7 Brand Activations from the Women's Euro 2025

The UEFA Women's EURO 2025, hosted across Switzerland's from July 2-27, delivered more than world-class football. It became a showcase of smart sponsorship strategy, where brands stepped away from traditional visibility plays to forge genuine connections with an increasingly diverse and engaged fanbase. 

With 20 official sponsors—nearly double the number from the previous tournament—and sponsorship revenue reaching approximately €33 million, Women's EURO 2025 proved how the commercial potential of women's sport continues its upward trajectory. The numbers tell one story, but what's really interesting is how brands turned their investments into meaningful activations that resonated both on and off the pitch. 

AWS Off-Mute: Digital-First Fan Engagement 

Amazon's "Off Mute" initiative perfectly captured how technology can serve both brand objectives and sport development. Rather than simply plastering logos across inventory, Amazon used AWS technology to create an online platform where women and girls could share their football experiences. This also aims to bring better transparency to grassroots football movements by allowing decision-makers to be more in tune with the experiences and idea of women footballers. 

Here's what worked: The most powerful digital activations collect actionable data while providing genuine value to participants. Amazon's approach delivered insights that could help UEFA, clubs, and grassroots organizations understand what women and girls actually want from football—turning sponsorship into an ecosystem-building tool rather than a mere advertising channel. 

AXA Keep on Kicking: Purpose-Driven Community Building 

Swiss insurance giant AXA demonstrated how local relevance can amplify global messaging. As the presenting partner of the tournament's "Keep on Kicking" volunteer program, AXA engaged over 2,500 volunteers across host cities while connecting this community-building effort to its broader campaign message: "Being a woman shouldn't be a risk." 

The key insight: Effective sponsorship activations align with authentic brand purpose. AXA successfully wove its commitment to women's health and social protection throughout its tournament presence without appearing preachy or opportunistic, creating what they called "a perfect fit to strengthen women's football in Switzerland and beyond." 

Unilever: Multi-Brand Storytelling 

Unilever showcased the power of portfolio activation through its multi-brand approach. Deploying Dove, Rexona, Knorr, and Hellmann's lines for Women's EURO 2025, the company executed over 126,000 in-store activations across Europe. Dove and Rexona promoted confidence and self-belief through storytelling campaigns, while Knorr and Hellmann's created branded fan meals and community events. 

What this teaches us: Large companies with diverse brand portfolios can create more touchpoints by aligning different brands with various aspects of a sporting event. This allows for both breadth and depth of engagement, connecting with different audience segments while maintaining consistent overall messaging about values like empowerment and inclusion. 

EA Sports FC: Leadership Development Initiatives 

EA Sports FC moved beyond the expected gaming tie-ins by becoming the title sponsor of UEFA's Women in Football Leadership Programme (WFLP). This program has helped over 240 women advance into leadership roles since its launch, demonstrating EA's commitment to gender equity in football governance. 

The bigger picture: Sponsorship can extend beyond fan-facing activations to address structural challenges in sports. By investing in career development pathways for women in football, EA Sports FC positioned itself as a genuine ally in advancing gender equity while building valuable relationships with the next generation of industry leaders. 

Just Eat: Enhanced Fan Experiences 

Just Eat demonstrated how sponsorship can simultaneously solve fan pain points and advance sustainability goals. The brand implemented Quick Collect ordering at stadiums—allowing fans to skip lines and maximize match viewing time—while also introducing carbon labeling on food menus and biodegradable packaging. 

Why it matters: The most memorable sponsor activations address real fan frustrations or enhance the event experience. Just Eat's approach proved that practical innovation can coexist with sustainability initiatives, creating immediate value for fans while supporting longer-term environmental commitments. 

Lidl’s “Never Stop Growing”: Youth Engagement and Wellness 

https://youtu.be/wjWGqX1FCVI?feature=shared 

New partner Lidl launched its "Never Stop Growing" campaign focused on health, youth, and community engagement. The centerpiece was the Lidl Youth Camp—a weekend football and wellness program bringing together 100 teenage girls from 20 countries for training drills and workshops on nutrition and mental resilience. 

The smart move: Creating exclusive development opportunities for young participants can generate emotional connections that extend far beyond a tournament's duration. Lidl's investment in the next generation of players and fans demonstrated how sponsors can contribute to sport's grassroots growth while building brand affinity. 

Visa: Payment Innovation and Accessibility 

Visa continued setting high standards in women's sport support through both digital innovation and fan engagement. Beyond sponsoring the Player of the Match award at each game, Visa launched its "Warm Up Tour" offering customers pitch-side access and player meet-and-greets. The payment giant also implemented Click-to-Pay functionality on UEFA's digital platforms, streamlining the ticket-buying experience. 

The winning formula: Effective sponsorship activations blend exclusive experiences with practical innovations that showcase a brand's core business. Visa successfully demonstrated its payment technology while creating memorable moments for fans—proving that functional benefits and emotional connections aren't mutually exclusive. 

The Evolution of Sports Sponsorship 

Women's EURO 2025 clearly demonstrated that modern sponsorship has evolved far beyond mere logo placement. Today's most effective partnerships embrace cultural relevance, community building, digital-first storytelling, and meaningful activation. Brands that approached sponsorship as ecosystem builders rather than visibility seekers enjoyed prolonged engagement that will likely extend far beyond the tournament's conclusion. 

With women's football projected to enter the global top five sports by 2030, attracting over 800 million fans according to Nielsen data, brands that authentically invest in the women's game now are positioning themselves for long-term success in a rapidly growing market. 

Research shows that 86% of those interested in women's football believe it's important for sponsors to address socially relevant issues. The brands that stood out during Women's EURO 2025 understood this expectation, blending commercial objectives with genuine commitment to advancing women's sport. 

Want to develop smarter marketing positioning strategies for your brand, particularly within the growing women's sports ecosystem? Reach out to Zupotsu today and gain access to insights that will help you craft purpose-driven activations that resonate with increasingly diverse and engaged fan communities. 

Zupotsu is a martech platform on a mission to ‘digitize’ sports marketing. Zupotsu enables the discovery, engagement, and evaluation (the ‘DEE’ framework) for every sports and esports marketing asset. Please sign up at www.zupotsu.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. Reach out at ‘marketing@zupotsu.com’ for any queries.