what I

had read and reviewed my notes. Last, I reread and annotated anything that I might have

missed.

Step Two: Generating Initial Codes

Braun and Clarke (2022) said this step entailed extensively reviewing the data and

gathering information pertinent to the research question. The information was then

compiled into groups to begin the coding process. Developing these codes allowed the

researcher to capture single meanings or concepts. Therefore, following this step, I

reviewed the information I gathered during my interviews again and looked for the

answers to my research question. I used a highlighter to ensure I captured the information

I thought would be helpful. Then I reviewed the highlighted information again after

determining that the information aligned with my research question, and I developed

groups to code the information.

Step Three: Generating Initial Themes

Braun and Clarke (2022) said this step entails putting the data into categories or

themes. The categories should share the same idea and be clustered to uncover answers to

the research question. These themes were to answer the research question through an

active process that allowed the researcher to use their knowledge, the data, and the

research question. Themes provide a broader and shared meaning, unlike coding.

Therefore, following this step, I began to take the initial coding and group it into themes.

I used the collected data and actively reviewed the information I coded to help me answer

my research question. Instead of this being very specific, like coding, it was broader.

Step Four: Reviewing Themes

Braun and Clarke (2022) said this step entailed returning to the initial data set and

verifying that the codes and themes made sense. The data needed to make a complete

story is in the patterns created to address the research question. Did these themes

highlight the more important patterns in the dataset to address the research question?

Therefore, following this step, I verified my codes and themes by reviewing the entire

data set to make sure they showed a pattern that would show a compelling story for my

research question. I reread all the data and ensured that I captured the correct information;

if not, I repeated the steps above to find the correct answers to my research question.

Step Five: Defining and Naming the Themes

According to Braun and Clarke (2022), this step entailed refining the themes and

making sure that the themes made sense. This was where you asked yourself if the theme

told a story, if it fit into the overall data, and if it met the criteria, creating a synopsis. The

themes also needed a precise and creative name. Therefore, following this step, I

reviewed the themes to ensure that they fit within the research question and that the

themes told a story. I verified that the overall data met my sought criteria and then created

an overview of the data. During that time, I also created precise names for the themes.

Step Six: Producing the Report

According to Braun and Clarke (2022), this step entails providing a concise,

coherent, and logical story that data tells within and across themes. Keeping a journal

through all six steps helped in the actual write-up. The write-up allows me to assemble

the analytic narrative and compelling extracts to tell the reader a story about that data set

to answer the research question. It also included a write-up for the research report's

introduction, method, and conclusion. Therefore, following this step, I refined all the

journals I had written for myself during this process to create an analytic narrative and

compelling extracts to tell my readers a story about the data set and how it answered my

research question. After that, I wrote an introduction, the method, and the conclusion for

the research report.

Reliability and Validity

Reliability and validity are important research quality criteria, and I addressed

these elements in my project. In qualitative research, reliability and validity are the

degree to which others could assess the researcher’s integrity in research conduct and

reasonableness in the legitimacy of conclusions (Cloutier & Ravasi, 2020; Coleman,

2021). The dimensions of trustworthiness include dependability for reliability and

credibility, transferability, and confirmability for validity (Singh et al., 2021). I addressed

these elements to achieve qualitative methodological rigor and a high-quality research

project.

Reliability

My strategy to address dependability included meticulously documenting the

research process, using the interview protocol consistently, and member checking of data

interpretation with the participants. When researchers confirm the accuracy of their

interpretation of in-view responses with participants, are transparent, and provide detailed

descriptions of the rationale for their research and its implementation, they help readers

of their studies better evaluate their reliability (Coleman, 2021; Singh et al., 2021). I

provided a dependable account of my research process to help other researchers

understand and evaluate my project objectives and repeat my research project if they

wish. Creating and maintaining detailed records of interviews, observations, and

decisions, along with their justifications, made at every research project stage, supported

reproducibility (Degeling & Rock, 2020).

Validity

Ensuring credibility, transferability, confirmability, and data saturation in the

research project supported its validity. Member data interpretation and methodological

triangulation were checked to ensure credibility. Credibility is related to confidence in the

research findings (Lemon & Hayes, 2020). Member checking is vital to supporting

highquality research studies. By using member checking, corrections to discrepancies

found in the interview data can be addressed to ensure accuracy, increasing the data’s

validity and trustworthiness. To address transferability for the reader and future research,

the interview protocol was used when collecting data, everything was documented, and a

transparent account of the data analysis method was provided. Transferability is related to

the applicability of the research findings to contexts and settings and facilitated

repeatability (Degeling & Rock, 2020). Helping readers of the project understand the

extent to which the inferences made were accurate and well-founded, and that the results

and conclusions could be extended beyond this research project, was important.

