A Rising Star

Tomorrow night, the new Women's Professional Soccer League will play it's innaugural game at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles pitting the LA Soul vs. the Washington Freedom.  This will kick off a new league that will hopefully experience greater success than the WUSA which folded shortly after its beginning.  

The WPS is gaining more publicity this time around, mostly centered around arguably the greatest female soccer player on the planet, Marta.  Marta hails from Brazil, but has come to the US to hopefully help re-brand women's soccer and generate a fan base that will continue to grow in the future. 

If the WPS hopes to be successful, they must be extremely careful about how they market themselves.  They need to latch onto this international superstar and focus their marketing strategies around her.  They also need to be on the lookout for the next up and coming star in the future.  The players in the league should look for opportunities to volunteer within the communities of the cities in which they play.  They should focus on creating and maintaining an interest among young girls through camps and other activities that focus around soccer.

Good Luck.

NFL Expands...Again

It is the hope of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that by the 2010-2011 season, all 32 teams will be playing 17 or even 18 regular season games.  By doing this, the league will reduce it's preseason down to two games.  While this may seem like a fan's dream, there may be some hidden problems underneath.  First of all, less preseason games means less time to prepare for the real season which can impact the health and conditioning of the players as well as the overall product on the field.  With less time to prepare, the end result (i.e. the regular season) may not be up to fan's standards until the fourth or fifth week.  

Having a longer season also increases the risk of more injuries occurring to big name superstars throughout the league.  A 16-game season is grueling as it is, but an 18-game season could potentially be dangerous.  

From a marketing point of view, the length of the season has some pros and cons as well.  By lengthening the season, the NFL is able to generate more revenue from its sponsors.  It may also open up doors for new marketers to enter  as well.  Some downsides to this season-lengthening are the before-mentioned inherent risks associated with the loss of star players.  The NFL relies heavily on the health and success of its superstars.  If stars are becoming injured more often than not, marketers may began pulling their sponsorships and begin searching for alternative venues for reaching a specified market.

As a fan of football and the NFL, I would be in favor of the season being lengthened.  However, as an aspiring marketing professional myself, I understand the risk-reward scenario that exists.

May God be with you Goodell..

Be Well

Feeding a New Market

Earlier this week, the West Michigan White Caps and 5/3 Park released the 5/3 Burger.  This four pound burger.  This thing is disgusting....in the most delicious and magical way.  Five 1/3 pound patties, five slices of American cheese, salsa, Fritos, lettuce, tomatoes, queso dip, all served with a side of Pepto.  

Every year, organizations across the country in every sport experiment with different food options to feed their fans.  Everyone is searching for the next big attraction.  The WhiteCaps have decided to appeal to the stomachs and GI Tracts of theirs.  As a student in the area, I am looking forward to attending some games in the near future to try and make a dent in one.

As far as marketing this new product, the WhiteCaps are gaining national exposure with spots on Sportscenter and the Today Show.  They have also released press releases to the Grand Rapids Press and MLive.com.  It will be interesting to see how this product will coincide with some of the other promotional events that the organization already participates in such as Thrifty Thursdays which targets college students primarily by offering $2 beers, hot dogs, and soft pretzels.  The burger is being sold for $20 which may seem counter-intuitive in comparison to the thriftiness of the other items, but it is so big that it will feed four people so the costs can easily be divided.

Oh yeah... its 4800 Calories and 300 g of fat...

Eat your heart out West Michigan...literally

Be Well.