E.l.f. continues to consider women fans of men’s sports through NASCAR partnership

The GIST: We’ve seen makeup brands go big in women’s sports lately, including E.l.f.’s support of the PWHL and Overtime Select. But the brand’s decision to rev up its investment in NASCAR, coupled with previous NFL activations, shows that catering to women who follow men’s sports is a unique and effective way to reach a historically overlooked demo. Because she’s worth it.

The campaign: Back for a second year of partnership with NASCAR, E.l.f.’s Power Grip Garage will promote its products through a glam station and meet and greets with brand athlete Katherine Legge. It also includes a dedicated space for fans to record videos for Legge before she competes as the only woman driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ BetMGM 300 event.

The NASCAR opportunity: In 2020, NASCAR estimated women comprised 40% of its fanbase and claimed the most women TV viewers per event in U.S. sports outside the NFL. According to E.l.f. CMO Kory Marchisotto, these fans are more likely to “watch sports on TV, listen on the radio, and attend a live event” compared to other sports, which is why E.l.f. wanted to connect with them.

The context: The NFL has seen its percentage of women viewers increase from 51% in 2020 to 57% in 2023, hence skincare brands like E.l.f. becoming interested in reaching women fans through the league. When E.l.f. aired a regional Super Bowl ad in 2023, the spot generated more than 60B impressions, prompted a 90% bump in web traffic, and boosted product sales.

• This is something Sephora highlighted in its partnership with Netflix’s Running Point: Advertisers in men’s sports have traditionally overlooked the power of women fans, but that’s quickly changing. Skims activated in the NBA and WNBA, Lululemon broke the internet with its NHL collection, and beauty brands doubled down at Super Bowl LIX.

Zooming out: While we’ve often distinguished that women’s sports fans aren’t all women (in fact, the majority of them are men), brands are realizing that not all men’s sports fans are men — and women in this space are eager to support the brands that recognize this. This one’s for the girls.