Major League Soccer (MLS) kicks off its thirtieth season in February, a milestone yr that may see the league launch a latest brand campaign around the biggest night in football — just not the football fans could also be expecting.
In a 30-second ad created with agency of record Cornerstone, buzzy rapper Doechii shares her excitement for MLS alongside game footage. The “Game On” campaign will premiere during Fox’s Super Bowl pregame coverage on Feb. 9 in key local markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Miami, before running throughout the yr on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, linear partner networks and digital and social channels.
The big game effort comes as MLS looks to construct on increased attention from U.S. consumers – 17% of Americans are actually fans of MLS, per YouGov research — and ensuing interest from marketers. MLS team sponsorship revenue last yr grew 13% to $665 million, in response to SponsorUnited, with Pernod Ricard brand Jameson becoming the official whiskey of the league in December.
“After coming off a record season in 2024, 2025 will probably be even higher and with the eyes of the world on our sport and our league, the best is yet to come back for MLS,” said MLS Senior Vice President and CMO Radhika Duggal. “Now is the time where the casual fan becomes a more avid fan, and with so many key events happening in North America over the next two years, we’ve an unprecedented opportunity to proceed to encourage fandom and drive our league forward.”
Duggal joined MLS in March 2024 after a stint as CMO for fintech company Super.com and a number of other years at Chase. Marketing Dive connected with the executive over email to dig into the brand’s marketing strategy around the other sport called football and more.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
MARKETING DIVE: Can you speak about the way you used data and research to craft the latest brand strategy?
RADHIKA DUGGAL: We went through a rigorous data-driven process to craft our latest brand strategy. We used 4 key inputs: existing data, stakeholder conversations, consumer market research and competitive data.
As a league, we’ve a wealth of existing data: Consumer market research, behavioral data, transactional data and other inputs. We began by studying that data. It was a great exercise for me as I used to be newer to the league, so a great option to study the brand because it was at that time and about our consumers.
We talked to 50-plus folks across the league office, clubs and media and other partners, conducted three rounds of consumer market research to essentially understand the value that buyers look to the league to offer and we reviewed 20-plus “peer” brands to define white space in the market. We studied what each brand stood for and the way they communicated that to consumers and partners.
Looking at these brands — either competing leagues, clubs with great brands, entertainment brands or others that we imagine we compete with to capture prospective fans’ attention — we tried to discover where there was an overlap between the value consumers wanted us to offer and the white space in the market not covered by competition.
Doechii is MLS’ latest musical collaborator. What have musicians offered MLS as a option to connect with consumers?
It’s an absolute honor to be working with Doechii, who is currently certainly one of the hottest artists in the world. Musicians have played a crucial role in helping MLS connect with consumers by mixing music, culture and sports in a way that resonates with diverse audiences.
Artists like Doechii bring an energy that transcends traditional sports marketing. Her collaboration with MLS isn’t nearly her rising star power, it’s about the authenticity she brings to the campaign, especially as someone who grew up playing soccer and has a real passion for the sport.
By partnering with an artist who can speak to each the music and soccer communities, MLS taps into the cultural pulse of younger, diverse fans, creating a synergy that enhances the overall fan experience. This combination of music and sports helps amplify the excitement and emotional connection to the game, making it feel more vibrant and culturally relevant.
Obviously a lot of individuals will probably be watching TV on Feb. 9. How do you chop through that noise and connect with NFL fans?
By mixing the excitement of American football with the global appeal of soccer, the campaign bridges the divide between the two sports, creating a crossover appeal that engages each fanbases.
The media strategy for the “Game On” campaign maximizes visibility, creates a cross-platform presence and uses the cultural touchpoint of music to draw a diverse audience. By positioning the spot across a mixture of traditional media and digital channels, it makes the campaign accessible, engaging and memorable — especially in a crowded sports and entertainment environment.
Given the overlap between football and soccer fans, the spot debuts during Fox’s Super Bowl pregame coverage on Feb. 9, targeting tens of millions of viewers in key local markets. We’ve focused on key MLS markets with scale and penetration.
The spot will proceed to run across MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, and linear networks like Fox, TSN and RDS, keeping the campaign top of mind for months. It can even run through partner-owned channels to maximise reach.
Lionel Messi’s arrival in 2023 was a major boost to MLS. How does the league’s marketing find moments like that?
For players like Messi who’re global icons, their presence in MLS ultimately brings more awareness to the league. However, awareness is a flash in the pan, and it might probably be lost in seconds if we don’t do something to harness it. That’s where the league and clubs are available in with focused plans to show that awareness into engagement using full-funnel marketing.
Similarly, how does MLS marketing team with brand sponsors to amplify either side of the partnership?
We are privileged to have so many great and passionate partners who we work with day in and time out. MLS has seen great momentum. We have seen a 13% increase in league sponsorship in the past yr.
When developing our campaign strategy, we’re at all times pondering of our partners and need to be certain we’re in lockstep with them throughout the planning process, as they play a crucial part in supporting and amplifying creative that is shared with the market. As a league we love the opportunity to create content and marketing campaigns that may also help construct the brands of our respective partners, and we’re excited to see this collaborative approach proceed in 2025 and beyond.
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