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Q&A With Major League Soccer's Marketing Guy

It may not have the attendance figures or the TV deals that Major League Baseball, the National Football League the National Basketball Association do, but when it comes to fan, consumer and marketing clout, Major League Soccer is as just potent as any of its brethren, writes Barry Janoff. David Wright, vp partnership marketing for MLS and Soccer United Marketing (which holds commercial rights to MLS), talks to Janoff about the dynamics of building and marketing a pro sports league.

Eleven of the league's teams now sport sponsors' names on the front of their jerseys, and Wright says fans have been "very open" to the concept and "realize how important the sponsors are to the success of their team."

Wright also points out that the MLS "went 9-for-9 this year in renewals" for a reason. "We spend a lot of time inside the walls of our partners so that we can truly understand their business and help them develop business solutions...," he says. "At the end of the day, everything comes back to the value proposition, delivering on value."

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