1. 1. PARTNERSHIPS ALLISON KELLY VP, PARTNERSHIP MARKETING MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
2. 2. 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary2
3. 3. MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER AT 20 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary3
4. 4. WHAT GUIDES US 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary4 Vision To Be One of the Top Leagues in the World by 2022 as defined by the: Quality of our Play Passion of our Fans Relevance of our Clubs Value of our Enterprise Mission We will inspire North American soccer fans and players to make MLS their league of choice.
5. 5. FAN INSIGHTS & SEGMENTATION 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary5
6. 6. FAN FACTS 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary6 The Fan Base For The New America 80M soccer fans in North America Since 2006, the Soccer fan base has grown 65%, faster than any other sport MLS has the Youngest average age of any other property (33 years old) MLS indexes higher for Millennials (32%+) and Hispanics (97%+) over the national average, higher than any other property MLS fans are digitally-minded, educated, urban, professional & higher income.
7. 7. MillennialsYouth Hispanic Understanding the MLS Fan
8. 8. Source: Scarborough 2015.8 MILLENNIALS HOUSEHOLDS WITH ONE OR MORE CHILDREN HISPANIC 164 185 76 89 113 64 127 121 94 91 108 104 125 131 98 94 108 98 MLS AND U.S. SOCCER FANS ARE MILLENNIALS, HISPANICS, AND FAMILES
9. 9. YOUNGEST FAN BASE 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary9 MLS FANS 41.3 43.9 38.0 43.1 40.2 46.0 34.5 38.5 34.0 42.1 30.9 34.9 39.5 44.2 37.5 43.8 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 Average age of fans US Pop NBA College FB College BB NFL NHL MLS MLB
10. 10. Source: Major League Soccer 2014. TOTAL ANNUAL ATTENDANCE VS. 2003 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% 140% 160% 180% 200% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 MLS ATTENDANCE CONTINUES TO GROW 10
11. 11. 11Source: ESPN 2014. AVERAGE ATTENDANCE 2008 2013/14 CHANGE MLS 16,460 19,111 +14% NHL 17,476 17,587 +1% NFL 68,245 68,347 0% NBA 17,394 17,407 0% MLB 32,528 30,437 -7% AVERAGE ATTENDANCE HIGHER THAN NBA & NHL
12. 12. Source: Scarborough 2014. Represents MLS fans, 18+. 36% ARE NOT NFL FANS 52% ARE NOT MLB FANS 57% ARE NOT NBA FANS 73% ARE NOT NHL FANS SOCCER FANS ARE UNIQUE 12
13. 13. MLS FANS CONSUME SPORTS ONLINE 13 260 212 205 199 168 156 151 120 MLS NBA NHL College Bball College Football MLB NFL NASCAR Online Sports Viewing Index Source: Scarborough Research
14. 14. MLS FANS ARE ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA 14 121 113 107 102 101 97 96 95 MLS NBA NHL NFL NASCAR College Football College Bball MLB Social Media Index Source: Scarborough Research
15. 15. THE MLS DIFFERENCE
16. 16. STADIUM ENVIRONMENT
17. 17. 17 SUPPORTER CULTURE
18. 18. ACCESS TO A LOCAL CLUB
19. 19. 19 INDIE & EDGY
20. 20. 20 AUTHENTIC & UNIFYING
21. 21. 21 PROGRESSIVE & INNOVATIVE
22. 22. WHAT WE CAN DELIVER
23. 23. MLS IN 2015 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary23
24. 24. MLS POISED FOR BREAKOUT SEASON 24 New brand News clubs New players New events New media partnerships 24
25. 25. Reflects soccer in a new North America Embodies our guideposts: Club, Country & Community A system that adapts and reacts
26. 26. 2626
27. 27. Houston Vancouver Montreal Toronto Dallas Portland Seattle Denver Kansas City Salt Lake City Chicago San Jose Los Angeles Columbus Washington D.C. New York Boston Philadelphia Miami Atlanta Minneapolis St. Louis San Antonio Orlando Possible MLS expansion 24 CLUBS IN 20 MARKETS IN 2020
28. 28. 29 136M 18M 40M 10M 6M 450K Source: MLS Global Reach 2015. Bubbled number dictate calculated household reach from each media source by region INTERNATIONAL REACH MLS matches are broadcast live in over 125 countries, reaching +200M households each week
29. 29. 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary30 LAUNCH OF A NEW CLUB: ORLANDO CITY SC
30. 30. 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary31 LAUNCH OF NEW CLUB: NEW YORK CITY FC
31. 31. OPENING OF A NEW STADIUM: AVAYA STADIUM 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary32
32. 32. EXPANSION: LOS ANGELES JOINS MLS 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary33
33. 33. EXPANSION: ATLANTA JOINS MLS 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary34
