Major League Soccer (MLS) has launched its 2016 kick off ‘Stand As One’ campaign to try and raise awareness of the new season, boost existing fan support, consolidate engagement and reinforce TV viewing habits.
The campaign, which launched three weeks before kick-off and will evolve throughout the 2016 season, spans TV, print, outdoor, digital banners, social skins, storytelling, player promos films, mobile and other channels, as well as having in-venue visibility.
MLS digital channels – including MLSsoccer.com, MLS Video and MLS Social – will all also play a key role in the campaign.
The campaign, which is a creative collaboration between The Brooklyn Brothers agency and MLS’ own in-house marketing and creative team, highlights the fan and stadium experience that is unique to MLS.
The fresh work is fronted by a flagship ‘Anthem’ commercial (running across national, regional and local broadcast partners) that trumpets the arrival of the new season and specifically pushes the Sunday telecasts on ESPN, FS1 and Unimás.
The spot, which racked up more than half a million YouTube views in its first two weeks, blends high-octane and action-packed game footage with fan shots while a voiceover states:
‘Sundays, we stand out. We stand all 90 minutes. Sundays, we stand and shout. Sundays, we stand with game changers, with the future. Sundays, we stand in awe. Sundays, we stand as one.’
‘Advocacy, not just a motivating statement,’ explains Brooklyn Brothers group account director Vincent Giamartino.
‘As part of the brand platform shift from declaration to participation, we had to provide fans and clubs with more tools that they could rally around, specifically in the digital space. That’s the native environment for the vast majority of MLS fans,’ Giamartino adds.
Current data on MLS fans say the league supporter total has now reached 20 to 25 million – with most of them within a multicultural and/or millennial demographic.
Other assets within the new ‘Stand’ campaign include customisable wallpapers representing the league’s 20 teams and its various star players (eg ‘I stand with NYC FC’ to drive excitement and deepen engagement at the local club level.
This enables fans to use the campaign’s assets to declare support and allegiance to their club.
‘Stand as One is an invitation to join us, to declare a favourite team and to become part of our growing league and infectious fan culture that you can shape and define,’ outlines MLS chief marketing officer Howard Handler.
The league is also boosting its focus on mobile – as 65% of all 2015 MLS paid media impressions were on mobile platforms.
‘For the new season, [we] plans to maximize our coverage on mobile through social media, mobile banners and app integrations,’ continues Handler.
‘We will work with key partners to identify more opportunities to create custom user experiences that are optimized for mobile.’
The league is also aiming to drive deeper engagement on second screens around specific flagship events (such as the MLS All-Star Game and the Playoffs) through real-time Twitter ads, plus full-screen takeovers and mobile countdown clocks.
‘For the upcoming season, we wanted to pivot to a unifier that was rooted in engagement and the use of ‘Stand’ as an anchor to frame our communications is really important,’ says Handler (who adds that MLS is pitching fans on a lifestyle and culture as much as a sports experience).
‘We aren’t just selling what happens on the field. The stadium energy and supporter culture is key to what makes us unique.’
Comment
With its focus on lifestyle and what happens in the stand as well as on the field, at-ground energy and supporter culture are a key part of MLS’ differentiation factor when compared to other US sports.
The new ‘Stand As One’ work replaces the league’s 2015 ‘Unstoppable’ marketing campaign,
MLS 'Unstoppable Together' from Ethan Simmons on Vimeo.
as well as ‘Club & Country’ in 2014 (see case study) and ‘This is Soccer’ & ‘True Colors’ in 2012-2013 (see case study).
This new aim here seems to be one based on personalisation and consolidation: to interact with the US soccer community in multiple ways – to go where they are and to connect with personal tags that are relevant and motivating to them individually.
This approach looks set to reinforcing the commitment and values of existing fans, but will it continue to further broaden the league’s appeal and reach new potential supporter segments to create new MLS fans?
Despite reportedly losing $100m per year, the MLS looks to have made major moves in recent years.
Last year, the league’s average game attendance rose 13% and it also saw double-digit TV ratings gains – which all helped add major new advertisers such as Johnson & Johnson, Heineken and Audi.
Links
MLS YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/mls
MLS Website:
MLS Twitter:
MLS Facebook:
MLS Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/111490959…
The Brooklyn Brothers:
