The U.S. team left it all out on the field during the Women’s World Cup 2011 final, but were ultimately defeated by a plucky Japanese team during a penalty kick shootout. The team’s inability to close the game twice with the lead during crucial moments cost them the game, and for star players like Abby Wambach and Hope Solo, millions of potential endorsements.
“Yeah, the defeat cost the U.S. women some heavy endorsement dollars, but I don’t think it’s a total loss,” said Bob Dorfman, exec VP-executive creative director at Baker Street Partners. “The final was an epic match, it likely drew a huge audience, and it made household names of Wambach, Solo and [Alex] Morgan.”
The last time the U.S. women won the World Cup in 1999, word of mouth helped sell-out the events the team played at. Now, however, social media played a big part in hyping up the U.S. run, with the final setting a record with 7,196 tweets per second during the event. “With Twitter and Facebook, it’s exponentially shared,” said Julie Foudy, players on the 1999 team and current analyst for ESPN. “Word-of-mouth has created such an amazing buzz.”
While 2011 may have been a letdown for the U.S. women, the silver lining is that the Olympics are next year. “If a stunning loss can still be a win, this was it,” he said. “With the 2012 Olympics just around the corner, women’s soccer will stay relevant, and the U.S. team’s quest for gold will take on added drama and relevance. Expect Wambach, Solo and Morgan to be highlighted heavily by Olympic sponsors and other advertisers leading up to the Games.”
Source: AdAge.com
