Athletes expanding their presence on Snapchat, fueled by an engaged sports audience.
In an exciting new development, Snapchat has teamed up with TOGETHXR to launch "Snap the Gap," a program designed to elevate female athletes as influential creators in the sports and media landscape.
The partnership aims to close the visibility and revenue gap for female athletes by providing them with the tools, mentorship, and resources needed to transform their athletic journeys into compelling, monetizable stories. Nine selected female athletes, spanning various leagues and life stages, including the NWSL, WNBA, NCAA, PWHL, and LOVB, will be part of this groundbreaking initiative.
The program offers a strategic approach for marketers and rights holders, emphasising resourceful partnerships, cross-sport and cohort-based approaches, measuring community, and protecting athlete bandwidth. Brands may integrate sponsorships into series, rather than slapping logos, as they see authentic communities forming around these stories.
Snapchat contributes platform-native growth tactics, such as teaching athletes how to optimise for Spotlight, leverage AR tools, and convert attention into creator revenue streams. The program provides athletes with platform-native monetization opportunities, such as ad shares and sponsored lenses, independent of federation payouts or endorsement deals.
"Snap the Gap" is an accelerator, with potential for more cohorts, deeper platform integrations, and cross-platform syndication to YouTube or CTV. The collaboration aims to lower the barrier to entry for revenue opportunities for the athletes, who not only excel in competition but also shape culture and grow communities across women's sports.
The impact of this partnership is far-reaching. It increases the visibility and representation of female athletes across diverse sports, enables athletes to transition from competitors to creators with real opportunities for monetization, and supports the growth of women’s sports engagement on Snapchat.
Moreover, the program drives gender equality in sports media by leveraging former professional athletes’ experience through TOGETHXR to mentor rising stars. Snapchat’s role as a key platform for sports content, particularly appealing to younger audiences who frequently engage with sports on the app, is also expanded through this collaboration.
Snapchat's audience is primed for sports content, with almost 9 in 10 users engaging with sports weekly and Spotlight logging 25M+ sports minutes daily. The program targets a visibility gap in women's sports, allowing athletes to control their stories and revenue on their terms.
Snapchat's product suite, including ephemeral Stories, AR lenses, and private groups, mirrors the growth of women's sports communities. "Snap the Gap" program institutionalises the perspective of showing the slog (rehab setbacks, travel hassles, team culture, identity beyond the uniform) in women's sports.
Lastly, Snapchat positions itself as an early-stage incubator for sports IP, especially in segments mainstream broadcasters ignore. The program aims to compound impact by making athletes mentors for the next wave.
In essence, "Snap the Gap" is a significant step forward in empowering female athletes to thrive as content creators, bridging the gap in visibility and revenue in the sports and media industry.
- This partnership between Snapchat and TOGETHXR, exemplified by the "Snap the Gap" program, is not only aimed at elevating female athletes as influential creators in sports and media, but also at providing them with opportunities to monetize their compelling stories through technology and finance.
- Brands may integrate sponsorships into the athletes' stories on Snapchat, as the platform offers resources for athletes to optimize their content, convert attention into creator revenue streams, and benefit from platform-native monetization opportunities such as ad shares and sponsored lenses.
