<\/p>\n
When the Leagues Cup\u2014an annual tournament between the clubs of Major League Soccer in the US and Liga MX in Mexico\u2014started in 2019, it got off to a bumpy start.<\/p>\n
For starters, some sports outlets described it as \u201cmeaningless,\u201d while others called it a \u201ccash grab\u201d on the part of its organizers. Then Covid hit, and the 2020 event was canceled.<\/p>\n
This year, its organizers made some changes in hopes of improving its stature in the world of soccer. The competition now includes all teams across both clubs, and the top three teams qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup (a qualifying tournament for the FIFA Club World Cup) while receiving prize money\u2014over $40 million in total this year. Both leagues also paused their regular seasons, allowing for multiple games a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of the evolution in trying to make this very meaningful was to make it part of the global soccer ecosystem,\u201d Camilo Durana, EVP of Apple partnership, properties, and events at MLS, told Marketing Brew.<\/p>\n
But all that work would have been for naught without a marketing plan to make sure fans knew to watch.<\/p>\n
MLS was looking for an agency that understood both MLS and Liga MX audiences, according to Durana, and found it in Industry, a creative consultancy that has done work for brands including Nike, Lego, and Converse.<\/p>\n
Co-founder and ECD Oved Valadez was born in Mexico before moving to the US when he was 13, which gives him a unique understanding of the tournament\u2019s target audience, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this beautiful consumer group in the middle,\u201d Valadez said, explaining that the tournament is primarily trying to reach second-generation Latinos in the US who might prefer to root for an MLS team over a Liga MX one. \u201cNo one is really talking to them, and no one\u2019s bringing these worlds together.\u201d<\/p>\n
That group of 18- to 25-year-old general soccer fans were the \u201cbullseye\u201d audience for the campaign, according to Valadez. Still, Industry didn\u2019t want to \u201calienate\u201d the core fanbases of both leagues or potential new fans.<\/p>\n
To target such a wide range of fans while keeping that core demo top of mind, Industry put together a three-part rebranding campaign with the core message \u201cour story begins,\u201d or \u201cnuestra historia comienza\u201d in Spanish, Valadez said.<\/p>\n
The manifesto was meant to appeal to all fans, he said, while also being particularly \u201cinviting to this new consumer group\u201d at the center of the campaign. Some of the messaging\u2014slogan included\u2014was written in English, Spanish, and even Spanglish to help convey \u201cthe duality of the two leagues,\u201d he said, while also emphasizing unity.<\/p>\n
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