Addressing confirmability was done by probing during interviews, conducting follow-up

member-checking interviews, triangulating data from multiple sources, and performing

reflexive commentary. Data saturation was ensured by collecting data from participants

through semistructured interviews until no new themes were identified. Data saturation

occurred when issues and insights regarding the phenomenon studied began to repeat,

making further collection superfluous (Hennink & Kaiser, 2022). Reaching data

saturation helped ensure the project's findings’ credibility, transferability, and

confirmability.

Transition

In Section 3, I included discussions on project ethics, nature of the project,

population, sampling and participants, data collection, interview questions, data

organization and analysis techniques, and reliability and validity. In Section 4, I presented

the findings, business contributions and recommendations for professional practice,

implications for social change, and recommendations for social change, and

recommendations for further research.

Section 4: Findings and Conclusions

The purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to identify and

explore effective marketing strategies that marketing leaders in women’s professional

basketball organizations use to increase their fan base. The findings can contribute to

improving effective marketing strategies for marketing leaders in women’s professional

basketball to increase the fan base.

Presentation of the Findings

The research question was as follows: What marketing strategies do women’s

basketball marketing leaders use to increase their fan base? The four themes that emerged

during the data analysis are understanding marketing trends on digital platforms, growing

women’s professional basketball fan base, utilizing star players, and increasing fan

attendance (see Table 2).

Table 2

Major Themes

Theme

n of participants who

contributed data to theme

n of excerpts

from data

assigned to

theme

Theme 1: Understanding Marketing Trends on Digital Platforms

Theme 2: Growing Women’s Professional Basketball Fan Base

Theme 3: Utilizing Star Power

Theme 4: Increase Fan Attendance

Theme 1: Understanding Marketing Trends on Digital Platforms

Marketing trends in women’s professional basketball teams have emerged from

data analysis for effective marketing. Over the years, marketing trends have evolved from

paper fliers, new paper stories, and emails to digital platforms. Digital platforms include

Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn, which are constantly changing as

the trends change. Prihatiningsih et al. (2024) agreed that social media has created a

twoway communication that has strengthened the relationship between brands and

consumers, and companies can maximize the use of digital marketing if used correctly.

The challenge is to keep up with the ever-changing trends as a women’s professional

basketball marketing leader. Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders must

give their followers or fans what they want to be relevant. Unfortunately, not all

professional women’s basketball marketing leaders have enough personnel or a marketing

budget to satisfy the consumer's needs. There are, however, opportunities for women’s

professional basketball marketing leaders to become dynamic across the digital platforms

and give their followers what they want. Subthemes include context, challenges, and

opportunities (see Table 3).

Table 3

Understanding Marketing Trends on Digital Platforms

Sub-theme

Number of participants who

contributed data to subtheme

(N=9)

Number of excerpts from data

assigned to sub-theme

Keep context relevant

Marketing teams challenges

Opportunities to improve on digital

platforms

Subtheme 1: Keep Context Relevant

Digital platforms allow organizations to give their audience what they want:

realtime data, pictures, reels, and behind-the-scenes context. The context of what

women’s professional basketball marketing leaders post is vital to the growth of women’s

professional basketball. To keep up with the context, P3 and P5 suggested that marketing

leaders build a plan for marketing strategies and how to apply the strategies to social

media platforms. Developing a strategy to connect with people on various digital

platforms will save money and time. Understanding what platforms consumers use and

maximizing the context for what the followers want to see will also increase the fan base.

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to understand that there

are different audiences for different platforms, and they need to understand what those

fans want to see. Gen Z prefers platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok because

they use these social media platforms for news consumption, information gathering, and

shorter video formats (Suryaputra et al., 2024). They are also most likely to use social

media to interact with brands, entertainment, and companies on TikTok and Instagram

(Salam et al., 2023). Millennials use YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to

connect with family and friends (Goldring & Azab, 2020). Gen X primarily uses

Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for customer service, staying informed about

products and services. Baby Boomers lean towards Facebook so they can keep in contact

with family. Understanding these platforms and who is on them will help the marketing

leaders understand who they are marketing to and be able to make marketing campaigns

targeting customers.

Seven participants use TikTok to put up their reels and behind-the-scenes footage.

Four out of nine participants agreed that behind-the-scenes content is what is trending,

and followers currently want to see that. The followers want to see what the athlete does

outside the basketball court, what they eat, workouts, practices, and pre-game rituals.

This behind-the-scenes content allows the followers to feel like they are a part of the

athlete’s life and might be able to relate to what they do daily. P4 stated, “I think one of

them is people really love the behind-the-scenes, like look, kind of giving the feel that

you have exclusive access if you follow a certain player.” Giving access to certain things

gives the followers a feeling that they are seeing something that no one else is, giving

them the look that not everyone gets to see what is being posted.

Social media allows followers to engage with other fans, athletes, and teams. P1

stated, “The goal of social media is to build engagement and to have continuous

touchpoints, and with the message that you're promoting.” Schartel and Nisbett (2025)

agree that social media generates engagement with content and allows for more

reciprocal relationships. Social media can use these touchpoints to continue to grow, and

they can do this by producing quality over quantity products. Marceau et al. (2025)

agreed that social media, digital platform broadcasts, and interactive content could attract

those who do not necessarily consider themselves sports consumers. Social media allows

marketers to reach bulk audiences worldwide by disseminating information, which will

keep the current followers and possibly bring new ones to the platforms.

Subtheme 2: Marketing Leader Challenges

Social media is constantly changing, and how people want to receive information

is changing. Instagram and TikTok allow followers with short attention spans to get the

information quickly, like behind-the-scenes, quick marketing ads, or reels. Facebook

provides content for people with longer attention spans, where they can listen to an

interview, read an article, or flip through tons of information. Knowing this information is

helpful; however, marketing leaders need more employees to develop these products for

the different platforms.

Using digital platforms to their full potential takes a team of people who

understand how digital platforms work and can keep up with the trends. Unfortunately,

with the constant changing of platforms and the constant development of new platforms,

it is hard for marketing leaders to keep up. Only one out of nine participants said they had

enough people to cover what they needed for their digital marketing leader, and even

then, P2 would like more help to cover more events. The marketing leader who does not

have enough people to execute what is required could impact current fans. Having a small

marketing leader does not allow enough diversity to cover the different platforms to keep

up with all the trends and micro trends like emojis or memes. Platforms can be all the

rage, but they can be just as easily out tomorrow. It is essential to know what is

happening today so that marketers can stay relevant to what is happening.

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to keep up with trends

and know which new platform is worth getting on. P6 suggested that staying on top of

industry standards and trends will help disseminate information. Information can be

provided at the tap of a finger and knowing what new social media platforms have a good

return on investment is important to understand. As a marketing leader, knowing what is

trending also means knowing which social media platforms are trending. It is important

to put time and energy into another trending platform or continue to use the already

established platforms.

Subtheme 3: Improving on Digital Platforms

Women’s professional marketing leaders have an opportunity to invest in hiring

more digital marketers to work in their department. A young, creative team will help

overcome the hurdles of not only knowing what trends are but also being able to develop

what followers want to see. Another option is to hire interns to help bridge the gap

between social media platforms. P1 stated, “We rely a lot on our interns, what’s cool right

now.” Knowing the latest trends and tapping into those trends will not only help maintain

current fans and possibly bring on new fans.

Understanding that women’s basketball needs to be marketed differently from

men’s basketball is also a key to developing a fan base. Women’s professional basketball

marketing leaders need to understand that what has worked for men’s basketball

marketing will not have the same effect for women’s basketball teams (Doyle et al.,

2024). P1 agreed that marketing strategies for women’s basketball are understanding that

this market is different; women’s professional marketing leaders need to understand the

evolution of the women’s professional basketball fan base. P4 used the example of being

an Angel Reese fan and following her from Louisiana State University (LSU) to the

Chicago Sky. “Now I am watching her play for the Sky, and she is traded somewhere

else, but I have invested time and energy into the Sky, so now I am a Sky fan.” This is an

excellent example of how marketing leaders can use a player to gain a team fan and

produce more revenue.

Women’s professional marketing leaders must verify that they produce and

distribute high-quality products on social media. P3 and P8 agreed that the quality of the

posts is more essential than the frequency of the posts. Marketing leaders must prioritize

quality over quantity. If a marketing leader produces a quality post, there is an

opportunity for it to continue showing up on people’s feeds, not just for that day but for a

week, month, or year from now. It is, however, important to know that Woods and Galiffa

(2025) said that teams that post more on social media attract significantly more followers

than those that post less. Unlike traditional ways of getting the news, seeing a picture or

reading about something once and never seeing it again. Algorithms allow for something

to show up again, and the more people look at the post, the more similar posts will come

to that individual.

Linkage to the Literature Review

Continuous improvement in understanding marketing trends on digital platforms

will help empower women’s professional basketball marketing leaders to bring in revenue

and fans successfully. Understanding popular marketing trends helps determine the public

narrative to create brand awareness, reputation, and trends in the market (Walness et al.,

2024). Although participants suggested that they only use popular digital platforms for

marketing, Khanom (2023) said marketers should use all digital platforms to gain brand

recognition. Jiang and Phakdeephirot (2024) agreed that digital platforms have played a

massive role in fan engagement and marketing strategies. Women’s professional

basketball marketing leaders need to continue to learn what is trending to grow their

digital platforms so that consumers/followers can have brand awareness and fan

engagement.

Linkage to the 4 P’s Conceptual Framework

The 4 Ps help businesses understand how to sell their products or services

effectively. In the digital world, these 4 Ps are changing to keep up with the new trends.

Women’s professional basketball marketers need to focus on what customers want and

how to make women’s professional basketball distinct from others. Ghasemi et al. (2024)

suggested that marketers should create and implement strategies that accurately identify

and respond to customer needs. To meet customers’ needs, women's professional

basketball marketing leaders need to verify that they have enough employees. Ghasemi et

al. (2024) also said that marketing leaders need to be efficient and effective to meet the

needs of personnel, the public, and customers. Participants agreed that they need more

personnel to meet the needs of the digital marketing platforms. Focusing on what

customers want and ensuring that marketing leaders have enough personnel to meet those

needs is vital for the growth in revenue and fans for women’s professional basketball

marketers.

