A retro fit

The GIST: On Tuesday, the WNBA launched its campaign to celebrate its 30th season. The initiatives play into the nostalgia love among W fans, and we chatted with WNBA business growth AVP Keri Lenker last week about the league’s plans, the data that informed the campaign, and why brands are jumping on the bandwagon. All aboard.

The details: The campaign, which marks the league’s first retro-themed programming, will celebrate the W’s 30-year history with storytelling through media, experiences, and merchandise. This includes WNBA Court Origins Nights, where the league will nationally televise games involving the three remaining original franchises.

• And in the Legacy Trail merchandise program, a new licensee collaboration will be unveiled on the 30th of every month, with collections planned until November — but Lenker said interested brands can still reach out, especially since the Court Origins program will be evergreen. “We would love to bring new brands into the fold as we tell those nostalgia stories.”

• Individual teams are also recognizing the opportunity here, like the NY Liberty, one of the OG franchises that launched a similar retrospective. The Liberty’s campaign includes a throwback-inspired logo and a campaign spot with dedicated merch to come. Can’t wait.

The opportunity: Lenker highlighted that the league has rolled out retro items before, but a desire for more dedicated nostalgic callbacks inspired this program. With the league’s explosive growth in recent years, the 30-year mark was the perfect time to look back.

• Lenker added that knowing how engaged W fans are around merch drove this campaign. “It’s really a part of their everyday lifestyle,” she said. “So when we think about the product categories, we’re really mindful [to] introduce new products that can really round out that fan’s lifestyle” by incorporating their fave team, player, or the league itself into their daily life.

Looking ahead: While the full roster of involved brands will come month-by-month, we do know the first three activating: Wine brand La Crema, apparel giant Nike, and nostalgic clothing brand Mitchell & Ness.

• As we’ve seen with the Houston Comets, the Seattle Supersonics, and other vintage-era basketball teams, there’s a real thirst for nostalgia, especially among fans that feel they’ve been overlooked. Here for it.

The GIST: On March 31st, WNBA star Lexie Hull co-launched Forta, a skincare brand designed for athletes. She’s amplifying her brand on Faves, a new platform that allows athletes to recommend products they actually use.

• We chatted with Hull yesterday about what makes Forta and Faves special and why putting her skincare line on the platform makes sense, especially considering how women consumers interact and perceive brand recommendations. Sign us up.

The background: Hull initially got involved with Forta’s ownership group, tried out the products, and genuinely recommended them to family and friends, before expanding her recommendation to the Faves platform.

• Faves allows athletes to endorse their must-have products — for Hull, that’s “tall girl clothes” and her Theragun. What makes these recs so powerful is these aren’t traditional paid product placements — athletes genuinely love and use these products — and Faves intends to become a place where athletes can facilitate the purchase of their favorite products and allow brands to benefit from the exposure.

The why: Athlete recommendations are powerful because they are typically perceived as trustworthy by the general public. That’s even truer for women athletes, who are more engaging than other types of influencers because of their authenticity and personality.

• Brands should pay attention, Hull notes, because women are powerful (and curious) consumers, and word-of-mouth recs power purchasing consideration. “Women are buying more, trying new things, so I also think that’s so much of our mindset,” she said. Hull is right — women’s discretionary spending has been growing faster than men’s in recent years.

The takeaway: Faves is designed to foster genuine athlete endorsements, and that’s a signal for brands to build genuine relationships with influential athletes so they’ll want to recommend those brands naturally. If athletes actually like a product, it’s going to show in their social media content — and it’s going to make broader, unsolicited co-signs possible.

• That’s what happened with Cameron Brink, who we spoke with yesterday (more on that soon). Brink said she actually drank Optimum Energy in her training, recommending it to all her teammates. Now, she and the brand have an extensive partnership, which matters as Brink said she’s becoming “more intentional” with her brand deals. Get in while you can.