Insights on March Madness from the ABX Sports Impact Index™

Fans of women’s sports rated ad creative in both the NCAA 2026 Men’s and Women’s Tournaments significantly higher than fans of men’s sports, according to a study conducted by ABX Advertising Benchmark Index™.

The study included 148 ads from the tournaments using the ABX Sports Impact Index™, which isolates how the heightened emotional engagement of sports audiences watching games on sports media channels influences creative effectiveness, brand perception, consumer action, and purchase intent. It is the same methodology as used in other recent papers on major sports championships*.

The Impact of Women in Sports-Related Ads – Major Increases in Reputation and Call-to-Action

Indeed, female sports audiences continue to show exceptional responsiveness to advertising, yielding up to a 70% lift in creative effectiveness.

As you will see below, ads airing during the NCAA Women’s Championship significantly outperformed those in the Men’s Championship in several key metrics, including:

But it is critical to note here that while the Sports Impact Index shows lifts in ad receptiveness among sports fans, it does not have the same effect on ads with poor creative.

Women’s Sports Audiences Represent a Major Growth Opportunity for Advertisers

For marketers, the implication is clear: women’s sports are no longer simply a sponsorship or cultural investment opportunity—they are becoming a high-performing advertising environment capable of delivering measurable brand and business impact.

As women’s sports audiences continue to grow in scale, engagement, and cultural relevance, the ABX Sports Impact Index™ provides marketers with the tools to evaluate sponsorship and advertising opportunities through a rigorous, ROI-focused lens.

How ABX Helps Improve Advertising ROI in Sports

Sports sponsorships and sports-related media placements represent some of the most visible and high-stakes investments brands make. But creative performance is often assumed rather than measured until after campaigns are live.

ABX enables marketers to evaluate and optimize sports advertising using performance data from more than half a million evaluated ads across all media types globally.  Testing sports advertising before sponsorship commitments or major media investments allows brands to:

• Understand how creative resonates specifically with sports fans
• Identify which messages, athletes, and narratives drive Reputation and Call-to-Action
• Reduce financial and reputational risk in high-profile environments
• Optimize creative before significant media dollars are committed

The ABX Sports Impact Index™ enables brands to benchmark sports creative against all other in-market advertising, supporting confident, data-driven decision-making.

The result is a more disciplined approach to sports marketing—one that helps advertisers translate audience attention into measurable gains in brand equity, sales, profit and stock price.

*See the ABX analysis of Super Bowl 2025, Super Bowl 2026 and the Winter Olympics for additional insights and best practices for sports advertising.

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Written by Angela Jeffrey, VP ABX Brand Management