34. 34. EXPANSION: MINNESOTA JOINS MLS 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary35
35. 35. NEW STADIUM ANNOUNCEMENT: DC UNITED 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary36
36. 36. 37 BIG EVENTS & MAJOR PLATFORMS MARCH TO SOCCER MLS RIVALRY WEEK PRESENTED AT&T MLS ALL-STAR GAME DECISION DAY AUDI PRESENTS MLS CUP PLAYOFFS MARCH JUNE & AUGUST JULY OCTOBER NOVEMBER & DECEMBER
37. 37. LANDMARK 8-YEAR MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary38 2015 - 2022
38. 38. NEW, CONSISTENT BROADCAST SCHEDULE 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary39
39. 39. English: NationalSpanish: National Local Telecasts 5 PM 7 PM 6 PM 8 PM 9 PM 10 PM 11 PM FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY OR 12 AM MLS GAME OF THE WEEK A NEW SCHEDULE BUILT TO DELIVER DESITNATION VIEWING AND DEDICATED PROMOTION MLS GAME OF THE WEEK MLS GAME OF THE WEEK OTHER MLS GAMES LOCAL NETWORKS & MLS GAME OF THE WEEK 40
40. 40. MLS UNSTOPPABLE 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary41
41. 41. PARTNERSHIPS 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary42
42. 42. MLS CORPORATE PARTNERS 43
43. 43. UNDERSTAND Partner OBJECTIVES PLATFORMS DEVELOP AUTHENTICIT Y MEDIA ELEVATE VISIBILITY Create ACTIVATION Framework that drives Partner OBJECTIVES ON-SITE CREATE CONNECTION S CONTENT FEATURE CAPABILITIES CLUBS TARGET KEY MARKETS CREATING CUSTOMIZED ACTIVATIONS
44. 44. Activations MUST be: AUTHENTIC. Connects Partner with target audience OWNABLE. Position that exists through on-site, digital, and broadcast TIMELY. Supports a timeline that builds up to marquee Partner events SUSTAINABLE. Platform that quickly builds sustainable authentic brand equity CREATING CUSTOMIZED ACTIVATIONS
45. 45. 46 MLS NOTABLE PATNERSHIP S Objective: Establish Audi as the automaker of choice for the growing audience of next generation soccer fans in America Partnership Components: MLS Cup Playoffs Presented by Audi, media extension, custom content Objective: Establish Advocare as the premier performance nutrition/isotonic beverage provider of MLS, elevating Advocare to become the brand of choice for soccer players nationwide Partnership Components: MLS Preseason Presented by Advocare, sideline product integration, club partnerships Objective: Align Heineken with the growing MLS fan base through platform which leverages MLS unique in-stadium experience Partnership Component: Rivalry Week Presented by Heineken, club partnerships, media, MLS/Heineken co-branded materials
46. 46. 47 STEP 1 European Football STEP 2 MLS LEAGUE SPONSOR STEP 3 DRIVE AWARNESS CONNECT WITH MILLENIAL SOCCER FNAS Longtime partner of football in Europe with ownership stakes in several teams Audi Cup and Audi Football Summit Establish Audi as an authentic player in the development of Soccer in the U.S. Create ownership platform within MLS Cup and Playoffs Drive awareness through ATL, Social and Digital with Millennial Soccer fans GOOOOALS Program CASE STUDY: AUDI
47. 47. AUDI TV SPOT 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary48
48. 48. 49 STEP 1 F.C. DALLAS SPONSOR STEP 2 MLS LEAGUE SPONSOR STEP 3 GIVING BACK TO THE CLUBS In 2012 AdvoCare became F.C. Dallass first ever jersey sponsor The health company based in Plano, Texas, had been a partner of F.C. Dallas for more than 10 yrs. Successful partnership with F.C. Dallas prompted AdvoCare to expand within soccer Executives at F.C. Dallas connected Advocare and MLS, resulting in an integrated league-wide partnership With the AdvoCare agreement, the League created a mechanism for clubs to opt into a valuable club partnership where Advocare contributed considerable rights fees and VIK product support CASE STUDY: ADVOCARE
49. 49. CASE STUDY: ADVOCARE 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary50
50. 50. 51 STEP 1 UEFA PARTNER STEP 2 MLS LEAGUE SPONSOR STEP 3 GIVING BACK TO THE CLUBS/LOCA L MARKETS Longtime partner of football in Europe with Official Partnership of UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour (Europe and US), Champion the Match Official Beer of MLS Ownership Platform of Rivalry Week Two distinct weeks within the MLS schedule for national media, retail and local activation. Nine (9) Club Partnerships allowing local markets to fully activate at retail, through local media and at stadium On and Off Premise activation CASE STUDY: HEINEKEN
51. 51. 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary53
52. 52. THANK YOU! 2015 Major League Soccer Confidential & Proprietary54