Theme 2: Growing Women’s Professional Basketball Fan Base

Women’s professional basketball has seen a significant amount of growth over the

last few years. Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to continue to

grow the sport using different ways to engage with the community. Marceau et al. (2025)

state that community-driven initiatives, with a broader, more diverse audience, can be

reached, including those who do not typically watch sports. Six out of nine participants

said that getting involved with the community, engaging with a broader demographic, and

understanding how to market to the community could increase revenue for women’s

professional basketball (see Table 4).

Table 4

Growing Women’s Professional Basketball Fan Base

Sub-theme

Number of participants who

contributed data to sub-theme (n=9)

Number of excerpts from data

assigned to the sub-theme

Community outreach

Women’s professional basketball team

engagement

Subtheme 1: Community Outreach

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders must market to the

communities where the teams are located. P6 stated that community outreach and

community presence can go a long way. Marketing leaders also need to market to

families and kids within their community. Levental et al. (2025) said that parents are

considered the primary fandom when they engage their children with sport and transfer

their fandom to their children. Women’s basketball is family-friendly because it is

affordable, fun, and entertaining. Popp et al. (2025) suggested that, because women’s

basketball is affordable, it may be a new way to attract families and other groups who

may have gotten priced out of other sports. P1, P5, and P8 think that women’s basketball

is family-friendly because fans feel comfortable, safe, healthy, and that the games are kid-

oriented, which drives families to see women’s professional basketball. Community is

one demographic to which women’s professional basketball can improve its marketing.

Widening the demographics of communities, families, and kids will be the next

step in increasing women’s professional basketball. Marceau et al. (2025) say that,

particularly with women, offering them a sports team is a significant opportunity to

connect specifically with the team. Diversifying the audience by marketing to people

outside of women’s basketball will help increase the fan base. Promoting women’s sports

differently to reach a broader audience of fans can benefit women’s professional

basketball marketing leaders.

Identifying a new audience that marketing leaders want to influence to become a

new women’s professional basketball fan is vital. In doing this, the marketing leader

needs to understand the trends those fans are looking for, specifically to produce digital

platform ads that will pique their interest. P3 thinks that a lot of digital-based platforms

are moving in the direction of instant gratification. Marketing leaders must give them

what they want on digital platforms so fans can have instant gratification when they see

something on social media. To get that instant gratification, women’s professional

basketball marketing leaders must create a product that makes the viewer fear of missing

out (FOMO), creating a snowball effect of others not wanting to miss out. P3 said that

women’s basketball’s positive energy recently comes from FOMO and the negative

feeling of missing out.

Subtheme 2: Women’s Professional Basketball Team Engagement

Marketing to the community, the women’s professional basketball team needs to

connect with the community outside of the basketball court. The women’s professional

basketball team needs to reach out to the community to start having organic relationships

with the community. Their organic relationship with the community will help the

community start to be invested in the women’s professional basketball team. The

marketing and women’s professional basketball teams can collaborate to find places with

high traffic of families and kids within the community and hang out. Women’s

professional basketball teams that are out in public within the community will start

building relationships with those who live there. P4 agreed and said:

So focused on our community, you know, going to local schools and we're doing

assemblies with our mascot and we're building, you know, we're partnering with

other sports teams in the area to build Soccer fields and basketball courts and like

all these things.

People want to support the people they know or see around, so team engagement can

bring fans to the game, generating more revenue.

The women’s professional basketball marketing leader or the women’s

professional basketball team itself could partner with businesses within the community,

like women’s or GLBTQ sports bars, which could host a draft party, watch parties,

playoff games, and advertise on social media platforms of the business and team.

Partnering with someone can be beneficial for both the team and the business. P4, P5, and

P8 agree that they have had success partnering with others, and P3 said, “It's been

communicated to me at least that those games that have done the best are when we are

partnering with someone else, or again.” Continuing to use something that works is not a

bad thing either, or if a marketing leader sees another marketing leader has successes

partnering with a specific business, it is okay to try that too. Partnering with someone in

the community, businesses, schools, or even a local influencer can help bring the

women’s professional basketball team into the conversation. Schartel and Nisbett (2025)

say that there has been a rise in influencers on social media accounts, which gives them

the ability to drive engagement and sentiment. P4 said that they are pushing for an

influencer because they would have a good return on investment, and they would reach a

whole different audience. Using an influencer can also promote women’s basketball

teams and products to increase revenue.

