In 2022, Ally Financial started ramping up its sponsorship of women’s sports. That turned out to be an extraordinarily well-timed investment. Over the past three years, interest in women’s sports has skyrocketed. All the while, Ally’s logo appeared on basketball courts, soccer fields and athletes’ uniforms. And as the sports grew in popularity, so did the auto lender and digital-only bank. “I look at it as wins all around,” said Andrea Brimmer, Ally’s chief marketing and public relations officer. “It’s allowed us to carve out a really unique space and to have a really disruptive and loud voice on a much smaller overall spend.” As Ally poured money into women’s sports, the bank gained significant cachet. In 2024, the value of Ally’s brand grew by 31%, according to the consulting firm Brand Finance. In 2023, when many Americans lost faith in lenders amid the regional banking crisis, Ally was one of the few banks whose public reputation improved. To the extent that this progress was attributable to the bank’s investment in female athletics, Ally got a bargain. Women’s sports have historically garnered far less sponsorship money than men’s sports — the NBA took in $1.6 billion last season, while the WNBA received $76 million — so a little spending on the “W” leagues goes a long way. As a target for a bank’s marketing spending, women’s sports hold a number of advantages. The first is that there are so many games, leagues, teams and athletes to choose from — at almost any budget. Another advantage is the sheer size of the audience. So by sponsoring those games, brands like Ally can tap into some very powerful associations.