Inside Major League Soccer’s marketing playbook

Soccer is a fast-moving sport where scoring chances can arise suddenly. For Major League Soccer marketers, it’s not all that different. “Data and research are at the heart of everything we do, and it’s because as marketers, we have to keep a pulse on our target audience,” said Radhika Duggal, chief marketing officer of MLS, speaking on the latest episode of the Marketer’s Brief podcast. “Our target audience, and every company’s target audience, is changing day by day as they’re reacting to the stimuli in the world around them.” Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, check us out on Spotify and hear us on Amazon Music/Audible. This is our RSS feed. Tell a friend! MLS, which opened its 2025 season on Feb. 22, is riding high behind superstars such as Lionel Messi of FC Miami and emerging talents including Cavan Sullivan, a 15-year-old prodigy playing for the Philadelphia Union. Enthusiastic tribes of fans helped MLS improve attendance 5% to more than 12 million last year. Team and league sponsorship deals increased by 13% in 2024, according to Sponsor United. Duggal was recruited to MLS to address this massive growth opportunity through full-funnel marketing programs meant to capture fans wherever they happen to be in the customer journey. A new campaign called “Game On” showcases fan emotion and energy, and stars rapper Doechii, herself an MLS fan. The ad from agency Cornerstone aired for the first time during the Super Bowl pregame show on Fox. Digital versions of the ad are giving MLS the chance to test various messaging consumers will see along with it, Duggal said. “Everything we launch should be an opportunity to learn,” she said. “We know that from fandom research that fans aren’t made overnight,” Duggal said. “Consumers have to have one touchpoint, after the next touchpoint, after the next touchpoint. What we really do is we use those full-funnel marketing campaigns to bring folks into the ecosystem, serve up those research-backed touchpoints, and help folks build that connection with MLS over time.” MLS is celebrating its 30th birthday this year with throwback ball designs and patches on team uniforms, but the anniversary is also a chance to look ahead. Apple TV, which broadcasts every MLS game through its Season Pass offering, has a new series called “Onside” that profiles MLS players, and is looking to develop personalized content for fans, according to Duggal. This year MLS and Apple TV are also reserving a Sunday night slot for an isolated “game of the week” broadcast. “Sunday Night Soccer” is sponsored by Continental Tire. MLS owes its start to a boost in consumer interest in soccer that came along with the U.S. hosting the World Cup in 1994. The U.S., Mexico and Canada are set to host again in 2026. MLS plans to coordinate marketing between the league and all 30 of its teams to take advantage of expected fan interest. “I couldn’t be more excited,” Duggal said. “We’re creating plans for ourselves and our clubs. We think that there’s really something to going to market as an enterprise, to localizing our campaigns and making sure that across our 31 marketing engines that we take the fullest advantage of 2026 … and that we use that momentum into ‘27 and ‘28 and beyond.”

Inside Major League Soccer’s marketing playbook

Featured Stories