SCC Blog

Is Beckham Moving the Needle?

This week’s post was inspired in part by David Beckham’s quote last week and also from a post a few weeks ago regarding the business of sports (”this is a business…”).

Last week, David Beckham commented that he has never played soccer for the money. Specifically, he said “People say that’s easy for you to say because you’ve got the money. To be honest…the game is important to me. I’d play for free.” Keep in mind the soccer superstar signed a $250 million contract with Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy last summer.

Around the time of the signing, President and CEO of AEG Tim Leiweke discussed the prospect of another MLS team signing one of the sport’s global icons to a contract. Leiweke suggested that AEG had indeed engaged in talks to bring a second international star to the Chicago Fire. According to Leiweke, “There are only four players that move the needle: Ronaldo. Beckham. Zidane. Ronaldinho.”

That begs the question, is David Beckham moving the needle?

In what the New York Times described as the “Beckham bounce,” AEG said that in the month after signing Beckham, the Galaxy franchise had sold an added $13.3 million from ticket sales and other revenue sources — more than enough to cover two years of the soccer star’s salary.

How big is Beckham in the United States?

PRIOR to his arrival in the U.S. as a member of the Galaxy, a poll of Americans was done by talent marketing agency Davie Brown Entertainment. The results showed that 51.9 percent of Americans know who Beckham is. That’s more than twice the 25 percent who know the best player on arguably the best team in U.S. sports right now, the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan.

The next best known soccer player is retired women’s player Mia Hamm at 48 percent. Landon Donovan, who will be Beckham’s teammate on the Galaxy, is known by only 9.1 percent of Americans, even though he’s been in the league six years and has played for the American team in two World Cups.

Building on that momentum, Beckham’s impact was almost instantaneous on the Galaxy and Major League Soccer as a whole. Consider the following:

• More than 250,000 LA Galaxy jerseys were sold in the U.S. before playing a single game
• Over 2,500 fans were on hand for his introduction “ceremony” while some 600 media types from 10 countries chronicled the brief appearance
• ESPN suggested that the league garnered more media attention throughout last season, both internationally and domestically, than at any other time in its history
• An estimated 1.5 million Americans tuned in on ESPN to watch Beckham’s first MLS game, even though he was injured and would only play 16 minutes
• The debut was also a ratings record for an MLS telecast on ESPN (the record would later be re-broken during the telecast of Beckham’s third MLS game)
• Sticking with the 16 minute theme, the 500 standing-room-only tickets for the Colorado Rapids game against the L.A. Galaxy sold out in just 16 minutes
• EVERY away game in which Beckham played was a sellout for the home team
• MLS franchise Toronto FC sold 2,600 of its 10,000 season tickets in the 4 days following Beckham’s announcement to play for the Galaxy while the Houston Dynamo sales and marketing senior vice president Steve Powell said their season-ticket sales saw a 200% jump in the same time period
• After signing Beckham, the Galaxy secured a jersey sponsorship deal with Herbalife, reportedly worth $20 million over five years

Consider how the Kansas City Wizards are focused their entire final quarter marketing efforts around the Galaxy’s visit to Arrowhead Stadium. The club partnered with local chambers of commerce, with the Kansas City Sports Commission and with other professional sports outfits to create a sort of fall festival, centered in part on Beckham’s appearance. “This provides that unique opportunity to get eyeballs on our guys and on our entertainment package out at Arrowhead that we’ve never had before,” Cotton said. “And that’s exciting for us, because once they experience the excitement of it, we know we can get them back.”

One must also consider the intangible impact Beckham’s arrival made on Major League Soccer. Regardless of whether they cared about the sport of soccer, every media outlet in America devoted intense coverage to the Beckham story. According to the MLS Website, “Beckham’s influence is not limited solely to revenue impact. The less tangible benefit of community buzz can have short- and long-term advantages that can’t be measured in single-day tickets sales or on bar graphs of concession and parking revenue.” It was a phenomenon that could not possibly be measured in dollars and cents. However, when all is said and done, Leiweke has gone on record to say Beckham’s presence could be worth $1 billion to the Galaxy.

*** Questions for Classroom Discussion ***

1) In your opinion, IS Beckham moving the needle for soccer enthusiasts in America?

2) What does next season hold in store for Beckham and Major League Soccer?

3) Will another MLS franchise sign a global soccer star to a contract within the next two years? Why or why not?

4) Discuss how this story relates to your business or marketing class.

Posted in Branding, Endorsement, Licensing/Branding, Marketing, Media, Public Relations/Publicity, Ticket Sales |

Comments are closed.