Linkage to the Literature Review

There are many opportunities that the marketing leader can take to gain women’s

professional basketball fans and revenue. Participants talked about marketing to different

demographics to gain fans, and McDonald (2000) agrees that it is vital to market to

diverse demographics like families and businesses. Marketers could connect with

lucrative businesses like GLBTQ sports bars within their community. Melton and

MacCharles (2021) suggested that connecting with the GLBTQ community could bring

potential fans to the game because they would feel safe. Another method that women’s

professional basketball marketers should start is creating a sense of FOMO with a

younger audience. Young adults have FOMO on what is going on in the moment, which

Lee and Na (2023) agreed that fans not only want to watch the game live but also post

about the game on social media while it is happening to drive interaction with others and

have instant gratification. With interaction on digital platforms, marketers have a range of

ways to increase fans and revenue for women’s professional basketball.

Linkage to the 4 P’s Conceptual Framework

The 4 Ps are essential in helping improve women’s professional basketball and

attract more fans, players, and sponsors. To grow the sport, showcasing the skill and

talent of women’s professional basketball players is important. Marketers can highlight

exciting games, create engaging storylines, and promote star players. The 4 Ps reflect the

growing importance of customer experience and service quality for the modern market

(Nugraha, 2025). Furthermore, women’s professional basketball teams can offer

community engagements to youth that encourage girls to play basketball. Marketers must

make prices affordable so that fans feel connected to the team. If the games are offered

on social media, it will make it more accessible to fans, and if they stream the game on a

channel, it might draw younger fans. Finally, by promoting women’s basketball

effectively, they will gain more interest and possibly become invested in the team,

leading to growth and revenue for the sport.

Theme 3: Utilize Star Players

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to understand what type

of role the athlete has in their digital marketing campaigns. Lucas (2025) agrees that a

player can influence women’s basketball, which creates media attention, ticket sales, and

viewership. Hustling those players who shift the game’s dynamic will increase team

revenue and the fan base. Athletes often have digital platforms outside their teams and a

higher following. They also have historical data about themselves that can tell a story.

Athletes are ambassadors for women’s professional basketball; as such, they have created

organic relationships with people worldwide through social media (see table 5).

Table 5

Utilize Star Players

Number of participants who Number of excerpts from data

Sub-theme contributed data to sub-theme (n=9) assigned to sub-theme

Teams investing in the athlete

Athlete as an ambassador

Subtheme: Teams Investing in the Athlete

Investing in the athlete can go a long way toward promoting women’s

professional basketball. In this instance, investing in the athlete is telling a good story.

People want to hear a good story about where the player came from, what they have

endured, and how they have overcome. Each athlete has an individual story about

something that has occurred in their life, and being able to tell that story helps followers

connect with the athlete and become invested. P1, P2, P5, P6, P8, and P9 agreed that

telling the athlete’s story allows the fans to connect outside the court, helps the fans

realize that they are just someone who plays basketball, and helps the athlete become

relatable. Part of telling the story of the athlete is celebrating their success.

In celebrating their success, women’s professional basketball marketing leaders

should reach back to the athletes’ community, hometown, and college to create awareness

that someone they know or knew is having great success at the professional level. P2

agreed that celebrating those athletes within the communities, colleges, high schools, and

stakeholders will bring more visibility to the individual and the team. Marceau et al.

(2025) suggested repositioning women’s sports by spotlighting the female athlete’s

outstanding performances through a strategic communication campaign, celebrating their

achievements, and highlighting their high-caliber competitions. Celebrating their success

over social media for those who have connected with the athlete somewhere else can

bring new attention to the team they are playing for. Celebrating elite performance helps

create a historical greatness about the athlete, which then reflects onto the team and

drives athlete fandom.

While celebrating the athlete, it is important to get behind the scenes of what that

athlete is doing, not only on game day but also in everyday life. Followers of athletes

want to be a part of the athlete’s life and feel that it is authentic. Women’s professional

basketball marketing leaders need to turn day-to-day videos into reels or clips they can

post on Instagram or TikTok to highlight the athlete. They can even make reels

highlighting more than one athlete, and they can post.

Subtheme: Athlete as an Ambassador

An athlete can be a great ambassador for women’s professional basketball because

they can highlight the organization that they play for. Female athletes’ personal brands

help bring new fans to the team because they are well-known for their brand promotion

and endorsement deals. The popularity and self-promotion of women’s basketball players

is growing the audience for the sport (Sailofsky, 2025). It also helps athletes incorporate

their athletic identities into their brand and endorsement deals (Schartel & Nisbett, 2024).

Clark and Thomas (2024) say that social media provides an unfiltered platform

worldwide for athletes to highlight the sports, teams, and themselves. Women’s

professional basketball players have a better following than their teams because they are

branding themselves before playing basketball professionally, and the brand is bigger

than the team. Women’s professional basketball players’ brands are bigger because

female athletes have figured out how to seize control of the platform, and they leverage

the platform to work in their favor. Women athletes’ branding and sponsorship have

allowed the athletes to express their whole selves and provide a glimpse into their lives,

not just in sports (Sailofsky, 2025). They do this by showing up and engaging on social

media. P5 said that “Female athletes are far better on social media in terms how they

portray themselves, how they show up.”, and P2 agreed, “We try to do those things with

our women athletes because they are just a little bit more accessible because they show

up more often than our are their elite counterparts on the men’s side.” As women’s

professional basketball players grow their brand, they organically grow their team and the

league. The athletes collaborate with established brands as ambassadors in their team

jerseys or gear, providing their team and league with free exposure.

Talent sells, and being able to leverage an athlete’s name or followers on social

media is something women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to start

understanding. Stardom is leveraged into a higher interest of fans through media coverage

and TV ratings for women’s basketball. Name recognition drives excitement; P2 agrees

that name recognition drives excitement, having a player or players who drive excitement

is a key to identifying the athlete’s popularity, and using it to build team recognition.

Followers affiliate the athlete with a team, and then the team starts to get fans. The

athlete’s stardom will amplify the team and their brand as well.

Collaboration between the women’s professional basketball marketing leaders and

professional players could benefit the team. The athlete promotes the team authentically by

posting about their everyday life and reposting the team’s social media posts. Followers

and fans must have a sense of belonging, too. If the team and athlete collaborate in the

community, it will help draw followers to the athlete and the team because they have built

a connection. Instead of a fan celebrating the player, they will be able to celebrate the team,

giving them a sense of belonging and being part of a bigger social group.

Linkage to the Literature Review

Women’s professional marketing leaders need to be able to collaborate with the

athletes because women’s professional basketball players have more followers than the

women’s professional basketball team. To bring fans, athletes using digital platforms

should post highlight reels, stories, and behind-the-scenes content. Li et al. (2021) said

that Instagram can help female athletes if they can share their personal lives, profession,

and highlights. Teams and athletes should work hand in hand to bring awareness to

women’s professional basketball, and Pegoraro et al. (2021) said that when the team and

athletes post on Twitter accounts, they have positive results. All participants agreed that

storytelling and celebrating the athletes will drive fandom, increasing revenue and fans.

Linkage to the 4 P’s Conceptual Framework

The 4 Ps, if utilized correctly, can help women’s professional basketball players

and women’s professional basketball teams grow their fan base and attract investments in

their athletes. Women’s professional basketball players are not just selling the game, but

also their skills and the overall experience that fans can have at the game. Zhang (2025)

agrees that effective marketing communication, enhancement of the athletes, and

attraction will bring in fans, which creates more revenue based on the 4 Ps. Women’s

professional basketball marketers focus on showcasing the players’ unique talent and

personalities by sharing their stories through social media. Participants agree that

marketers should share the stories of players and celebrate players through social media.

This will enhance the overall experience by making the sport appeal to a broader

audience. Appealing to a greater audience might include making the games and

merchandise affordable.

Women’s professional basketball players can use social media to connect with

their fans by sharing personal stories and behind-the-scenes content, which will help

create loyal fans. If women’s professional basketball players increase exposure to

themselves and the team, it would increase the possibility of attracting fans (Zhao, 2022).

Women’s professional basketball teams can also promote their athletes through

community outreach programs where players participate in local events so that they can

connect with the community. Focusing on these areas can bring fans and promote

investment in their team, ultimately gaining a stronger and larger sports community.

Theme 4: Increase Fan Attendance

Women’s professional basketball games can be viewed in many ways, from being

at the game to watching on television, streaming services, or apps. Being at the game,

though, has a direct revenue stream to the team. Giving fans a reason to come to the

games is what women’s professional marketing leaders need to focus on. Grundy and

Shackelford (2025) agreed that making the game attractive, entertaining, and competitive

will increase fan attendance, which aligns with the participants’ thoughts. They must create

initiatives to get people through the doors, giveaways, or promotions (see table 6).

Table 6

Increase Fan Attendance

Sub-theme

Number of participants who

contributed to sub-theme (n=9)

Number of excerpts from data

assigned to sub-theme

Reasons to go to the game

At the game promotions

Subtheme: Reasons to go to the game

Going to a women’s professional basketball game will bring in revenue through

food, drinks, and ticket sales. The marketing leaders need to determine how to incentivize

people to come to a game to get this revenue. There are many ways to get people to come

out to the games. According to Won et al. (2025), entertainment is what people find most

important, as well as game attractiveness, and team identification when going to a game,

which could help marketing leaders in women’s professional basketball. They can get

people into the arena by scheduling games in the afternoon so families can attend the

game without interrupting their nighttime routines. Marceau et al. (2025) suggested

targeting offers like discount tickets or a subscription for women’s events could

incentivize these fans to explore the competitions. Things like offering a buy-one-getone,

affordable, or group tickets at a lower cost could drive fans and people who do not

usually follow sports. Another way to get people to a game is by selling discount tickets

on game day. Giving a local influencer a group of tickets to bring customers to the game

could create fans. The people who come to a game are looking for the best experience

while there and understanding what is essential for the marketing leader.

