When Minnesota Aurora FC takes to the TCO Stadium pitch in Eagan later this month to kick off their second season, fans might notice a small patch on the jerseys' right sleeves.
There's another by the right shoulder, plus big banners across the chest and underneath the players' names and numbers on the back.
These are just a few visible examples of brands — in this case, TruStone Financial, Hummel sportswear, Explore Minnesota and Twin Cities Orthopedics — both investing and capitalizing off of women's sports.
"We kept an open mind about possible partners," said Marty Kelly, TruStone's chief marketing officer, of deciding to partner with the pre-professional soccer team. "When the Aurora opportunity presented itself, there was a lot to like about the program, and one of those elements was the fact that while women's athletics is surging in popularity, it is still somewhat unappreciated by advertisers."
TruStone Financial — a Plymouth-based and community-owned credit union with 19 branches — was struggling to gain a better foothold in a crowded Twin Cities banking market. While it's been around since 1939, it's still just the second-largest credit union in the state after Wings Financial Credit Union. But both pale in comparison to big banks, including Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, which ranks No. 1 in the state.
Like many companies, TruStone viewed women's sports as a growing and untapped resource.
An emerging market
In 2021, the credit union became an Aurora FC sponsor, ahead of its USL W League debut in 2022. In addition to the kit patch, TruStone Financial promoted Aurora FC to its 200,000 members through team-branded debit and credit cards.
That led to face-to-face engagement with thousands of fans at Aurora games through the 2022 season as well as millions of impressions through social media posts and online streams of the team's home games on WCCO's digital platform, Kelly said.