The Future Official Sponsors of the NWSL
Award: Graphite Pencil
Graphite Pencil / Direct / Integrated / 2021
Award: Graphite Pencil
Graphite Pencil / Digital / Integrated
Award: Wood Pencil
Wood Pencil / Digital / Social
Award: Wood Pencil
Wood Pencil / Integrated / Large Business
Award: Wood Pencil
Wood Pencil / Media / Integrated
Award: Wood Pencil
Wood Pencil / Impact / Advertising / Brands
Award: Shortlist
Shortlist / PR / B2B
In the US, women soccer players were still paid 19 times less than their male peers. The issue appeared to be gender discrimination, but a closer look revealed it was also economic. As one of only three sponsors of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), Budweiser set out to close the pay gap by addressing the sponsorship gap. VaynerMedia created nine placeholder products for some of the biggest sponsorship categories in sports to show brands what they were missing out on. As a result, the league announced six new sponsors and a salary cap increase of ~20%.
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