Geico has signed UConn G Azzi Fudd as its first female athlete endorser, unveiling the deal with “virtual billboards around Madison Square Garden” before UConn’s game against St. John’s on Sunday, according to Maggie Vanoni of the NEW HAVEN REGISTER. Fudd’s deal with Geico is expected to “continue beyond her collegiate career.” She previously has had NIL deals with brands including Madison Reed, Chipotle, Bose, Nerf, Buick, Warriors G Stephen Curry’s SC30 and Unrivaled (NEW HAVEN REGISTER, 3/1). Vanoni in a separate piece noted Fudd will be featured in its upcoming docuseries, “Miles That Matter.” Fudd is one of a “handful of basketball stars to be featured” in “Miles That Matter,” which premieres on Paramount+ on March 16 (NEW HAVEN REGISTER, 3/2).
NEW AGE INSURANCE: AD AGE’s Adrianne Pasquarelli notes as Geico invests more into sports marketing, it will “have to find a way to differentiate itself from State Farm, which has a long history of doing athlete deals.” Geico CMO Arianna Orpello said there is a “huge opportunity in women’s basketball” as they think about Geico “showing up in ways that are really interesting and modern in women’s sports.” Orpello noted Geico has “used talent in advertising,” but the deal with Fudd is the “first real multiyear talent partnership we’ve had as a business.” She added they are “committed to taking [Fudd] through what will be a very aggressive series of transitions for her over the next six, nine, 12 months as she goes into the WNBA and we really see what she can achieve.” Orpello said they are also going to be using Fudd “in some of our campaign TV advertising, which is really focused on this idea that every great athlete and story has a team behind them that helps them get there.” Orpello: “We’re going to be very present with March Madness. We’ll be on the ground with experiential activations. We’ll be doing some community activations. But the Azzi thing is really the start of a women’s sports strategy driven” (AD AGE, 3/3).
