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A date for soccer enthusiasts and US marketers to remember is when the Copa America 2016 events begin on June 3rd. Not only will this event produce high overall television viewership by consumers in the US but, it will also produce high investment by advertisers on multiple platforms. And while your business may not directly be involved in advertising campaigns surrounding Copa America 2016, it is still worth your time to pay attention to the points we are about to make concerning this major soccer event.

Why? Because the advertising campaigns leading up to the event and that carry on through the event are prime examples of effective target marketing based on market trends for high ROIs.

So basically, there’s a lot of insight into the US market surrounding Copa America that would benefit everyone attempting to better understand effective target marketing strategies.

For this reason, keep reading.

The popularity of soccer is rising enough to create a definable US market niche.

Where ‘futbol’ and ‘football’ meet in the US is a great point to follow when wanting an example of the current demographic trends in US consumerism.

To begin with, soccer has never before taken such a popular preference in non-Hispanic cultures as it does in Latino cultures. Sports like football and even baseball have since been commonly thought of as American past time sports as the history of these two sports are rooted deeply and endearingly in the hearts of athletes and spectators. From baseball cards to sports ‘ditties’ and football game rivalries, the sports once seen as “American” cultural staples are now being challenged by a rising popularity for soccer.

In 2012 an ESPN poll determined soccer was America’s second-most popular sport for those aged 12 through 24, ahead of NBA, MLB and college football. [1] And in ESPN’s most recent poll, professional soccer’s popularity among 12 to 17 year olds is ranking second right behind pro football. Of this group, 18 percent of this group claim to be avid fans. [2]

Rich Luker, who has been involved in the poll since its launch in 1996, calls it a phenomenal change considering that just one generation ago, soccer was at zero popularity. And more curious is that this generation according to him is “the first generation to only know the United States with a professional soccer league.” [2]

Target marketing and social media marketing is a great combo.

One point Luker attributes to the rising popularity of soccer is that MLS has come along way with their target marketing campaigns. Originally MLS did not effectively target large demographics of the US market as they lacked “a defined personality that sufficiently contrasted to the European and South American leagues.” But over the last five years as research can support, “even American [soccer] fans who were born in other parts of the world, like Europe and South America, are starting to respect MLS.” [2]

Additionally, the rising use of social media by MLS is also encouraging social conversations which in turn is rallying more supporters alongside higher social media activity. [3] In fact, social conversations surrounding MLS teams within the first five days of the 2015 season rose higher than 64 percent from just two years ago in 2013 according to a report by General Sentiment. [4]

There’s a high correlation between Hispanics and soccer viewership.

According to the Huffington Post, the two groups most passionate about soccer are young adults aged between 18 to 29 and Hispanics. Furthermore, in comparison to the only 3 percent of white non-Hispanic Americans who report soccer is their favorite sport, 26 percent of Hispanics say that soccer is their favorite sport to watch.[5] And demographers expect the Hispanic population to triple by 2050 at which point they will make up one-third of the total population. [6]

 

What does all this mean for Copa America 2016 specifically?

Well, with the future for soccer advertisement in general being bright, Copa America 2016 is sure to be the perfect stage for high ROIs as long as US Hispanics are the target audience of campaigns.

 

 

 

[1]https://sportspath.typepad.com/files/soccer-popularity-continues-to-climb.pdf
[2]https://www.umbel.com/blog/sports/10-data-points-prove-soccer-has-made-it-in-america
[3]https://www.scribblelive.com/blog/2015/08/19/social-media-marketing-soccer-take-world
[4]https://www.sportingnews.com/soccer-news/4638259-mls-soccer-social-media-growth-popularity-2015
[5]https://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-cox/soccer-in-america_b_4740668.html
[6]https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-11-population-study_N.htm