GRWM For Game Day: Female Fans Love Gen Z Branding

“Who run the world? Girls” Scoot over boys; the girls are taking over the sports world both inside and outside the stadium. So throw out the playbook that treats female fans like the smaller pink version of men. 

The female fan base is passionate, active, and ready for more. They are digital natives, ready for forward thinking brands that understand their distinct preferences. This shift is an opportunity to connect to a dedicated audience of Generation Z consumers that, according to Forbes, holds 85% of the consumer spending power. 

In this article, I will tell you how Gen Z branding is winning over female sports fans, and what brands need to learn from the game day revolution. 

The GRWM Effect: Creator Partnerships in Action

After Costco and the liquor store, game day prep begins at the vanity mirror. The skincare and beauty routine has become just as essential to the game day look as the outfit itself.

Through viral #GameDayGRWM short form video content, digital interactions on social media platforms are driving product discovery. Creators are showing younger audiences the exact products and techniques that help them get their insta perfect faces to survive hours of tailgating, weather, and stadium lights.

By embracing user generated content, beauty and skincare brands can capitalize on the significant increase in viewers for women’s sports and overall rise of female fans across sports leagues. 

How Beauty Brands and Skincare Brands Are Winning Game Day:

• Alix Earle is a pioneer in the “Get Ready With Me” content genre. With the launch of her new brand Reale Actives, she utilizes genuine trust and community feedback to show how she depuffs and moisturizes her skin pre game day. Moving away from polished marketing campaigns and corporate TV ads.

• E.L.F Cosmetics  is the first official makeup and skincare partner of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). E.L.F integrates beauty with the soccer culture through interactive Fan zones, matchday experiences, and events like House of Goal E.L.F Beauty. 

• Glossier is the official beauty partner of the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBA). By bringing Glossier products directly to the players and fans on game day through tentpole events and the launch of WNBA themed content, they amplify the players' voices while driving authentic peer recommendations.

The OOTD Effect: Brand Building at the Intersection of Fashion and Fandom

It’s out with the old and in with the new: say goodbye to duck tailing those basic oversized jerseys and hello to elevated, custom, fashion forward game day fits. On Saturdays and Sundays, #GameDayOOTD floods the timelines long before clips of the game highlights and press conferences hit the screens.

Tailgating, whether outside the stadium or inside the living rooms, isn’t just about the jerseys, beer, and face paint anymore. Today, game day is an event, a photoshoot, and an aesthetic content moment that shapes internet culture.

Influencers and fashion labels are building brand equity through strategic gen z engagement:

• Kristin Juszczyk (one of Time Magazine's The 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026) saw the gap brands were leaving in the sports fashion industry and swooped in, turning vintage athletic gear into one of a kind pieces. In partnership with Skims cofounder Emma Grede, Fanatics, and the National Football League (NFL), she launched “Off Season”, a clothing brand redefining fan apparel.

• Erin Andrews is an Emmy nominated sports broadcaster who launched “WEAR by Erin Andrews”, a female fan base apparel brand that offers fashion forward lifestyle team gear for female fans' everyday wardrobe. What started off as a niche label became a household name when Taylor Swift took notice and wore the brand multiple times during the Chiefs' championship run, and EVERYBODY took notice, proving the power of organic co signs over traditional celebrity endorsements. 

• Abercrombie & Fitch was a trendsetter as the first brand to partner with all 32 NFL teams to launch an official line of crewnecks, sweatshirts, and vintage graphic tees tailored to the modern day aesthetic, proving that understanding gen z requires a deep understanding of lifestyle trends. Abercrombie & Fitch named NFL’s first official fashion partner  

Game Day Mukbangs: How Brands and Co Creation are EATING on Game Day

Long gone are the days of women being sent away to grab their man a beer and a sandwich… well, unless they actually want to. Today’s women (and men) chefs are in the kitchen SERVING aesthetic meals and full blown content productions.

Watch Party Spread content goes viral, and the food and beverage brands are taking notice. Another trend taking over For You Pages is stadium food reviews, a prime example of short form video driving real world foot traffic. Food and beverage brands alongside stadium operators are leaning heavily on co creation to reach Gen Z's attention both in venues and on store shelves.

Here’s how brands and stadiums are serving:

• Poppi x Los Angeles Lakers (NBA):   In 2024, Poppi got their heads in the game and became the official soda of the Los Angeles Lakers. Leveraging influencer partnerships and clean ingredients messaging to appeal to Gen Z's distrust of legacy soda brands.

• Cutwater Spirits x NFL x MLB: Anheuser Busch’s Cutwater Spirits uses stadium partnerships and co branded team packaging across Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL) venues to build meaningful connections with game day drinkers.

• Chipotle: Gets in the game with “Game Day Meal Prep” promotions and Group Delivery discounts that drive community validation.

The GRWM Funnel: Gen Z Marketing From Fit Checks To Broadcast Data

Ladies, the men love asking you the most obscure sports facts and stats to prove your loyalty and “ball knowledge”, but the real play is happening at the intersection of Gen Z marketing and fan culture. Here are some numbers you can give them:

• Nielsen's Women In Sports Report states it best: “the sports fandom is growing, and women are driving it, in women’s leagues and men’s alike”. In the same article, Nielsen reported that in 2025 there was a 71% growth in viewership of women's sports from 2022.

• ESPN Press Room reported its Monday Night Countdown has seen a 25% rise in female fans and NFL Live is thriving with a record breaking 48% surge in female viewership. 

• Deloitte reports that female fans are loving and engaged with the behind the scenes content just as much as the live games. Nielsen reports that “Nearly 40% of global sports fans are interested in non live content related to live sport events” before converting into broadcast viewers.  This opens a clear opportunity for 365 promotion deals for leagues, teams, broadcasts, brands, and influencers to take advantage of both in season and off season. 

This creates a 365 day funnel for leagues, teams, and brands to turn social engagement into long term brand building both in season and off season.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Gen Z Engagement and the Female Fan Surge

While this shift in sports fandom might have started on social media, it is NOT just a fleeting social media trend; it is a transformation of the intersection of live sports and lifestyle marketing. Female fans control the majority of the purchasing power, and they expect clear brand values and social responsibility from the brands they support.

To capture this influential demographic without falling into outdated marketing traps, here are the Do’s and Don’ts of Gen Z branding for female fans: 

The Do’s: How to Win with Female Sports Fans

• Do Respect the Female “Ball Knowledge”: Female Fans don’t want the “dumbed down” sports messaging. They want in on the legitimate stats, stories, and rivalries, with a mix of the behind the scenes lifestyle content, and brands should create campaigns based on that.

• Do leverage Creator Led Content: Gen Z trusts the authentic, real customers and creators over the overproduced corporate ads. Integrating the brands into creators and players' daily routines with the lifestyle content (GRWM’s, OOTD’s, Food Reviews) is a way to make brand integration feel natural rather than forced.

The Don’t: Flags on the Play and Game Over

• Don’t turn women into an object for the male gaze: case in point Sydney Sweeney’s national ad campaign for sports trading app Novig. Gen Z consumers will immediately call out and reject campaigns that reduce sports to sex appeal.

• Don’t Just "Shrink It And Pink It": Female Fans don’t want just the hot pink dye; they want tailored looks and vintage aesthetics. 

• Don't rely on outdated marketing playbooks: What worked for previous generations or older generations won't work for digital natives. Female sports fans must be treated as active participants in the sports culture, not passive onlookers.

Conclusion: Building Lasting Relationships with Next Generation Fans

Winning over this influential demographic is no longer just a nice to have, but the baseline for modern brand building. Unique characteristics about Gen Z sports fans are their desire for digital interactions, constant connectivity, and their demand for a clear brand purpose. They reject traditional tv ads and polished campaigns with celebrity endorsements and can instantly spot when messaging feels fake.

A successful Gen Z strategy requires a deep understanding of their digital world and digital life. From scrolling Reddit threads for peer recommendations to sharing outfit inspos in the group chat, female fans want genuine connections, clear values, and body positivity.

They are not passive viewers, but instead active participants who expect brands to offer supply chain transparency, work towards environmental consciousness, and invite them into the creation process.

These major trends play a significant role in reshaping how leagues and marketers operate. By embracing, short form video, leveraging real customers, and creating impactful campaigns rooted in augmented reality and internet culture, brands can move past surface level marketing.

These great insights offer more insight into a simple truth: brands that prioritize social responsibility and foster community validation on a deeper level won't just capture Gen Z's attention; they will build lasting relationships with new generations of fans for years to come.

🪽 Written by Desiree Walker