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Link to 1999 Women’s World Cup
The 1999 Women’s World Cup was a sensation that took over the nation for three weeks in July and showcased a new level of support for the “Girls of Summer” previously unimaginable in the US. Besides the foundation laid by the previous international events in women’s soccer, the specific marketing plan of the ’99 World Cup is important to understanding why the entire event was so successful. The organizers of the event took a unique approach to promoting the event and determined that by reaching out to a different demographic pool than they ever had, they might find new successes and support. The goal was to appeal to a larger consumer group, rather than a smaller, more focused one, as had been the process in the past. Through the help of a Grassroots Developer who was sent to major soccer hotbeds around the United States, the organizers were able to understand better what the interest level was and what cohort would be best to market the event towards. [1] The organizers were “seeking a specifically domestic, family oriented market, Women’s World Cup 1999 used the success of the US women’s team to attract audiences perhaps excluded by other premier events”. [2]This under-exploited demographic pool of families led to an increase in sponsors, and ultimately financial backing for the event, which helped propel its overall appeal. The new sponsors included many companies who had previously not been traditional sports companies. As a result, these sponsors brought with them other sets of fan bases that would not have otherwise supported the event. The efforts by the organizers to reach out to a different cohort were therefore critical in expanding the audience and overall attraction of the tournament.
By the time the tournament kicked off in July, anticipation around the event was extremely high due to diligent marketing over the previous months. [3] The President of the ’99 Women’s World Cup, Marla Messing, talked with The Washington Post during the tournament about the marketing strategy utilized. She told them, “We’ve tapped into something people didn’t expect us to tap into. This whole teenage and young girl market… it’s taken on a life of its own”. Developing the World Cup around the theme of a spectator, family friendly environment, the tournament had incredible success in establishing [4]“the international profile of women’s football, therefore, go beyond women as consumers and producers of soccer in the United States”. By differentiating this event and focusing on reaching out to a different demographic, the organizers were able to generate the spirit and frenzy they desired and steal the hearts of millions of Americans in the process. All of this allowed the “Girls of Summer” their largest platform yet to take the world by storm.
[1] Jean Williams, A Beautiful Game (New York: Berg, 2007) 43.
[2] E. Comte, L. Girard, & A. Starensier, “Embracing Stars, ignoring players” (Sports Inc,: The Sports Business Weekly, 1989) 41.
[3] Marla Messing, (Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post, 1999)
[4] Jean Williams, A Game for Rough Girls? (London: Routledge, 2003)
