As a local Atlantan, I thought I’d seen just about everything in the world of sports. The UGA collapse. The Falcons collapse. Perhaps I just saw too many collapses.
Then came the Atlanta United professional soccer team. I was convinced the team would succeed – youth soccer is huge in the Atlanta suburbs. What I didn’t expect was for the MLS Cup Finals to have a higher attendance than the Super Bowl Atlanta hosted. That’s a big deal in any city.
So how’d it happen? The truth is, they were winning long before that MLS Cup victory. Here’s how they did it.
Leverage Social Media
Social media is often called “anti-social” media – meaning people don’t interact with each other. Instead, they sit on their phones. Atlanta United’s communication team managed to do something most cannot: Create a real-world community through online campaigns.
Their First Campaign
When the team was just starting in 2017, I started following them on Twitter. They started the hashtag #FiveStripeFriday where they asked fans to share pictures of themselves wearing United shirts. They shared and interacted with everyone who posted.
Flags Out Program
#UniteandConquer has become another popular hashtag for the organization. It’s also the hashtag used as part of the United’s popular Flags Out program. It was simple: United understood that support for the program started in the communities around Atlanta.
Put out your flag, and United staff may stop by with swag. And it was legit swag too. Suite tickets to games, backyard makeovers, cash from sponsors and more.
The smartest part? They had their videographer ready for every event. Not only did they get free content for their social media platforms, they took their online community online to the real world. And I bet those winners became lifelong fans after they won.
Official Pub Partners
Early in their infancy, they set up the official pub partners around the city. Fans knew where they could go to find the game on TV no matter where they were playing.
Standing Room Only Tickets
New teams and lesser-known sports can struggle to attract the general sports fan. General pro sporting event tickets can be pricey, plus you have to deal with parking and high priced concession items.
However, Atlanta United offered standing-room only tickets. They’re certainly not the only team to do this. But it certainly helped pull in fans with tickets as low as $25. Even for the MLS Cup final, the standing room only tickets were only $50. Affordable, right? And less pressure. Come, mingle, have a drink. Leave when you want. It makes it feel more like a social event or fun afternoon.
The Mercedes Benz stadium is also easy to access for fans. It’s in the heart of the city and available from Marta. United benefited from this new stadium and its location.
Embracing All Fans
While some sports don’t take advantage of their gay fan base (I’m looking at you, pro tennis), soccer does. The Atlanta United team has a popular ‘scarf of the month program’ (another good idea!), and June’s pride scarf has become a bit of trademark.
They were also BY FAR the most visible team at Atlanta’s popular pride parade. I don’t even remember seeing the Falcons or Hawks there.
For more on how the United embraced gay fans, check out this article.
Events
Soccer is one of the most popular sports for kids. Nearly every kid plays it at some point in their lives. But the sport has struggled to break through in the professional arena. Through their training center and events, you can interact with the team and relive your youth.
The Atlanta United knows the importance of building a brand. It started with a unifying team name and continued through their social media use. Then, most importantly they leveraged their social media success into the real world community. So yes, the Atlanta United soccer team won the MLS Cup on the field, but the truth is: They’ve been winning all along.