• by Karl Greenberg , April 10, 2008

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) has inked separate deals with Kia Motors America, Inc., Pitney Bowes Inc. and IHOP Corp.

The deal makes Kia an official partner of the WNBA and of the WNBA Draft 2008 presented by Adidas, which is happening now in Tampa, Fla. Kia gets courtside signage, and advertising during national broadcasts of WNBA games. At this week's draft, Kia will have vehicles on display. The brand, which has marketing alliances with 16 individual NBA teams, signed on as official vehicle partner of the NBA in January.

IHOP will present WNBA half-time, and gets title sponsorship of the "WNBA.com Pick One Fantasy Challenge," the league's new daily-pick fantasy game. The company gets on-air exposure in national game broadcasts on ABC and ESPN2, including courtside signage and on-screen presence during the half-time show.

Pitney Bowes will do a corporate goodwill program, supporting WNBA's "Read to Achieve" program, and a new national literacy fund-raiser via special tickets sold for designated home games of six WNBA teams.

WNBA President Donna Orender says the demographic of the WNBA is, not surprisingly, the highest percentage of female viewers and spectators in pro sports. "At the arenas we have a lot of women--more women than men--but a lot of men watch as well and we index very well with teen and tween girls and do well with families," she says. "Overall, it's a very avid fan base, with educated, affluent and community-focused fans, with a wide age range."

She points out that Kia is not the first automaker to sign with WNBA, and isn't the only one working with the league now. "The league launched with GM, and we work with Toyota currently," she says. Toyota's involvement with the WNBA and NBA centers on the Toyota Project Rebound community outreach program. The WNBA currently has over 20 sponsors, including Discover Card, Nike, Adidas and Gatorade.

WNBA offers a level of "athlete authenticity" that one doesn't find in the NBA, where individual athletes are more branded than the teams on which they play. "I think there's always been that appeal; the authenticity of athletes is part of the attraction," says Orender. "That and a connection with the community, which we are seeing with Pitney Bowes, Toyota and Kia."