WNBA President Val Ackerman's career has led her from professional basketball in France, to Wall Street as a corporate lawyer and eventually to the top job at one of the nation's leading professional female sports leagues.
Ackerman provided the audience of undergraduate, Wharton MBA and Law School students with an overview of the seven-year-old league, trends in female athletics and her insights into the sports industry.
After a flashy promotional video, she began the presentation with a discussion of the challenges currently facing the WNBA, a league comprised of 13 franchises.
"We have to grow the fan base in the face of a tough economy and a more crowded sports and entertainment landscape," she said.
Ackerman said she plans to counter these challenges with a savvy marketing campaign aimed at turning "the league's goodwill into economic growth."
One of the central features of the WNBA's strategy revolves around "capitalizing on the growing connection between women, girls and sports, and riding the tide of societal forces," Ackerman said.
"We try to get the players to become part of broader popular culture," she added. This includes encouraging players to pose for magazines, appear on talk shows and actively participate in their communities.
One of the league's greatest strengths is its players and their connection to their fans, according to Ackerman.
"The players are real," she said. "These are people young girls want to imitate."
The WNBA has also benefited from its strong ties to the NBA, which owns 50 percent of the league. This relationship has given the WNBA unique access to sports complexes, fans and, most significantly, key relationships with television networks.
"TV is the lifeblood of any new sports league," Ackerman said.
The importance of TV is the primary reason behind the league's decision to schedule its games during the summer months, which avoids competition with other professional sports leagues.
The WNBA's other strengths include its cordial relationship with the NCAA, its favorable collective bargaining agreement and its media partnerships, according to Ackerman.
The league has also been able to leverage its unique demographics -- which not surprisingly are heavily skewed toward females -- with marketers who traditionally do not advertise through sports, such as Procter & Gamble.
"The league has come to represent something larger than sports," Ackerman said. "The league represents the image of strong, confident women."
The WNBA's reach extends beyond the United States, as games are broadcast in 183 countries and approximately 20 percent of the players are foreign.
"This globality will be represented in the upcoming Olympics," Ackerman said. League competition will be suspended in August, allowing 30 players to compete for their respective nations in Athens, Greece.
But, despite marketing ploys and other strategic ventures, "the game is the core of the market," Ackerman said.
Students said they were impressed with both Ackerman's background and with the progress she has made for the WNBA.
Ackerman "is a role model due to everything she has achieved," Wharton freshman Janny Hu said.
"It was interesting to learn about the league," third-year Law School student Andrew Alin added.
The presentation was sponsored by the Institute for Law and Economics -- which is a combined venture among the Wharton School, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Law School.
