MLS: Why having a strong media team is actually important

It’s MLS offseason time, which means fans are craving action from their favorite clubs. How do teams satisfy that need and avoid alienating their fans?

With the January transfer window closed, teams playing preseason friendlies, and Major League Soccer action still a few weeks away, we’re beginning to hit a lull in the headlines. This is the point of the MLS offseason where teams begin to play friendlies, launch new kits for the season, and advertise their new gear and tickets for upcoming games.

Fans crave extra content during this lull; some teams are happy to oblige. There might be behind the scenes video of your favorite team’s coach, or perhaps video of a new signee from the MLS SuperDraft. There might even be an awesome video unveiling of your new kit or even an actual event at your team’s stadium.

On the flip side, there are some media teams with a weak content game. Your team’s kit reveal might lead you to believe your new kit is cooler than it actually is or your team might mock your fans in the process. Yeah, not a good look at all.

This post is going to be a small little study on what happens when your favorite club’s media team is either strong and organized or not.

Strong media team

Example A:

Here’s some really cool behind the scenes footage of the New York Red Bulls during their preseason training camp. In this clip we see head coach Chris Armas giving feedback to his players at the end of a training session. Later in the clip, there’s footage of Armas actually participating with players, plus a one-on-one video with the coach. This content covers just about everything a fan would want.

Example B:

Here, we see Sporting KC’s twitter account actually interacting with the fan base. Fan engagement is a big part of being a stellar media team. This particular fan engagement is harmless but leads to something all fans want: a look at the new 2019 primary kit. To follow up this fan engagement, the club held a kit unveiling event later that evening.

Example C:

What’s the one thing nearly all viewers of soccer want to witness? Goals. Here, Atlanta United’s Twitter account provides goals and more from the team’s first preseason scrimmage. The MLS Cup champions received a lot of great responses from fans too. Most replies acknowledged the moments their favorite players scored or made the moves on an opposing player.

Weak media team

Example A:

https://twitter.com/PhilaUnion/status/1092534046868021249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

This tweet and attached video is courtesy of the Philadelphia Union Twitter account. The club is in the process of selling its new secondary kit, and in doing so, managed to alienate a portion of their fans. The media team claims the new kit is fan inspired. However, in the clip above, they mock some fan submissions. The ironic part? Most of those same fan submissions are more creative and interesting than the actual kit. Just look at the replies: fans call the post tone deaf and recognize that some of the submissions are cooler than the kit itself.

Example B:

https://twitter.com/NERevolution/status/1079965440003244032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

This kit unveiling for the New England Revolution also saw its fair share of disgruntled fans. The club’s new kit, which is primarily white and uninspiring, was accompanied by an interesting video. The video features some awesome team color inspired drawings of revolutionary war soldiers. One of those soldiers even appears to be in the kit itself, until the kit is presented at the end as mostly white. Fans replied to the post and called out the kit for what it is: “That’s a lot of drama for an undershirt with letters on it.”

It’s no surprise that the stronger teams in the league (Atlanta, New York, Kansas City) have invested time and money into their media teams. That investment creates good content and happy fans. It’s also no surprise that some of the weaker teams (Philadelphia, New England) manage to upset fans and produce less favorable content in the process.