by Sébastien Théberge

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) caused quite a stir when it announced a controversial new rule stipulating that, as of June 2011, female players taking part in high-level international competitions will be required to wear skirts. I examine the stakes, the controversy, but mainly, the commercial strategy that gave rise to this decision.

Sexist?

At first glance, this decision is obviously sexist. It reintroduces the debate surrounding the marketing of the female body and elicited strong reactions from the national badminton federations of Iran, Pakistan, and India as well as thousands of enthusiasts resistant to change.

Badminton: did you know that…

With more than 200 million enthusiasts, badminton is one of the five most widely practiced sports in the world! Enjoying almost national-sport status in several Asian countries, particularly in China, Japan, Korea and Southern Asia, it is also highly popular in Europe. Finally, the BWF’s membership includes some 165 national federations. It is obviously a closely followed Olympic sport though unfortunately, too often in the Americas, badminton is viewed as a school sport or recreational activity whose practice is relegated to weekday evenings.

Dress-code reality

A large number of female players already opt for the skirt, while others favour shorts. What is surprising is that there will no longer be a choice at competitions such as World Championships. With the introduction of the new dress code, wearing a skirt will be compulsory.

The BWF is unequivocal about its objective: it wants to attract sponsors. Let’s be clear: increasing the sexiness of female players is not likely to attract major international television networks for several years yet.

On the other hand, after analyzing its own marketing efforts, the BWF realized that such a move could potentially generate commercial income for the sport. Badminton – a spectator sport — offers possibilities that could be exploited by standardizing the look of its female athletes. That being said, couldn’t the same be achieved with shorts?

Giant sponsor potential

Ultimately, there will be a tendency among female players to stand out from each other, and the standard will attract equipment manufacturers like Adidas, Yonex, Nike, Victor Sport, Proton-EON and many others. Lucrative exclusivity contracts will allow the sport to shape a new sports fashion, starting with markets where badminton is particularly popular, especially in Asia.

Sports fashion

Sports fashion is a fast-growing niche. The last time you went shopping, did you notice the sports boutiques and departments dedicated to individual sports? A golf section, swimming section, ski section, jogging section, etc.? Capitalizing on the attraction of high-performing athletes, a new sports fashion tailored to badminton will be created by negotiating lucrative sponsorship agreements with the best players on the planet, most of whom will be from China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Scandinavia and Europe.  Eventually, the North American market will be exploited as well.

The potential of London 2012

In many ways, London is a marketing, fashion, and advertising hub and, in 2012, it will be a sports hub. The Summer Olympics to be held there next year are generating considerable enthusiasm among the major brands, eager to capitalize on the occasion. While the athletes cannot wear sponsors’ colours during the Games, national sports committees and federations negotiate agreements that do not conflict with the partners of the International Olympic Committee.

Who to blame?

Whether we like it or not, high-performing female athletes are models of success who exercise a strong influence on our young people. The commercial connection between sports fashion and the athletes is amplified by the need for these athletes to generate income in order to pursue their sports dreams.

Sébastien Théberge

About the author here

On Twitter:  @SebTheberge

References:

The Telegraph article on the topic:   http://bit.ly/mu49qZ

The list of international BWF competitions is available here: http://bit.ly/mKrqFd