Getting more out of your soccer tournament brand

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When people start talking about “brand,” the talk immediately turns to logo design. While a good logo is part of your brand, it is not “THE BRAND.” The brand is how people feel about and view your soccer organization (league, club or tournament). Your brand is what you can leverage to sponsors, advertisers, guest teams, potential players, potential coaches and the media.

We intuitively know what a strong brand looks like within the soccer industry. A strong brand is a club every coach wants to be a part of or every kid wants to play for.

As soccer grows beyond the boundaries of soccer enthusiasts and evangelists, soccer parents and players, a strong brand becomes important to the community at large, including the media and business community. It can also mean the difference between securing a sponsorship or not, good press or bad press; or worse, no press at all.

I recently attended a soccer tournament that is now in its 22nd year, fills up almost 50 hotels and hosts more than 500 teams over a period of three days. The economic impact of the event is estimated to be about $5.2 million dollars due to its draw from out of state teams. It enjoys a reputation unrivaled in the soccer community.

The local newspaper — about 180,000 daily circulation, 290,000 on Sunday — published four stories on the event. The first story was on the front page and lead with “Soccer tournament cause traffic jams across city.” On the second day (Sunday), an article ran with a large color photo and the description of the parking lot as a “…gas-guzzler SUV convention.” In the same article, a manager at one of the local hotels was quoted as saying “… the parents party more than the kids” and followed the quote with a parent’s favorite beverage recipe. The third and fourth stories were more flattering, but they were buried deep in the sports section and ran with no photos.

The host soccer club gives back thousands of dollars in community services, donates jerseys and equipment to teams in South Africa and Nicaragua and its tournament director has been recognized as an ambassador by the local CVB for bringing teams into the area. So, which is the truth: the tournament as a traffic menace or economic asset? The frustrating truth is it is both, depending on how you see the tournament brand.

As soccer becomes more and more embedded into the culture of American sports, the folks who run the leagues, camps and tournaments will need to turn their branding efforts toward the community at large.

Had the tournament illustrated above better managed its brand outside the soccer market, the chances of the tournament being seen as an “economic boon for the local” economy rather than a “traffic-jam event” would have been far more likely. While there is always a chance the media will write an unfavorable article, it is less likely if you are a strong community brand as well as a strong soccer brand.

A strong community brand is also an asset that can be leveraged for sponsorship and advertising dollars. Reach out to the local newspapers and television stations by letting them know who you are and what non-soccer benefits you bring to the community. Invite them to fundraisers, meetings or other activities.

You may also want to open some board positions for members of local companies who are influential within the business community. As dedicated as you are to the SPORT of soccer, the BUSINESS of soccer is what will drive a positive brand image outside soccer.

Your soccer organization is already branded outside of the soccer market; good, bad or indifferent. Take control of your brand and guide it so your non-soccer community sees your soccer organization in the same light as the soccer market does. It is a job that requires vigilance 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, but the rewards in positive community support are worth the effort.

Gerard McLean is President/CEO of Rivershark, Inc. the parent company of TourneyCentral. TourneyCentral produces an end-to-end, web-based soccer tournament management system that handles everything from registration through scheduling and scoring.

How to run your soccer tournament like a pro

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At some point, you may need to break your soccer tournament free from the “mom and pop” pack, ditch the volunteer economics and fundraiser-based budgets and start running it like a “real company.” You will most likely be looking to do business with other companies that are “real companies” with employees, voicemail systems, receptionists, conference rooms and offices. And, these offices won’t resemble anything like a dining room table piled high with soccer gear.

Here are some quick tips in dealing with “real companies.”

1. Soccer is most likely not their passion. 
Chances are, soccer is not their passion. While it is always best to work with companies who understand soccer and know the game, that should not be enough of a criterion to do business with them. Nor should the lack of soccer smarts be a criterion to exclude them. You are seeking out professional services and you will be better served if they understand their business and you remain the soccer expert. Unless, of course, you are seeking soccer marketing services; then, soccer better be their passion.

2. Prepare to pay market rates. 
True professionals know the value of their goods and services and are less inclined to bargain that value away. While you may attempt to persuade the company to support your local club, league or soccer tournament with a sponsorship, advertisement or discount, only a few will likely oblige. If you pay less than market rates, you will most likely only get the value of goods or services you pay for, which may not be enough to get what you really need.

3. Prepare to do business during business hours. 
When dealing with a “real company,” chances are they will not be there to discuss the changes you need done to your web site, brochure or accounting program at 11:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning like your volunteer was. Also, lunch hour does not qualify as business hours, even though it is in the middle of the day. Be prepared to discuss your project, take phone calls and do meetings during business hours. And, if you can’t, make sure someone in your soccer tournament with authority can. There are a few things more annoying to professionals than constant project delays due to the client’s inability to meet or give approvals in a timely fashion.

4. Pay your invoices on time and in full. 
Among the many things that keep “real companies” from doing business with volunteer-based management groups is the fear that getting invoices paid on time and in full will be an issue. Being a 501c(3) does not give you a pass on paying on time. Nor does the excuse that your treasurer is out of the country on vacation and can’t be reached qualify as a legitimate explanation. If you take no other advice from this article, take this point to heart.

5. It’s not personal. 
A “real company” cares about providing the very best service that they can. After all, it is their reputation on the line as well. Sometimes, they will tell you things that you may not want to hear, but you need to know to bring your tournament to the next level. Value that, even if their comments sound like a stinging insult. It’s not personal.

