newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JOE FAVORITO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING

With the first hint of fall you start to hear the bounce in hundreds if not thousands of parks and recreational centers across the Garden State. It is the thwack of kids from four to their mid-teens dribbling and passing soccer balls.

Like baseball and softball in the spring, fall soccer is a rite of passage more now than ever before among young kids. Still even with the grassroots success, the connection to the pro game still lags behind, perhaps in the New York area more than anywhere else in the United States, and it is that disconnect which has continued to slow the growth of MLS in this area.

So is hope on the way? Perhaps. Last year's run by the Red Bulls put some life in the franchise, but the combination of delays in moving to the new Red Bull Park, a cutback in marketing and branding over previous years, and a dreadful season have really put a damper on their growth in branding and market share in the area. In Southern Jersey, the lure of an expansion MLS franchise with solid support and branding out of the gate should help the growth of the pro side.

Even with those problems, the grassroots for soccer, and all the potential branding opportunities to cultivate and then embrace fans of the sport as they go through their developmental years from players to consumers are still here for the taking.

Ironically, the soccer brand that continues to have the most name recognition and success at the camp level in the area is a brand that has been gone from the pro game for over 30 years - the Cosmos, and their soccer camps in Rockland and Northern New Jersey.

So what will it take for the grassroots to transform into professional success in this area? An extended, committed brand marketing campaign aimed at youth is critical. The establishment of stars, both on the field and off, is second. The intimacy of a home field and the use of all means possible in the social and traditional media market is third.

Can it be done? Ironically, with the opening of Red Bull Arena next season that home field, if marketed correctly, can be a big step. The building of stars is not easy, but has been done in other markets even with the restrictions of the MLS cap, but the brand must also invest the dollars around the players developing to be successful. That is an investment each team must decide to make on its own.

The last point is the grassroots attachment. These days, fleeting attention spans tend to make the youth market very tough to access, but with a weekly captive audience, attaching and building a brand with regular contact, information and messaging can and should happen.

So will we see success on the brand side for soccer in the Garden State? Tough to say at this point. The potential remains, but the brands must decide what the dollar investment needs to be to get there, and in this challenged economy, that spend may be a very tough one.

Joe Favorito has over 23 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. Visit him at JoeFavorito.com.