Subtheme: At the game promotions

At the game, promotions are another great way to get people to come out to the

game. Apart from P2, all other participants use a theme night to get followers and fans

into the arena. Promoting theme nights like breast cancer awareness, pride night, Star

Wars night, or family night would bring people in because they can relate to the cause the

team is promoting. Fans want to have a sense of belonging and be able to show up to

theme nights and be there too because of their interest, which provides socialization with

new people (Levental et al., 2025). Allowing fans to meet the players before or after a

game would draw in people with families, especially girls who want to meet their idol. P4

stated that bringing fans to meet the players before a game brings a good turnout and

allows girls to dream of being there one day. Allowing the fan to engage with the players

or be part of the game would increase the fan experience. Giveaways of a player’s jersey,

gift cards, or discounts at local businesses could drive more people to attend games.

Linkage to the Literature Review

Women’s professional basketball marketers must continue to drive promotions,

entertainment, interaction, and team achievement if they want fans to attend the games.

Participants agreed that promotion, interaction, and entertainment help increase the

number of fans that come to games, and Mil et al. (2022) agree that this is what

consumers want to come to the game. Mil et al. (2022) also suggest that there are

yearround promotions of women’s professional basketball instead of ad hoc promotions,

which will keep the team in the spotlight and build a stronger relationship with

consumers.

Linkage to the 4 P’s Conceptual Framework

The 4 Ps attract people to attend women’s professional basketball games.

Women’s professional basketball marketing leaders need to highlight the players’ skills,

the game’s competitiveness, and the overall entertainment. People want entertainment

when they pay to attend an event; they also want to ensure that the game is attractive and

that they can identify with the team (Won et al., 2025). They also need to include

meetand-greets with the players or fan-friendly activities before the game to increase the

fan experience at the game. Ticket prices at affordable prices would bring in families and

younger fans. They can also include family night at the game and have special prices.

Pricing conveys an important message to consumers; low prices are perceived as

affordable, while higher prices project excellent perceived quality (Pope et al., 2025).

When fans feel like they are getting a good deal for their money, they are more likely to

come to games.

Although some women’s professional basketball teams share with their male

counterparts, those who are independent need to verify that the location of the area is

convenient. A location near public transportation, with clean facilities and comfortable

surroundings, could attract more fans. Creating a welcoming atmosphere can make

people feel good; they are more likely to come to another game. Marketers should also

use social media, local radio, and community events to connect with potential fans.

Collaborations with the community, local businesses, and schools could help generate

buzz about the women’s professional basketball team, encouraging people to come to the

game. Using the 4 Ps to their full potential can increase the number of fans attending the

game. Improving the game experience, making the games affordable, picking an

accessible location, and promoting effectively will support women’s professional

basketball.

Business Contributions and Recommendations for Professional Practice

This project’s findings potentially benefit women’s professional basketball

marketing managers to use to increase team revenue and fan base. A critical and

challenging issue for women’s professional marketing managers is insufficient employees

in their marketing leadership. This can be hard to overcome, resulting in missed

opportunities on digital platforms. Therefore, identified strategies that women’s

professional basketball marketing managers can use to increase revenue and fan base may

be viewed and considered vital for women’s professional basketball to become

selfsustainable.

These emerged strategies encompass four underlying themes: (a) understanding

marketing trends on digital platforms, (b) growing women’s professional basketball, (c)

utilizing star players, and (d) increasing fan attendance. Uncovered from the data

collected in semistructured interviews, the themes embody appropriate responses to

marketing practices. All participants conveyed the significance of each theme to their

current success.

Based on the project findings, I propose several actions that current and future

women’s professional basketball marketing managers can use to increase their revenue

and fan base. First, current and/or future women’s professional basketball marketing

managers should understand marketing trends to become relevant. I discovered that all

the interview participants highly regarded marketing trends. Understanding the marketing

trends helps identify where and who marketing campaigns should target. It allows the

marketing managers to target a specific audience to help draw in revenue, and the

interviewees conveyed how they keep up with marketing trends to continue to increase

revenue and fans. In keeping up with marketing trends, Woods and Galiffa (2025) found

that teams that post more frequently on social media saw a significant increase in

followers compared to teams that posted sporadically. Women’s professional basketball

marketing managers need to understand the current digital marketing trends to turn them

into revenue and increase their fan base.

The second action or recommendation is to understand the opportunities to grow. I

found that all participants highly regarded being able to reach different demographics and

connecting with the community to bring in new fans and revenue to their teams.

Community-driven events reach a broader, more diverse audience including people who

do not necessarily participate in sports (Marceau et al., 2025). Connecting with families,

kids, or non-sports fans can help reach different demographics and create a sense of

belonging. With direct experiences of enjoyment, the escape from everyday life, and the

entertainment from watching sports, from both the successful athlete and being a part of a

team, it creates a support of social community (Levental et al., 2025). Current and future

marketing managers must be able to go out into different demographic areas and in their

local community to continue to grow women’s professional basketball. They need to be

able to reach families by creating a safe, friendly environment and creating organic

relationships so that everyone feels a sense of ownership of the team. Collaboration is

how marketing managers can reach the community and different demographics

throughout the city. Collaborating or partnering with other businesses, schools, or

nonprofits will draw more attention to the local women’s professional basketball team.

