This past week, I spent some time in the beautiful city of Denver, Colorado enjoying the Major League Soccer All-Star Game and supporting festivities. I've worked with the League in a range of capacities over the years and the relationship they continue to build with their fans impresses me every time I see it in action.
As someone who specializes in experiential brands and maximizing what makes them great, I geek out on consumer engagement and, what I call, brand manners.
brand manners /brand man'-ers/ n. the way in which brands treat their patrons
This year, I was fortunate enough to bring along my brother and his two soccer-loving nephews, and it gave me an opportunity to observe not through my filtered, often academic, marketing microscope but to joyfully enjoy each moment through the eyes of the super fan.
For context, my nephews have given much of their life to soccer as have their supporting mom and dad. And when they aren't running the field or traveling endlessly to get to the field, they're working out their fingers on every soccer game imaginable on their gaming consoles. They eat, drink and sleep soccer. So this trip to the All-Star Game was no regular trip -it was an elevation in passion for what they love most.
And here's what I learned:
Anticipation is fundamental to the event itself. If my nephews created a scrapbook of their memories (yes, it would be digital considering they've probably never seen an actual scrapbook!), my guess based on what I saw from their photo-taking activities is that 90% of their photos wouldn't be of what happened on the field. It would be photos of them standing next to their favorite players and participating in endless "brand activations" to win swag to wear to the game. Their scrapbook might even note the countless predictions we each made about the final score. By game time I knew that no matter the final outcome of the match, the memories of the experience were already engraved for a lifetime.
Earning is better than getting. During the All-Star week festivities, I stood in line at countless brand activations with fanatic fans both young and old. There were games and challenges to test your mind, your video gaming skills and even how hard you kick a ball. The hours of playing paid off with awesome MLS swag that my nephews will probably wear everyday for months. I could have easily saved us hours of time by writing a check to buy the goods my nephews were aiming to win. But the more I watched, the clearer it was that their ability to earn it mattered more than anything. In fact, one of my nephews triumphantly won the strongest kick competition, which offered the prize of an official All-Star jersey. Yes, those same jerseys were on sale at the merch stands, and I could have simply bought one--but, as a fan, trust me when I say that jersey will forever carry a story about how it came to be his. In fact, that story will last far longer than the jersey will.
Small gestures make big impacts. At the game, everywhere you turn, you see a kid with his parent waiting for the chance to meet their favorite stars. In the hotel lobby where the players stayed, I saw on numerous occasions a swarm of fans clamoring over their soccer heroes. And what was heart warming was the reaction of the players who, rather than brush them off, took the time to sincerely engage with these young fans. It's clear to me that these players just get it. They get that in the grand scheme of things, the acknowledgment they offer their biggest fans is a small gesture when compared to the energy and commitment these fans put into the teams and players year after year. Yet, these small gestures are the fuel of the passion of those in the stands.
Well done, Major League Soccer. With the help of my nephews, I saw first-hand the power of what you are doing right now. You continue to show why your rapid growth isn't by accident.