USWNTPA's partnership with opendorse aims to promote the team ahead of the '19 Women's World CupGETTY IMAGES
The USWNT Players Association has signed a partnership with athlete marketing platform opendorse that will make it the official social media activation partner of the union. The partnership will aim to arm USWNT players -- both active and retired -- with the social media publishing tool, allowing them to take advantage of buildup to the ’19 Women's World Cup in France for their own content, as well as content for their existing and potential sponsors and licensees. “We see this as a great tech tool that can help further build the individual player’s brands,” USWNTPA Exec Dir Becca Roux said. “These are some of the most marketable women in sports, and we think this partnership can help open up those doors further.” The USWNTPA formed REP Worldwide alongside the NFLPA and the WNBAPA in November ’17 to manage its group player licensing and athlete and brand management. Since then, the USWNTPA has signed several licensing deals, including with Ruffneck Scarves around player branded scarves, Strideline for sports socks with player images and Build-A-Head for player face and number cutouts. Roux said that there are several additional licensing deals in the pipeline, and this new deal with opendorse will allow the PA and the players to further promote those items.
READY FOR ACTION: Roux pointed to the team’s winning performance at the ’15 WWC, which while it garnered huge television ratings and a well-attended ticket tape parade in N.Y., the players “did not have the infrastructure to capitalize on that moment.” Roux said the groundwork to make sure that can happen this time around, from its new CBA, keeping these licensing rights, the new deals and a slate of programming, is there. Opendorse Marketing Dir Sam Weber said that data compiled by the company indicates that the USWNT players are collectively the most marketable and most visible among women in sports in the eyes of the general sports fan in the U.S. “Our goal is to really maximize what we’re doing in ’19, but also making sure we’re building beyond that,” Roux said. “This isn’t just about the major tournaments -- these players have a marketability that goes well beyond that one month every four years or during the Olympics.”
