Deloitte & the WNBA: Making Change that Matters

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

Making change comes in many forms. Whether that’s the players of the WNBA using their platform to impact change or the league using business insights to help elevate the future of the game.

As a WNBA Changemaker, Deloitte has worked with the league since 2020 to engineer advantage and guide business transformation, from short-term operational planning to long-term business strategy.

How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?

In 2020, Deloitte and a select group of sponsors signed on to be WNBA Changemakers, a first-of-its-kind collective which brings together values-driven businesses that lead the way in the advancement of women in sports. The goal was to significantly elevate women’s sports and enable the league’s business transformation.

By the nature of Deloitte’s relationship with the league, which is grounded in providing business services to support sustainable growth, we are aiming to drive change and a positive impact on the league as it continues to mature. Our marketing campaign allowed us to showcase our work to many audiences, including business decision-makers, as well as elevate the players as the true foundation of the league.

The more sponsors that build marketing and communications campaigns promoting the players, their stories, and the impact they make on and off the court, the more visibility there will be and, hopefully, continued growth and value for women’s sports.

All said, this sponsorship is helping to push the bounds on how B2B sponsors can leverage their own services to drive both their business and the business of the sports organizations they sponsor, forward.

Objective

Since 2020, Deloitte has been honored to work with the WNBA as a Changemaker to create a vision for growing the league, supporting players, engaging fans, and boosting women’s sports. The WNBA has been the home to some of the best women’s basketball talent in the world and has focused on efforts to advance all women’s sports and women in society too.

Through our role as sponsor and trusted advisor to the WNBA, Deloitte wanted to build a campaign showcasing these roles and drive an understanding of what we do for the league and what we stand for; moreover, we aimed to use our audience’s passion for the sport and the WNBA to unlock interest in learning more.

Specifically, we looked to make an impact on our core business decision-maker audience, as well as WNBA fans, our own people, and potential future Deloitte practitioners, by using the theme of Changemakers as a message that could resonate with all of these groups. Our ultimate goal was to augment impressions across audiences on our campaign content to increase awareness and interest.

Strategy & Execution

Making change comes in many forms. Whether that’s the players of the WNBA using their platform to impact change or the league using business insights to help elevate the future of the game. The WNBA’s business is a complex operation across finance, marketing, engineering, and more. Across business and societal issues, driving change can make an impact that matters.

For the 2022 season, Deloitte leveraged the overarching theme of Changemakers as a unifying message for our marketing efforts. We teamed with three WNBA players who embodied different ways of driving change—on the court, in their communities, and with the next generation—and hosted a roundtable discussion facilitated by Deloitte’s Chief DEI Officer Kavitha Prabhakar.

From the conversation, we developed content focused on their stories and topics such as DEI, allyship, and more. We also developed comprehensive storytelling around Deloitte’s work with the WNBA as a trusted advisor, from long-term business strategy and vision planning to fan segmentation and digital optimization, with marketing assets underscoring the impact we’re making in the league’s business transformation.

Organizations

• Deloitte
• WNBA
• Leff Communications
• Partners Creative

Credits

Andrew Cohn
Brand Manager, Sponsorships
Deloitte

Katie Kreps
Lead, Sponsorships
Deloitte

Christine Moore
Group Brand Director
Deloitte

Janet DeNunzio
Group Brand Director
Deloitte

Eve Wallin
Manager
Deloitte

Suzanne Gylfe
Managing Director
Deloitte

Tom Marriott
Principal
Deloitte

Lauren Leimkuehler
Account Supervisor
Deloitte