Recently, Jon Bamel and I had the opportunity to work with Soccer United Marketing (SUM) at the Mexico - Guatemala friendly match at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. SUM holds the exclusive rights to Major League Soccer, US Soccer Federation, Mexican National Team, Chivas Guadalajara and FC Barcelona games in the USA. The company is a first rate sports marketing firm in the US and working with them has been a tremendous experience for both of us.
The friday before the game, Jon and I took part in a SUM staff soccer game, which included former Mexican star Luis "el matador" Hernandez. He may be a little past his prime, but he was amazing! Playing with him really gave us some insight on how good these guys really are.
Jon and I were in charge of the Football Fietsa fan festival, handling the set up, operations and take down for all sponsors. Acting as liasons between Qualcomm Stadium employees, SUM staff and Mexican National Team tour sponsors (such as Home Depot, All State, McDonalds, Coke and AT&T), we really gained an appreciation for what it takes to run successful experiential marketing campaign.
We had a number of other duties at the event, most notably escorting former Mexican National Team stars Zague and Alberto Garcia Aspe to their sponsor suites. I can't even explain how nuts the Mexican fans went as we went by, it was really something to behold! After the festival was over, we got to watch the second half of the game from field level, an experience we will never forget. Check out the pictures above!
We're headed to San Francisco for the FC Barcelona - Chivas Guadalajara game on August 8, so expect another blog post!
-Adam Fritz, SMBA 2010
Do you guys have any interest in assisting an Olympic NGB in what might be one of the most unique marketing challenges? If this sounds interesting at all please contact me at brian@usateamhandball.org.
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