PLANNER'S PERSPECTIVE

Positioning Events In A Crowded Marketplace

By Paul Luchowski

Paul Luchowski is principal of PL Sports Consulting LLC, which provides strategic management, marketing counsel and event services for sports organizations, companies and executives. Luchowski also serves as the commissioner for the newly formed US Youth Soccer National League and for the US Youth Soccer Midwest Regional League (since 2004). Both leagues serve as an outlet for the nation’s finest youth soccer players.

Here, Luchowski offers planners advice for positioning a new event for best exposure and relevance among numerous soccer and other sports events.

Primary focus has to start with the participant. I want the players to walk away from the US Youth Soccer National League knowing that their needs were met—the fields were set, schedules were followed and games started on time. Additionally, we provided players with a keepsake of each event, which helped us brand the league and further promote it through word-of-mouth. We provided the players with a sweatshirt at our first event and a flash drive with embedded HTML at our second event to help drive players to visit USYouthSoccer.org and create a sense of community within the league.

Be organized. As a first-time event, this is your chance to showcase what you are all about. Not having convenient hotel rooms or a detailed schedule or miscommunication can destroy an event. People are taking time out of their schedules to participate; make sure their time is used properly. I constantly maintain communication, primarily through e-mail, to keep everyone informed.

Leverage partnerships. Utilize relationships to further ingrain your event as a first-class operation. The US Youth Soccer name is synonymous with excellence, and being a part of the organization gave us instant credibility. We increased that credibility with our partner Adidas, which added value with the sweatshirts and assisting with the flash drives that we otherwise might not have had. What can you do to create a uniqueness that sets your event apart from the masses while maintaining the integrity of the event?