Chris Stearns

The Players’ Tribune is Ready for Women’s World Cup

June 04, 2019
by Chris Stearns

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off Friday in France and The Players’ Tribune is going all-in ahead of the month-long tournament. The USWNT have some of the biggest stars on the planet in Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd, while the team itself are defending champions and perennial favorites. To build on the buzz and excitement around the players, USWNT, and the tournament itself, The Players’ Tribune has started rolling out a variety of rich, documentary-style sponsored content.

Generations

Any national team has a mix of younger and veteran players and both play an important role in any team dynamic. Veterans are looked up to for their leadership and experience on the big stage, while the younger players are either currently in their prime or an up-and-coming talent that can have a major impact on the game. Successfully blending personalities and playing styles is no easy task, but at the end of the day, they’re all teammates with one common goal.

Similar to the ever-increasing amount of Netflix-style documentaries surrounding soccer teams across the globe, this social content series takes a look into player lives both on and off the field in the lead-up to the World Cup. As of publishing, Episodes 1-2 have been released and include a variety of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from the Send-Off Series in the recent weeks. My hopes are that this series continues to incorporate real-time footage and thoughts of the USWNT journey throughout France this summer to give fans a deeper look into the team and showcase players beyond the 90 minutes they’re on the field.

Branded Content

Alex Morgan has unquestionably been the face of the USWNT for the last couple years and is one of the top female soccer players on the planet. She’s a role model to an entire generation of girls who look up to her and her teammates, both on and off the field.

As part of a larger sponsor integration between Sharpie and The Players’ Tribune that focuses on “unleashing imagination” – Alex writes about how a trip to Tanzania with her husband through the U.S. State Department helped change her view on the world and the power that soccer has on the lives of everyday people all across the globe. During their trip she was in awe of young girls using bundled up t-shirts as soccer balls and how inspiring it was that they were even playing in the first place. Being able to see the hope and endless possibility of those girls had a big impact on Alex and showcases what type of person she is off the field.

I previously wrote about Visa’s marketing efforts ahead of the World Cup and the USWNT fight for equal pay has been well-documented over the last year.

In a social video sponsored by Visa on The Players’ Tribune’s Twitter account, Carli delicately dives into the subject of difference in pay while focusing on a message around being financially smart and saving money. Anything around finances is a natural area for Visa to integrate themselves as a sponsor and this is a perfect example of how using their sponsorship around the World Cup to push the larger narrative around the pay gap between men’s and women’s professional players.

Finally, Becky Sauerbrunn showcases the power of a mentor in a former coach in helping shaper her career from a young age to being a World Cup champion. The coach-player relationship is a two-way street with both benefitting from each other’s advice, friendship, and knowledge over the course of many years. Presented by Mass Mutual as part of their #LiveMutual campaign, the below video showcases the importance of Becky and her coach helping her get to the where she is today. It’s definitely a story that many soccer players of all ages can relate to.

 

Categories: Digital Content, Domestic, Social Media, U.S. Soccer