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Welcome to Marketing Soccer!

This website, created by ad agency Stone Ward, will provide you with a look at the world of soccer through a marketer's lens.

As the agency of record for the U.S. Soccer Federation and a marketing partner of the USA Bid Committee for World Cup 2018 | 2022, we not only have a passion for the world's game, but we also have experience developing some of the most important soccer marketing campaigns in this country. We encourage you to check out our case study, view our work samples and come back to the site regularly for the latest soccer marketing news from around the world.

June 16th, 2011

Adidas Helps Get MLS Fans “All-In”

With an energetic pulse and international star cameos, Adidas tries to bridge the gap between the world of MLS and the world of Messi in their new “all in” ad which debuted on ESPN last week during the Fire – Sporting game.  The talent gap between Juan Agudelo and Lionel Messi is more like a continental divide at this stage in their respective careers.  However, with some clever editing and dramatic footage, Adidas is able to weave a story that made me suspend my reality and allowed me to see the reigning World Football Player of the Year as a football peer with next great hope for a U.S. Soccer Striker.

The world might be laughing.  But I bought it.

And then I went online and bought some MLS tickets.  Adidas may or may not be the next boot I buy, but they certainly have positioned their brand well for the American soccer audience to consider them as a true ally.

Kudos to Adidas for attempting to trying to make me believe that MLS stars of the future might just belong with the international stars of today. No doubt it is a stretch for someone to believe that this bridge will be crossed.  But I think as part of our American mentality, we have to believe that the arc of soccer in our country is bending toward greatness.  I think deeply engrained in our American mentality is our ambition for a seat at the world football table.  And as part of that, we have to believe that one day that MLS will have a role in that and will be a producer of the top talent in the world.  And if not, why as Americans would we invest so much of ourselves, our spirit and our fan-dom in it.

Posted in Other, Video | by Tom Lillig
June 14th, 2011

The Price of Gold is Up. But a Gold Cup Sponsorship may be worth the value

It doesn’t take much trend-spotting to recognize the growing popularity of soccer in the United States. The still young, 16-year-old MLS is showing its future potential to take the NHL’s spot as one of the “Big 4.”  It’s not just  soccer hubs like Seattle and LA showing growth; 9 of 15 MLS teams saw increased attendance last season, boosting the league average up 4%, while the NHL experienced a 3% decrease. Despite this positive growth, the MLS is still far from having the NHL’s revenues from ticket sales and sponsorship. The event that really shows Americans’ growing interest in soccer is the World Cup. U.S. viewership of the 2010 World Cup alone let us know that soccer is here to stay. ESPN and ABC reported an average of 2.95 million viewers per game for the first 23 games. a 71% increase from 2006. What makes these 2.95 million viewers even more attractive is the fact that the majority of them are male and aged 44 or younger. With the World Cup not for another 3 years and the MLS still lucratively infant, what’s a soccer-savvy sponsor supposed to do? Take advantage of the Gold Cup.

Serving as the largest North American soccer tournament, the biennial Gold Cup has the international presence Americans enjoy as well as the international reach brands would like to have. The tournament is overseen by CONCACAF which also regulates sponsorship, giving brands category exclusivity and limiting overall clutter. The sponsorship with the greatest visibility is the signage alongside the playing field. In this regard, the Gold Cup offers a nice alternative to the Super Bowl or World Series where companies must pay for the expensive commercial slots as well as the production costs for each advertisement. This relatively low cost of producing the  signs helps free funds. This signage also has the added value of being seen on highlight reels and in photos on next-day newspapers.

Brands like Miller Lite have already taken advantage of the expanding U.S. market by sponsoring of 2011 Gold Cup. Miller Lite has also been able to strategically couple this sponsorship with that of the Mexican Primera División club Chivas de Guadalajara. Not only has Miller Lite been able to use the Gold Cup logo on its packaging and advertising, they have the ability to use Chivas trademarks for marketing within the United States, where Chivas already has millions of established fans.

Although 85% of Hispanics in America originate from countries where soccer is the primary sport, there is still plenty of room to grow before soccer comes close to overtaking the other football in popularity.  The fan base for soccer still has an “insider” feel to it where soccer people recognize each other through the jerseys they were and the special bars they patronize to watch their games.   While widespread and stable popularity is the ultimate goal, brands should not forget the dedicated and passionate fan base that exists regardless of how far off the World Cup is. It is events such as the Gold Cup that provide the perfect opportunity to reach these fans in a concentrated group.

