Puma's foresight: Early faith in Women's sports becomes new marketing blueprint

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a Rs 51 crore cash prize for the Indian women’s cricket team after their historic World Cup win, even exceeding the ICC’s official prize money of $4.48 million (about ₹39.8 crore). India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the final at Navi Mumbai’s Dr. DY Patil Stadium. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has said that this ₹51 crore bonus will go to players, selectors and support staff led by coach Amol Muzumdar — “without touching anything from the ICC’s kitty".

This scale of celebration and the national spotlight on women’s cricket now sets the stage for another shift — the reallocation of serious sports marketing money.

And this is where Puma’s early bet comes in. Puma has been investing in women’s sport far before the rest of the ecosystem woke up to it. For Shreya Sachdev, Head of Marketing, Puma India, yesterday’s win is not a revelation, but a moment of vindication.

Because this has been Puma's stand for years. "Now that the world finally sees the same potential, the brand’s job gets easier, but it doesn’t mean the work is done," she said.

The task now is to ensure that women’s cricket is watched not just when India wins. That is the next frontier.

Sport is an emotional category, she pointed out, and any smart marketer already knows that investing in sport is good business. With the win, women cricketers have become an even more viable brand investment. Sport endemic brands were already doing it. The real delta will come from brands outside the category — those who never saw themselves in sport, and who will now realise that this is a viable commercial space to invest in.

For Puma, the business of sport is survival and long term equity, which is why they have consistently signed women cricketers over the years. On average, the brand sponsors anywhere between three to seven women cricketers every year, depending on the outlook. Richa, Harman and Deepti are currently on their roster, and they have had others in previous cycles.

A brand that still doesn’t see the potential in women’s sport after yesterday, in her view, would be foolish. Marketing money should be earmarked now — not as a one-off moment but as sustained investment — because audience awareness has completely transformed. In just the past month, and especially the last two to three weeks, fans now know names, faces, backstories. That’s the unlock for commercial viability.

Brand investing becomes easier when you don’t have to explain who the athlete is.

This is the exact shift that wasn’t there four years ago. Back then, even the top playing 11 to 14 names were unknown. Today, the new stars are recognised, and their stories are being told. The moment the face becomes recognisable, brand pull follows. There is no reason this will stay short term.

Sachdev sees this as the right wake up moment for brands. Sport has an extraordinary emotional power on people — and women’s sport, especially, carries the underdog arc finally getting its due. This is where emotional marketing lands the hardest. This is where marketing dollars will be well spent.