newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JOE FAVORITO

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

ON N.J. SPORTS MARKETING

They both have a solid home field to now call their own. Both are trying to find their way in a crowded marketplace. Both are trying to help lift their respective leagues to gain a bigger footprint with the media and grow brand on a national scale in a critical year for their sport. Both have made runs at on-field success in the past few years (one succeeded, one fell just short). Both are looking to capture the fan experience. However, the two brands are taking their own path to find branding and commercial success.

Here's a look:

Sky Blue FC, the defending inaugural Women's Professional Soccer champions, will call Rutgers their fulltime home this season, after spending their first season playing in several venues in New Jersey. The club has tried the philosophy of embracing the grassroots and forming partnerships that can both put bodies in seats and grow their brand organically. The latest example was an announced partnership between the club and the Lakewood Blue Claws - to find a common ground for promotion to groups and use each other's plans to drive awareness and attendance.

The common ground to work for is a fan experience for all. The Blue Claws do a great job of finding unique ways to move distressed inventory and build fan loyalty year-round. Sky Blue needs to do the same, and this partnership provides a unique, complimentary offering to the baseball experience ... one that could maybe appeal a little more to a female demographic but one that is not cost prohibitive.

While some may see the two teams competing for the same dollar, it is not a high cost of entry so there should be enough in the discretionary pocket for people to sample both during the summer - a fun night "Down the Shore" with the Blue Claws, and a day or night of soccer action in an intimate setting in New Brunswick. Whether the two can find common sponsors to bring in remains another issue, but it is probably safe to say that the two brands may have a more attractive offering at the right price than going it alone.

The Red Bulls on the other hand continue to take a different approach — one that can have its own benefits, especially with the halo effect of a new stadium in Harrison that is sitting in the backyard of a solid soccer audience. The Red Bulls have not cultivated the grassroots or the traditional partnership opportunities that most teams have done. The corporate philosophy of the parent company relies on organic growth, word of mouth and experiencing the product, and the product alone. The strategy has worked to give Red Bull the brand great name and brand recognition on the consumer side and with some of their properties. Whether that works enough to have their soccer team cut through the clutter in the New York area (Sky Blue's challenge is to draw more from the suburbs than Red Bulls' urban footprint) and fill Red Bull Arena every game remains to be seen. They are certainly off to a great start with last week's sellout and another big crowd is expected for this Saturday's MLS opener against Chicago.

The grassroots are still a fertile area in the region for the club, however the overall brand philosophy remains different. Will it work? Will they adapt? Will they be able to build off the fervor and continued success of the Major League Soccer elsewhere and the coming World Cup? All To Be Determined.

Even though both clubs are spinning with different approaches, some opportunities are clear. There is a growing interest in soccer in the area, as the young player of 10 years ago now combines with a growing immigrant population to both be potential ticket holders and supporters. Both MLS and WPS are looking for ways to exploit those opportunities and grow in a geographic area which has been resistant in supporting the pro game since the demise of the Cosmos.

We shall see if either or both strategies works — the higher level one of the Red Bulls or the grassroots approach of Sky Blue.

Both have their merits, and both provide a great window of opportunity as the season begins.

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.

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