"The Caitlin Clark effect": Fans mention Fever star as reason for WNBA dethroning ChatGPT as fastest growing brand in USA

Caitlin Clark was dubbed as the future of the WNBA before she was even drafted and many regarded her as the savior of the league when she arrived. With the WNBA topping the 2024 edition of Morning Consult's Fastest Growing Brands in the USA, Caitlin Clark has proved that her arrival in the league has made a big impact.

The WNBA now sits atop the list that contains brands like Ben & Jerry's, YouTube Shorts and Experian. The league tops the charts and takes over the mantle of the fastest-growing brand in the USA from ChatGPT which topped the rankings last year.

Fans took to X to give their opinion about the popularity of the league, and many attributed this to Clark. Here is what the fans had to say:

"The Caitlin Clark effect," one fan said.

Several fans agreed with this take:

"Caitlin Clark is truly a 'blank check athlete," one user said.

"Thanks to the arrival of Caitlin Clark," another X user said.

"Whispers- "the CC effect." one fan said.

In the 2023 edition of the Morning Consult list, ChatGPT was the number one brand, followed by soft drink brand Starry and the digital payments brand Zelle. Morning Consult proclaimed that 2023 was "generative AI's breakout year." For 2024, they said that women's basketball as a whole that had a breakout year.

Caitlin Clark elevates the WNBA across demographics

Clark and Reese, the two rookie stars in the WNBA - Source: Imagn

With Clark's arrival, the WNBA grew by 3.82 percentage points, ahead of brands like Ben & Jerry's (3.75), Brisk Iced Tea (3.67), and Experian (3.48). Microsoft Copilot (3.43) rounded out the top five for 2024.

According to a tweet by Ellyn Briggs, Brands Analyst at Morning Consult, the WNBA also appeared on the Top 20 lists for eight out of 12 key demographic groups. This includes placing fourth among Men, 10th among Baby Boomers, fourth among the financial elites (incomes over $100,000), and 16th among the Generation X demographic.

Further, according to an Instagram post by the sports entertainment brand - Boardroom, "This year marks the first time a sports league has been No. 1 on the fastest-growing brands list, as well as the first time a women’s league has appeared on any of Morning Consult's lists.⁠

The rankings in the 2024 report were determined by taking the share of consumers who stated that they would purchase from a brand between January 1 – March 30 (Q1) and subtracting this from the share of consumers who stated the same opinion between July 1 – September 30 (Q3).

Caitlin Clark's career in the WNBA is just starting and the league saw the arrival of another star rookie this year, Angel Reese. It remains to be seen if the league can sustain this growth in 2025.