• by Wayne Friedman , October 16, 2024

WNBA marketers witnessed major “engagement” growth driven by their TV commercial efforts for the just-completed regular season of games -- up 16%.

This doubled the gains (7%) from 2023, according to TV business-outcome measurement company EDO.

The five strongest performers were Claritin -- up 160% over the average NCAA advertiser -- followed by Skims up by 155%, Gatorade,123%, United Healthcare, 118% and Snickers, 90%.

Consumer engagement here is defined by EDO as viewers taking action -- online or otherwise -- of around two to five minutes after a TV message airs.

The women’s basketball league saw a massive spike in attention this year with top college basketball viewing driven by rookies such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.

The next five-biggest marketers were Lexus, up by 61%; followed by Buffalo Wild Wings, up by 41%, Carmax (17%), Google Pixel (12%) and Chipotle (11%).

Women’s college basketball in the 2023-24 season witnessed even stronger efforts -- up 31% year-over-year.

The previous year, the average consumer engagement for an NCAA women’s basketball advertiser was 17%. The top five brands for that season were Degree, up by 167%, followed by NyQuil (138%); Invesco (126%); NordVPN (93%) and Cologuard (92%).

By comparison, the 2023-24 NBA season had a 15% increase in overall consumer engagement for the league marketers, compared to a 4% year-over-year score for the 2022-23 season. 

The top five advertisers for that season were New Balance (up by 330%); Denny’s (211%); Bimzelx (210%); Dave (201%); and Temptations (197%).