Photo Credits: Fetchy

Soccer has been struggling to find its way into the mainstream of American sports for a long time. Since the late 70’s, when stars like Pelé and Beckenbauer were brought in to try to stir some interest, all attempts have been in vain. While the skill level of the U.S. men’s soccer team has improved greatly (the team is now a regular and consistent participant in the World Cup), soccer hasn’t become a big-time sport yet.

In my opinion, soccer has a branding problem and these are some of the reasons:

• Soccer is introduced to kids mainly as a girls’ sport. It is also promoted as a recreational activity, rather than a serious competitive sport. Boys, from an early age, are steered toward “real” sports like football, basketball and baseball.
• Male sports dominate TV air time. Until soccer is seen as a serious sport for guys it will not have the media coverage it needs to be catapulted into the mainstream.
• Soccer is popular in Europe, which gives the sport a certain “snob appeal” that doesn’t bode well with middle America. Competitive soccer in the U.S. is mainly a niche sport confined to some big cities on the coasts.
• Soccer has a low scoring frequency, which compared to football, basketball or even ice hockey makes it too slow for the average American spectator. Few U.S. sports fans are inclined to watch a 90 minute game that may end in a scoreless tie (can somebody say “I want my money back”?).
• The format under which soccer is played (two uninterrupted halves of 45 minutes each) doesn’t lend itself to frequent commercial breaks, which lowers its appeal to potential advertisers.
• The U.S. is not among the top 10 teams in the world. Americans love to win and can’t get easily excited about a sport where the U.S. team plays courageously and pretty well, but has never won a serious championship.

I am writing this post after the U.S. men’s soccer team has reached the finals of the Confederations Cup by beating No. 1 ranked (and overwhelming favorite) Spain, by playing with poise, courage and skill. They will be playing against Brazil for the title this Sunday.

A U.S. win, especially if it’s an exciting game, could be the beginning of a new era of soccer in the U.S., a re-branding of sorts that may change many of the current perceptions about the sport. I certainly hope so. If you’re reading this, tune into the game this Sunday at 2:30pm EST and cheer for team U.S.A. Those guys are working hard to make history and they deserve a lot of credit for what they’ve done so far.

My alma mater, the University of Miami, announced recently that it is adopting it’s sports logo as a symbol for the entire university.

The decision is backed by research that uncovered that the new logo was perceived as “diverse, modern, confident, and bold“, attributes that match what the University of Miami has become academically in the last few years.

UM may have hit the nail squarely in the head with this decision, since the “split U” logo is ubiquitous and instantly recognizable across the country (the collegiate equivalent of the Nike swoosh or the Target bulls eye).

In the “cons” column we could chalk in the negative associations that could rub off to the entire university if UM’s athletic program gets involved in some sort of scandal in the future (a scenario not unusual in collegiate sports).

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen and that the University of Miami ends up a winner with this important branding decision.

Last week American Airlines stopped accepting cash to pay for on board beverages and meals. Good decision. Now, instead of scurrying for change, flight attendants can focus on their core task: keeping passengers safe and comfortable.

Photo Credits: The Consumerist

Many companies complicate their operations by trying to please everybody. Others, engage in activities that are not aligned with their goals and objectives, just because the other guys are doing them. The misguided belief that the customer (any customer) is always right often results in a muddled and unfocused brand, and operational inefficiencies.

Some companies, though, are not afraid of making tough choices, like deciding which customers they want to serve and what activities, processes and products they will focus on. Those who do create strong brands and efficient businesses.

For example, Internet banks are able to offer better rates to people who don’t mind banking online instead of a branch office.

Writers and musicians can increase their revenue by selling their work only on their website, a minor inconvenience that their true fans won’t mind.

An Italian restaurant in my neighborhood serves a killer lasagna only the first Wednesday of the month. They don’t take reservations and the average waiting time is about an hour.

As a company, the trick to “have it your way” and still build a thriving business is to focus on your best customers (in the case of Internet banks, the relatively young and web savvy), find out what is important to them (higher interest rates), and what is not important to them (branch offices).

Some companies have even been able to create entirely new market niches just by observing an existing industry, challenging the validity of some of the standard practices and assumptions, and incorporating elements that nobody else is focusing on.

If you would like to read real case studies of companies that became successful following this approach, I recommend reading Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant, by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne.