New Jersey's best look to tackle soccer world Sunday

BY JOE FAVORITO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING

Sunday when the U.S. meets Japan in the Women's World Cup final four Garden State residents will wear the red, white and blue looking to bring another women's soccer title to America.

The four -- Heather O'Reilly, Christie Rampone, Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath -- represent the second-highest number of players from one state on the women's team, trailing only California. Two of those players, O'Reilly and Heath, will again don the uniform of Sky Blue FC when they return to the States.

Can Women's World Cup glory raise the level of soccer interest another notch in the grassroots soccer crazy state? Maybe. The efforts of the Red Bulls in the northern part of the state and the Fury in South Jersey and into Philadelphia have helped raise interest, marketing dollars and attendance for MLS. But WPS continues to be a poor and struggling stepchild to the men's game in the area.

In 1999, the United States' title in the Women’s World Cup, played out in front of crowds in excess of 90,000 across the U.S., spawned a great grassroots soccer boom which continues today, but little successful came out of the first iteration of women's professional soccer, the WUSA.

WPS has come along as a cost-controlled alternative, which hoped to leverage this summer's World Cup by being a viable business before, and now after, the World Cup, but the league has still struggled mightily to gain sponsors, TV numbers and attendance since it was founded.

Sky Blue, who won the first title, has been among the most innovative and aggressive of the clubs in their marketing and branding efforts, but even that time has resulted in some progress in the marketplace but not the bigger numbers that were hoped for. Sky Blue's efforts to grow are also similar to that of the Independence, who have tried to gain a foothold in Philadelphia, another soccer hotbed.

Is there a way to consistently harness the glory of global success that the four New Jersey natives will have and turn that into a bonanza for the pro game? Bringing them together for a tour – meet and greets, sponsor appearances, shots with the World Cup, clinics, recognition by Governor Christie in Trenton etc. – would be a great help in a profile raise and showcase for brands, even if it doesn't translate directly into success for WPS, which at the end may not have a big enough audience to survive as an entity in a challenged environment.

What the group can do is help forge the healthy lifestyle platform that transcends professional soccer, and like with Olympic athletes, is a much larger and much more important message.

We don't need a professional team in every sport; the market cannot bear it. What we do need are positive role models who can translate their athletic success into brand ambassadors and speaking opportunities. Those messages are powerful and are much needed for young people today, in a state where obesity is still rampant.

New Jersey needs to immediate embrace their World Cup heroes and find ways to merchandise their success into healthy living, whether or not WPS wins as an entity or not. It is a narrow window to capitalize on, one that hopefully begins with a triumph on Sunday in Germany.

Joe Favorito has over 24 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.