This Brand of X's and O's Is XX, Not XY

Ravens Are Taking Innovative Steps to Tap Into Expanding Female Fan Base

Shortly after Gabrielle Dow thought up the name for the new Baltimore Ravens' female fan club, Purple, she came up with an idea for its logo. Dow, the team's senior director of marketing, wanted it to look as if a woman had picked up her lipstick and wrote "Purple" across a mirror.

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Her colleagues didn't particularly care for the design; they thought it was "too girly." Such is the balance the Ravens are trying to strike as they incorporate female fans in a new way.

The Ravens, who say women comprise 46 percent of their fan base, always have reached out to their female fans. But Purple is different in that it adds a lifestyle component. Members not only receive information about the team, but they also get fitness tips from the team's strength and conditioning coach, nutritional advice from the team's nutritionist, and discounts from sponsors.

The club, which is free to join, was launched in August and now has close to 3,500 members. The exclusive Lavender Ladies -- who pay $250 for access to private autograph sessions, a special day at training camp, and gifts such as wine glasses and handbags -- number approximately 150 (total membership is capped at 200).

"Purple allows women to feel like they're part of something, other than just tickets to the game, tailgating, the standard norm that's offered to them on a daily basis," Dow said. "With football, it's about brand affinity and lifestyle. How do we get [women] to embrace the Ravens on a daily basis? Purple is one way."

The NFL is the most popular spectator sport among women, according to a September 2006 Harris Poll; more women chose professional football (30 percent) than professional baseball (14 percent) and basketball (7 percent) combined. Every week, according to the NFL, more than 375,000 women attend games, and more than 45 million women watch games on television. Women's apparel is the NFL's fastest-growing business.

"The NFL is social currency in America today," said Lisa Baird, senior vice president of consumer products and marketing with the NFL. "During the season and now even during the offseason, a way to open a conversation is the NFL, and women are engaging in that. They're looking for deeper information than the game, and that's where we're seeing tremendous growth."

The league has been trying to attract female fans for years. The kickoff shows, which have featured performers Kelly Clarkson and Faith Hill, were started, in part, to attract women, Baird said.

This season, the league introduced a new player image campaign, in part to counteract an offseason that featured several highly publicized off-the-field incidents involving players. But another goal was to introduce their players in a way that would appeal to a broader audience. In one of the ads, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is shown reading his playbook to two of his children; he says he uses the playbook whenever his kids can't fall asleep.

"I think that the stories, the insights about their lives, definitely draw in the women's audience," Baird said.

One of the NFL's first efforts in courting female fans was creating Football 101 seminars designed to introduce women to everything from equipment to rules to strategy to football history. Eighteen teams are holding Football 101 classes (the Redskins are among the 14 teams that do not), and the workshops draw more than 10,000 women each year, according to the league.

Some teams have expanded their offerings. The Indianapolis Colts offer three classes: Women's 101-Beginner (which teaches basic terminology and positions), Women's 101-Advanced (which deals with strategy, as well as free agency and salary cap issues) and Women's 201 (which allows the women to run through various drills on the field). The Pittsburgh Steelers will host a Steelers Ladies Night Out later this month that will include a prime rib dinner and a tour of Heinz Field.