So, get out there and do business with “real companies,” but expect to be treated like you are also a “real company.”

Gerard McLean is President/CEO of Rivershark Inc., a “real company” that develops database-driven web-based applications like jo bbank engines, membership databases, etc. for trade groups and the retail services industry. Rivershark also owns www.TourneyCentral.com, which provides soccer tournament services to soccer clubs. While most soccer tournaments are not yet “real businesses,” he claims it is a lot of fun. And since he is the boss, they keep doing it. McLean is convinced that soccer tournaments will eventually become “real business” and wants to be part of that when it happens.

Are you having a soccer tournament in 2010?

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The number one question we are seeing right now is: “Are you having a soccer tournament in 2010?”

Many teams do their Spring season planning over the Holidays, so if your Web site is not updated with your 2010 information, you may risk losing some of these teams. If you haven’t already updated and you are having a tournament in 2010, now is the time to do it.

Hurry. We’re waiting.

Getting Your Soccer Tournament In The News: 8 Simple Rules For Success

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Your soccer organization – whether a club, tournament or team – requires press exposure to help you build value for your sponsors and potential player or team base. However, it can be much more than getting a team photo in the local sports section. It can include a leap onto the newspaper city pages or the A block of the television news.

Here are eight simple rules for getting your soccer organization the press coverage you want. There are more, but these are the big ones.

Rule 1: Nobody cares about you.
What people do care about is what your organization does for your community, not just for kids who play soccer. They also care about the people behind the club or tournament. Think in terms of how your soccer organization contributes to your community, how it changes the world and write your story from a third person point of view. Think beyond soccer and frame the story from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know the sport or the players in the sport.

Rule 2: Know your journalists.
What do they care about? What kind of story bends their ear? Write your story as if you are telling your news only to them. Respect their time by putting the Who, What, Why, When and Where in the first paragraph. If they can’t tell what the story is about in the first few sentences, they won’t read further.

Rule 3: Advertising and editorial don’t mix. Ever.
The editorial staff at the newspaper, television station, magazine or web site does not care how much advertising you buy or if you buy any at all. The criteria for them are the newsworthiness of your story. And don’t ever “remind” the editorial staff that you buy advertising or suggest that the sale of their news product will increase if they tell your story. Doing so is disrespectful and unprofessional and almost guarantees your news won’t run.

Rule 4: Write your press releases in AP Style.
If you are not familiar with AP Style, buy the AP Stylebook (apstylebook.com) and live by it. Your story will stand a better chance of being published if editors don’t have to rewrite it. The stylebook is a yearly edition, so be sure to keep up-to-date.

Rule 5: Be tenacious, but not annoying.
Remember rule one. If your story doesn’t run, it probably means that it wasn’t newsworthy enough, even if it was near and dear to your heart. Keep refining the stories you tell and tell a lot of them. Editors are human beings and sometimes they just give people a break for sticking with it against all odds.

Rule 6: Never, never, never tell a news organization who else published your story.
While it may be great news to your soccer organization that you were featured on ESPN2, to an editorial department, you just told them your story is old news.

Rule 7: Think hyper-local.
Newspapers especially are focused on becoming the hyper-local voice of their community and your soccer organization has built-in hyper-localism. Keep your stories focused on the local community. The more personal, the better.

Rule 8: Keep making news.
Most soccer organizations will just send out a press release before their tournament or tryouts and wonder why they don’t get press. A soccer organization is a 365/24/7 operation that makes news all year long. Keep telling these stories.

I may have misled you a bit about the “simple” part in the headline. Getting your soccer organization in the news is as simple as saying you just need to find a bunch of kids to make a soccer club. Like your soccer organization, it takes discipline, a plan, dedication and hard work. The rules are simple, but it is work. The reward is a stronger, and more recognizable brand to potential sponsors, government organizations and your community at large, which helps you achieve your soccer organization goals a little more comfortably.

Are you using unemployment data to guide your soccer tournament marketing?

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The average soccer tournament pulls teams from 3-5 states, including adjoining states and the home state. For many, their home state is the largest draw, followed by a primary state. With the recession in full swing, it may be affecting your ability to draw teams from states that have traditionally sent lots of teams but now has a high unemployment rate.

For example, the average competitive tournament in Ohio typically pulls a large contingent of teams from Michigan. But if you take a quick look at some unemployment statistics, it should not come as a shock that convincing teams that normally came down without question is getting harder to do. In addition, you may have to resort to discounting for multiple teams, juggle the schedule to work around a hotel minimum stay; all effective short-term tactics, but long-term strangulation for your tournament brand.

A better approach may be a more well-rounded, distributed marketing plan where one state’s financial plight does not adversely affect your tournament planning. In short, spread your marketing dollars around to states one over; those that may be in a better financial position to attend. You’ll get some fresh blood in your tournament and you will be less dependent on the unemployment rate.

The time to start marketing to other states in before you need teams from financially healthy states. Hoping and praying the teams from distressed states will still come is not a marketing plan.

Parents will always spend money on their kids, but there are limits. Many are cutting the number of tournaments and only putting one or two travel events on the calendar. Make sure yours is in the mix by making sure they know you are there.

The economy will recover eventually and when it does, your marketing efforts will continue to pay back as newer teams who could not afford it during the recession try your soccer tournament out. And, as sure as the recovery is coming, so too is another recession. Be ready by always marketing smart.

Watch the trends. Sometimes being a great soccer program is just not enough.