Barclays' Innovative Sponsorship Strategy for Women's Football

Barclays is a British multinational investment bank and financial services company. It is one of the largest banks in the world and offers a range of services including retail banking, commercial banking, investment banking, and wealth management. Barclays' core purpose is to be 'opportunity makers for people', and it strives to align this purpose with its business strategies. In this case, Barclays sought to support women's football and make it as recognized and supported as men's football. This initiative was part of Barclays' broader commitment to gender equality and inclusivity.

Barclays, a multinational investment bank and financial services company, was seeking to align its core purpose of being 'opportunity makers for people' with its sponsorship strategy. The commercial strategy team at Iris, a global creative innovation network, identified a gap in the bank's current sponsorship strategy. They saw an opportunity to support Barclays' purpose while helping women's football gain recognition and support on par with men's football. The challenge was to convince senior stakeholders at Barclays to sponsor women's football and to effectively deliver the strategy, PR, and social content for the first title sponsorship of the FA WSL, Europe's first professional women's football league.

Iris worked closely with Barclays' senior stakeholders to provide a compelling business case for sponsoring women's football. After securing the sponsorship, Iris developed and executed the strategy, PR, and social content for the first title sponsorship of the FA WSL. Iris' PR team managed the announcement, negotiated messaging, and defined the media strategy in collaboration with The FA's press office. Following the successful launch, Barclays tasked Iris with initiating the new season of the Barclays FA WSL. Iris created an integrated campaign to highlight Barclays and The FA's commitment to making football accessible to all girls in schools by 2024. The campaign was launched with a 60” hero film, supported by OOH and press, and activated with consumer PR outreach and sponsorship activations at Stamford Bridge and the Etihad Stadium.

• The campaign was a resounding success, with record-breaking audiences at Stamford Bridge and the Etihad Stadium during the season-opening weekend. The 60” hero film, which followed a passionate young girl observing her male counterparts play the game she loves, resonated with audiences and helped to highlight the commitment Barclays and The FA have made to make football accessible to all girls. The campaign was also successful in generating positive sentiment, with 100% positive sentiment recorded. This initiative not only helped to elevate women's football but also reinforced Barclays' position as a champion of opportunities and equality.

• 263 pieces of coverage across Print, Online, Broadcast & Regionals
• 242M total coverage reach
• 100% positive sentiment