Connecting with the community within the city or state where the women’s professional

basketball team plays will be vital.

The third action that current and/or future women’s professional basketball

marketing leaders should understand is that teams collaborating with athletes can bring a

spotlight to the players and the team. All interview participants of this project strongly

agreed that celebrating the athlete and leveraging the athlete’s social media will help

increase revenue and fans. When celebrating the female athlete, marketing managers let

the public know who is on their team. The marketers connect with people worldwide

because they celebrate the female athletes from where they possibly grew up, played in

college, and are invested in the athletes. Marceau et al. (2025) emphasize that storytelling

can be powerful too because creating a captivating narrative around the female athlete’s

journeys, challenges, and triumphs could forge a deeper emotional connection with the

audience. The audience of a female athlete is something to capitalize on as well. Female

athletes have used their voice on social media platforms to captivate an audience.

Women’s professional basketball players’ biggest stars have profited from their attention,

media coverage, and social media presence, which have brought fans to grow the

popularity of their sport (Sailofsky, 2025). Lucas (2025) also wrote about the Caitlin

Clark effect, which has brought astonishing visibility and attention to women’s basketball

and sports. These female athletes make a name for themselves and organically promote

the team, league, and sport. Marketing leaders should leverage the athlete to promote the

team and league so women’s professional basketball can grow and become self-sustained.

The fourth action I recommend is that current and/or future women’s professional

basketball marketing managers invest in getting people into the arena. Most interview

participants highlighted that the number of people who attend games increases when they

have a promotion. On a women’s professional basketball team’s schedule, they could

predetermine specific games for promotions so that fans can get their tickets in advance

and spread the word about the game. Marketing managers must also invest in live

entertainment before, during, and after the game because Won et al. (2025) found that

entertainment was most influential for fans to come and continue to come to games. This

type of marketing and promotion could bring in fans from men’s professional basketball

teams or non-traditional sports fans. Women’s professional basketball marketing

managers need to be able to bring in loyal fans, as well as non-traditional ones.

Implications for Social Change

The result of this project has the potential to contribute to a positive social change

by increasing the number of fans of women’s professional basketball teams. The increase

of women’s professional basketball fans will help the expansion of the sport throughout

the United States, and this expansion will allow young girls to look in the mirror and say,

“I want to be a women’s professional basketball player”. It also allows girls to have an

idol or someone to look up to who looks like them. This will reduce the gender barriers

that exist in participating in sports (He et al., 2024). This would change the idea that

sports are a professional, male-dominated field, allowing young girls to dream and

achieve goals they never thought possible. It opens the door for so many girls who now

have opportunities because it allows them to see female players, coaches, referees,

owners, and dream. The results of this project will create greater prospects for diversity,

equality, and inclusion within women’s professional basketball.

Recommendations for Further Research

The recommendations for further research stem from the purpose of this project,

which is to explore effective strategies for women’s professional basketball marketing

leaders to use to increase their fan base. Several limitations were identified that would

offer further research opportunities for the future.

The first limitation was being able to find participants who were willing to

participate within a smaller time frame. A future recommendation would be a larger-scale

project allowing more flexibility in finding participants throughout the year. Future

research would allow for other ways to collect data, such as hosting online forums,

sending out online surveys, and conducting group interviews, to increase accessibility.

The following limitation was having a variety of participants from mid-major

colleges, USA basketball, and a women’s professional basketball marketing member.

Although they were all effective marketing managers of women’s basketball, it would

have been ideal to have the background based on school size (Division 1, Division 2,

Division 3), the number of women’s basketball players they marketed, and/or the

women’s professional basketball team that only focuses on women’s basketball. For

future reference, researchers should consider adjusting to only one type of women’s

basketball marketing leader (college, professional, or non-profit), so that the results could

have a more direct impact in driving revenue and fans.

The last limitation was that interviews were conducted only with women’s

professional marketing managers. For future research, I would recommend getting more

well-rounded participants who have done successful marketing for women’s sports to

increase revenue and fans. This could involve contacting women’s volleyball, soccer,

football, and/or gymnastics. This will provide additional evidence about what other

women’s sports are doing for marketing.

Conclusion

The purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry project was to explore effective

strategies women’s basketball marketing leaders use to increase their fan base. I collected

and analyzed data from nine marketing leaders using semistructured interviews. Four

themes emerged: (a) understanding marketing trends on digital platforms, (b) growing

women’s professional basketball, (c) utilizing star players, and (d) increasing fan

attendance. The project’s findings revealed various strategies to help support the growth

of women’s professional basketball, from increasing revenue to the fan base.

77  
 
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