Jack O’Hara is a Stone Ward intern and will be a senior at Providence College in the fall. He is our resident expert on Indycar, opera, and all things Austrian.

Posted in News / Articles | by Tom Lillig
June 14th, 2011

Importing Soccer to Detroit: Could an MLS Franchise come to D-Town?

As the U.S. gets ready for its critical match with Guadeloupe this evening, the Americans  2 – 0 Gold Cup victory over Canada last Tuesday night looms large as that 2-goal margin of victory may be a factor in which teams advance to the quarterfinals tonight.  But for Detroit soccer fans and Triple Sports Entertainment owners, the game had possibly even greater significance.  That game was a huge step forward in their effort to finally bring an MLS team to Detroit.

Detroit has long been on the list of possible expansion cities, but has thus far been unable to gain serious consideration from the MLS. This may have changed after Tuesday’s game. The U.S. team drew 28,000 fans, a solid showing given that the game was only a group stage game and Canada was not expected to cause the U.S. many problems. Though the good turnout of this game is not necessarily indicative of how many people would be loyal supporters of an MLS team, it does show that there is a solid fan base in the area that could buoy the new team.

Detroit has a huge appetite for professional sports, making it an appealing location for an expansion team. They already support professional hockey, baseball, football, and basketball, so a soccer team would provide the final piece in making Detroit the ultimate sports town. Sports fans in Detroit, even those with little connection to soccer, would likely embrace the team if only to show off their city as the best in professional sports. Fans would also get behind the rivalries that have defined other area sports teams. The basketball and hockey rivalry between Detroit and Chicago would give the MLS owners in Detroit a marketing goldmine when the Chicago Fire comes town, and would give them the opportunity to entice fans to return to more games.  And Chicago wouldn’t be the only great rivalry—the Columbus Crew would provide another fierce rivalry that sports fans of any kind would show up for.

One concern, however, is that Detroit could be tapped out in terms of supporting another professional team. Can a soccer team really survive in the shadow of so many other more mainstream American sports? The key to this is may be marketing.   Connecting with fans in a personal way and giving them a more intimate experience than they would get from other professional sports. The owners of the Silverdome want to make this happen. They are placing the soccer field on top of two indoor stadiums, making the soccer stadium much smaller than its potential capacity of 70,000. Fans would be close enough to the field to get autographs from players, chat with them after games, and connect with them in a way that is not possible at NBA or NFL games. By giving fans a chance to interact with and get close to the players they’re cheering for, soccer can give Detroit sports fans a rare opportunity that other professional sports teams in the area cannot. This will allow the team to build up a loyal base of fans beyond just those who are passionate about soccer, and will set soccer apart from the many other teams there.

Detroit now has owners who are willing to spend the money necessary to make a soccer stadium a reality and enough fans to ensure long-term survival. Now, all they need is the MLS to finally accept their bid to join the League.

Molly Campbell is a Stone Ward intern and soccer player for the University of Notre Dame.  Not one to call herself an underdog, Campbell’s story still follows the trajectory of a dark horse.  In her youth soccer days, she was a member of the Kansas ODP “B” team, but went on to win a national championship with Notre Dame. Since being converted to a defender, some have gone so far as to relate her to the likes of the legend
Stonewall Jackson and his impenetrable line of defense.

Posted in Other | by Tom Lillig
August 12th, 2010

The Season Ticket Soccer Scarf

Season ticket holders for the University of Oregon soccer team have a lot to look forward to.  The Ducks will play 10 home games at Papé Field this season, starting August 20 against Boise State.  The team will face high-ranked teams in Oklahoma State, Oregon State, and UCLA at home, so season ticket holders will certainly enjoy some competitive and exciting games.

Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Day, held by the team on August 19 at their home field, offers Ducks fans a chance to watch the final preseason practice, get to know their favorite players and coaches, and pick up their season…scarves?  That’s right – instead of the basic paper tickets to gain admission to soccer games, season ticket holders can purchase a limited edition scarf to serve as their season tickets.  The soccer scarf, the ubiquitous symbol of true soccer passion throughout European stadiums, has now made it’s way to the University of Oregon, only with added value wrapped into it. The special scarf goes for $30 at www.goducks.com, and is available for $40 at the gate at the home opener.

This is a brilliant idea, and one that soccer clubs seeking to drive attendance should consider for their team.  The University of Oregon is located in Eugene, Oregon, better known as “Track Town”. The University has celebrated a college football team over the past several years. Soccer certainly plays second fiddle or maybe even third fiddle in the Emerald city. Which is why drumming up interest in the school’s soccer team through a creative promotion like this one will go a long way toward strengthening the soccer fan base and cultivating new fans. Through the promotion the University is not just offering fans game tickets, but is giving them a much more memorable and creative piece of Ducks’ soccer culture.

The Ducks’ scarf uses the team’s signature combination of bright yellow and green stripes.  Popular clubs obviously sell merchandise to grow their brand, but using merchandise as a ticket is a great way to combine merchandise and ticket sales, especially for club teams, university teams or any team that is seeking to build a following.

While MarketingSoccer.com loves the creativity of the OU promotion, we recommend a slight change in the execution. Given that at least half of the home schedule will likely be played in 75-degree-plus Eugene, Oregon fall temperatures, maybe offer a two-part season-ticket package: Scarf for the cold games and water-spray fan for the warm ones.

Those scarves would make for an especially itchy August afternoon.

This blog post was written by Casey Larkin.  Casey is a senior at the University of Notre Dame and an intern at Stone Ward Advertising.

Posted in News / Articles | by Tom Lillig
August 2nd, 2010

“You Could Not Write a Script Like This”

Ian Darke’s brilliant goal call is one that this U.S. Soccer fan will never forget. In fact, that goal call put the exclamation point on one of the most dramatic moments of the 2010 World Cup and the history of U.S. Soccer. In many ways, Darke’s goal call may have done for soccer in America what “Do you believe in miracles…Yes!” did for hockey, or perhaps more appropriately, the entire Olympic movement in this country. Without the rights to use video footage from any of the World Cup games, creating an ad that revolved around The Moment we knew would be unorthodox, but with some creativity, some ingenuity and some brilliant photography, we put together a television spot that not only does justice to The Moment, but just might have helped propel it to even greater heights in American sporting lore.

See this message from Landon Donovan in which he discusses the most memorable moment of his career followed by our brand new TV spot entitled (really, what else could it possibly be called) “The Moment”.

Posted in Video | by Tom Lillig
July 28th, 2010

MLS All-Star Showdown with ManU — TONIGHT

English Premier League heavyweight Manchester United has been traveling the United States this week, taking on the Kansas City Wizards, and Philadelphia Union.  But Wendesday night at 8:30 PM, Manchester United will be the opponent for the main event:  The MLS All-Star Game at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

After beating Philadelphia, Manchester was handed a shocking 2-1 loss against Kansas City on Sunday night.  The British press has been relentless in their criticism of the wildly popular squad, calling the loss “an embarrassing defeat” and “a major scalp”.  Bear in mind, this Manchester team is not the same one that dominated the Premier League and was the runner-up in the championship last year.  Rather, this team is without its biggest names in Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Ji-sung Park, and others.  Many played in the World Cup and are still on leave, while others are still recovering from injuries.  Veteran ManU player and Welsh winger Ryan Giggs is the face of this traveling roster.

There is one exciting addition to the Manchester side in Javier Hernandez, the young Mexican sensation also known as “El Chicharito”.  He scored twice for his country in the World Cup and was recently signed to Manchester United by manager Sir Alan Ferguson.  ”El Chicharito” will be making his highly anticipated debut with his new team on Wednesday night.

While Manchester is not playing its biggest names, the MLS team is comprised of the league’s biggest stars.  The roster boasts LA Galaxy stars Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan.  Buddle, Donovan, and 3 other Galaxy teammates were among the first 11 chosen for the roster, but manager Bruce Arena has tough decisions to make.  The Galaxy are playing in the qualifying round of the CONCACAF Champions League on Tuesday night, and the All-Star players are flying to Houston just before game-time.  Arena has to decide how much playing time the tired players should have.  He’ll have to juggle their health versus their impact against a strong Manchester team.  Buddle and Donovan will certainly be missed if the coach decides they shouldn’t play too many minutes.

Buddle and Donovan’s playing time aside, the MLS All-Stars have an excellent track record against international clubs.  They have played – and beaten – Celtic FC, Chelsea, West Ham, and Fulham in the past several years. The only loss came last year, when the All-Stars fell to Everton in penalty kicks.

While this game is inconsequential in any league standings, this is a big game for the reputation and growing popularity of MLS.  Manchester United is the world’s richest football club according to Forbes.  With the $1.84 billion bank account comes an enormous number of fans, and Major League Soccer anticipated those fans when planning the All-Star game.

Most of the past All-Star games have been held in 20,000-person capacity stadiums.  This year’s committee chose Houston’s Reliant Stadium, with can hold more than 3 times that at 70,000.  So far, Manchester United’s appeal has brought in ticket sales, and the promise of Javier Hernandez is only increasing the hype.

With less than 12 hours before kickoff, the game isn’t a sell-out (yet!), but tickets are going fast.  In fact, with just a few thousand tickets left, Major League Soccer is on tap to break attendance records for an All-Star game and is confident they will sell out the stadium at one of the largest arenas in the country.

  • Major League Soccer All-Star Game vs. Manchester United
  • ESPN2 or TeleFutura
  • 8:30 ET
Posted in Other | by Tom Lillig
July 22nd, 2010

Will MLS Be Able to Satisfy the Soccer Hunger?

Now that the World Cup is over, Major League Soccer is hoping that it can capitalize on the giant surge in soccer interest in this country generated by the month-long event this summer. Post-World Cup, MLS has seen increases in average attendance from 2009, as well as some dramatic increases in attendance post-World Cup for some franchises.  Teams are hoping to leverage high interest in the sport into stronger loyalty for their local teams and higher attendance overall.

According to MLSDaily, as of July 18th, 75% of MLS teams were experiencing an increase in average attendance from 2009. Four teams experienced percentage increases in the double digits, ranging from an almost 17% increase in average attendance for the Chicago Fire to an astounding 42.97% increase for the New York Red Bulls. The majority of the remaining teams saw increases between two and ten percent. While the World Cup is certainly a huge contributor to this recent surge, it’s safe to say that MLS has been building a successful product in North America for years and the league should be given credit for its ability to build strong soccer communities in various cities across the country.

Furthermore, MLS attendance is stacking up well in comparison to other soccer leagues across the globe, and even to other major sports leagues in the States. MLS’ average attendance ranks it third among American sports leagues, behind the NFL and MLB. This data is somewhat skewed because the teams play a different number of games on a weekly basis, but nevertheless, the MLS is hanging with the big guns. If the MLS were magically transported to Europe, it would rank among the top ten soccer leagues on the continent in terms of average attendance, clocking in at number seven.  This would put it ahead of the Championship League and the Scottish Premier League.
Especially considering the current state of the U.S. economy, the MLS is doing very well for itself. In the same time that soccer’s average attendance has seen overall increases, baseball’s average attendance has declined by about 1% from the 2009 season. Soccer executives need to capitalize on the surge of interest in their sport, and they need to do it now.
More big-name stars are arriving to play on American soil. France’s Thierry Henry signed with the Red Bulls. Ronaldinho is rumored to be moving to the Los Angeles Galaxy. The stars of the U.S. Men’s National Team also stand to make bigger waves in MLS play, including current Galaxy teammates Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle. It would be advisable for the MLS to make a big advertising push to draw casual or new fans to the game, or even fans who previously considered American soccer unworthy of their attention.

MLS also has a few scheduling issues to deal with if it hopes to gain any more ground on professional football or baseball. Many games tend to happen between 1 pm and 5 pm. These are not ideal times for families. Many soccer families would be at Little League Soccer games during the mid-afternoon hours, and as such the MLS would do well to move games to evening slots. Evening slots are also better for TV ratings, which is one area where the MLS is still struggling. The L.A. Galaxy’s games post-World Cup are achieving higher TV ratings than pre-World Cup games, but the numbers are essentially no different from 2009.

As MLS executives watched what happened in this country during the World Cup, they were probably thinking to themselves, “How do I translate that passion for the sport into ticket sales for my club.”  Riding the wave of the World Cup may be the secret to “gaining trial” or “regaining trial” from soccer fans who have never been to a game or who haven’t been in a long time.  Soccer fans may give MLS another look to satisfy their soccer hunger.  And team executives are hoping they like what they see, hear, and feel of the in-stadium experience.  The ultimate goal is that those fans will come back again and again.   The biggest question that I imagine is on all of the MLS executives’ minds is at what point does the average soccer fan in America say “I’m an Fire fan” or “I’m a Galaxy fan” versus “I love soccer and this is the best product in my area to watch it live.”  The challenge for MLS executives is being able to build loyalty around their particular team.   It must be loyalty that transcends the popularity of one player, or even the sport at large.  In order to sustain ticket sales over the course of years, it must be loyalty to the team.

The time is now for MLS to hop on the wave of popularity that the World Cup generated for soccer and become a legitimate entertainment option for the American sports fan. The World Cup is over, and MLS executives should take steps to ensure that their league fills some of the void in their soccer-starved fans.

Posted in News / Articles | by Tom Lillig