Crisis Management, MLB, MLS, Media Post, Minor League Baseball, Minor League Hockey, NASCAR, NBA teams, NFL, NHL

The Best Positioned League For The Downturn? MLS.

As most of the larger and higher profile leagues, and even some of the minor ones, slashed staff and cut below the line excess, one league that held ground, and may be able to gain marketshare with promoion and brand building, was Major league Soccer.  Michael Lewis on the Big Apple Soccer blog had a good look at why and how MLS was able to keep the status quo for staff and could be poised to reap the benefits when the economy swings back.  Soccer remains the world’s most powerful game, and even with the excess spending that has gone on in the Premier League, the game is still adapting and growing in this country on the professional level.  MLS has done a great job of slowly building their model and not overspending.  With the New York Red Bulls making it to the MLS Cup this year, the team pushed MLS into some solid coverage with the casual fan, which will hopefully translate into more interest as Red Bull park opens next fall. MLS has also done a great job of being innovative and introducing sponsors into major sports with effective promotions and added value (VW’s sponsorship and game jersey deal with the DC United being a good example), and that too may benefit more as brands look more for ROI.  Now will some of the fringe spending go away?  Yes.  But of all the major sports, MLS and the NBA in the U.S. have the best grassroots base at this time, and MLS is already used to being lean and mean…a prospect the other big brands…MLB, MFL, NBA, NHL and NASCAR…have all learned pretty quickly.

Some other good reads…John Lombardo in the Sports Business Journal has a great piece on how the AFL shut down took place…great insider info…Wayne Friedman in Media Post has a good look at how NBC is getting very creative with Super Bowl ad plays…on the digital promotion side, Digital Media Daily has some good insight into how Novartis took advantage of an effective YouTube campaign for the Excedrin brand…while the Fresno Grizzlies had great minor league baseball success, the ECHL Fresno Falcons, with the same innovative ownership group, folded this week, citing the economy…once again the difference in luring the casual fan between baseball and hockey is shown…and Bloomberg has a good look at those sponsors in and those not, thus far for the World Baseball Classic.