Fierce, unapologetic, commercial: Inside the plan to brand Netball World Cup 2027

Netball Australia turns 100 in 2027 - the same year Sydney hosts the Netball World Cup. But rather than lean into nostalgia, the sporting body is using this moment to signal something much bigger: a generational shift in how the sport is seen, sold and experienced.

From the outside, netball may look unchanged - still one of the country’s most-played women’s sports, still deeply embedded in Australian schoolyards and suburban courts. But at the elite level and behind the scenes, a radical repositioning is underway.

“Netball has this incredible legacy,” Hannah Warren, head of marketing at Netball Australia, says. “But if we trot out a bunch of old black and white photos and spend too long talking about where we've come from - we will miss a massive opportunity."

The sport, she says, has its sights well and truly set on the future and a new type of legacy.

“What got us here isn’t going to take us where we need to go. What we are saying is don’t buy a ticket to see what the girls are capable of doing. Buy a ticket because it’s going to be a bloody good time. We’re selling one of the fiercest, most elite entertainment experiences in Australian sport.”

With a new brand platform in development by FutureBrand and Octagon and a world-class event on the horizon, the 2027 Netball World Cup is being positioned not as a celebration of the past, but a launchpad for a new commercial and cultural era.

“There’s an undeniable rising tide in women’s sport,” Warren says. “But we need to stop using that analogy. The tide is here. The ocean has arrived. If we don't adapt, we risk being left behind.”

A new commercial playbook

The partnership with FutureBrand and Octagon marks a turning point. Both agencies were appointed via competitive pitch to craft the brand strategy and identify how the tournament will connect with fans, athletes, partners and media across every touchpoint, both in-stadium and around the world.

But the story started earlier - with a cold email.

“There wasn’t even a brief,” Christina Kokkinakis, general manager at FutureBrand, explains. “We just sensed a shift in netball’s tone and reached out. We saw an opportunity to define the future of a sport and that’s exactly what this World Cup allows us to do.”

Warren described their pitch as “undeniable”, landing so strongly with the leadership team that they were asked to return for the next phase. The brief that followed was sweeping: build a brand strategy and experience platform that repositions netball globally, resonates with fans and broadcasters and creates real commercial headroom for long-term growth.

“Opportunities like this are literally once in a lifetime,” Kokkinakis says. “To have an opportunity to define the future of a sport via a World Cup - that's exactly what this opportunity presents. It’s so compelling and so exciting.”

Netball, she says, isn’t just a participation sport, it’s a cultural asset. "In 2027 it needs to show up that way. This is about unlocking storytelling, audience connection and commercial value.”

From participation to performance

Key to the shift is reframing netball not just as a community activity, but as elite performance, and unmissable entertainment.

“There’s a perception of netball as polite, passive, even old-fashioned,” Warren says. “That’s not what elite netball looks like. It’s fierce. It’s fast. It’s aggressive. These are world-class athletes.”

She points to Verity Simmons, a former West Coast Fever player who retired from netball and was quickly signed by the West Coast Eagles AFLW team, as proof of just how undervalued netball’s talent pipeline has been.

Kim Anderson, managing director at Octagon, says this tension between perception and reality is also a missed opportunity for brands.

“Netball is sitting on one of the most powerful commercial platforms in Australian sport,” she says. “It’s where leadership, wellbeing and community intersect - especially for women. But brands need to see it as more than a feel-good play. This is a space where culture is shaped.”

Women’s sport is not a monolith

Warren is acutely aware of the post-Matildas media glow - and the dangers of complacency. “We tend to spotlight one women’s sport at a time,” Warren says. “In 2023 it was the Matildas, but that sucked the oxygen from everything else - including netball, even though we won the World Cup in South Africa.”

The lesson? Women’s sport isn’t a single category, but a collection of emotionally distinct communities. For netball to thrive, it has to stand on its own terms.

“What the Matildas have created is a blueprint. We've got the opportunity to now go and have meaningful conversations with brands about the idea that partnering with women's sport isn't a charitable exercise, it makes commercial sense.

“You will literally sell more stuff and people will feel more engaged with your brand as a result of being a partner of this event.”

And unlike other sporting codes that put a “W” in front of their name, netball stands alone.

“We don’t need a W in front of our sport,” Warren says. “We’ve been doing women’s sport before women’s sport was a thing. That’s a real point of difference - and a really fun lever to pull.”

Storytelling as strategy

Kokkinakis says the brand work will lean heavily into storytelling, not as a campaign afterthought, but as a long-term engine for relevance and reach.

“Netball creates world champions, but also CEOs, scientists, changemakers,” she says. “These are stories of confidence, resilience, leadership. The brand needs to reflect that, so people see themselves in the sport, not just on court.”

That narrative power is also key for partners.

Anderson has long been deeply embedded with women’s sport and football in particular. She served as head of marketing for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and told Marketing-Interactive that netball has the ability to match that energy.

“It’s one of the most under-leveraged commercial opportunities in Australian sport,” she says. “This is more than a World Cup. It’s a brand platform. A cultural event. A place where brands, fans and athletes can come together and say: this is what the future looks like and we’re not going back.”

“Everything we’re doing now is to ensure this isn’t just a great tournament, but a defining moment for netball and women’s sport in Australia.”

What comes next?

With just over two years until Sydney 2027, Netball Australia is already in-market speaking to brands - and the pitch is clear: if you want to align with culture, with community, and with a moment that matters, netball is your play.

“This isn’t about selling tickets to mums and daughters,” Warren says. “This is about showing up with confidence. Creating an experience that is just as elite, just as commercial, just as exciting as anything else in the entertainment calendar.”

Netball’s century may be approaching, but if Warren and her team have their way, 2027 won’t feel like a legacy event. It will feel like the beginning of something new.

“We can’t rely on generational loyalty anymore,” Warren says. “We need to give people a compelling reason to choose netball - and for brands to see it as a commercial driver, not a charitable cause.”