By Josh Moquin, Director of Sales
Marketing agencies get hired to sell lots of things—products, services, personalities. It’s rare to get asked to pitch the value of your whole city. But Snapshot’s gotten to do it twice inside of a decade: first, during the (successful) bid to bring Amazon to Nashville, then in 2017, as part of the (also successful) effort to bring Major League Soccer to Music City.
A collective of private and public local leaders spearheaded the latter effort, seizing the chance to grow our community by establishing a pro soccer franchise in a city with a rapidly growing population and steadily broadening culture. When the Snapshot team learned of the possibility and the push, we knew we had to get involved.
‘Why Nashville’ for MLS
We knocked on doors and tapped connections to be part of Nashville’s bid to bring in Major League Soccer, and soon found ourselves taking on the role of brand leaders for the initiative, known as “MLS2Nashville.” The committee wanted and needed a marketing agency that could showcase the vibrant essence of Nashville and bring the concept of a Nashville soccer club to life. We knew Snapshot could confidently, creatively deliver.
Our team took on developing the MLS2Nashville brand, creating social media channels, leading the livestreaming of community events, and putting together a holistic, compelling case for “Why Nashville” was the perfect home for Major League Soccer’s next expansion team. The competition included several other fast-rising cities, including Charlotte and Raleigh, so our marketing needed to be as swift as it was compelling.
Successfully seeking Major League Soccer
Our team was ready to run right out the gate in part because we’d just exercised these muscles. Snapshot helped the City of Nashville and the State of Tennessee with their Amazon bid, competing against hundreds of other cities. With creativity, consistency, and determination, we won. The process informed our approach to pitching Music City to Major League Soccer.
Our groundwork started with crafting the MLS2Nashville logo and establishing brand standards that mixed soccer’s frenetic energy with the vibrant creative culture that defines our city’s character. The bright, bold logo quickly took its place on scarves, billboards, and TV screens throughout the city.
The next phase: content, content, content. We live-streamed significant press conferences, perked up public interest through our digital channels, drove excitement about live events and then captured video and photo assets from those events to keep attention growing. Our creative output was strong, steady, and hard to ignore.
When success means saying goodbye
As a marketing agency, we typically aim to maintain long-term client relationships. But we were excited to let this account go, in a sense. If we did our job, we’d secure a Major League Soccer team for Nashville and make the MLS2Nashville brand redundant. Our determination to “lose” a client had never been so strong.
After several months of collaboration, we received the exciting news: MLS2Nashville was approved as an MLS club. Snapshot’s modest contribution had played a part in a massive campaign that would ignite sports enthusiasm and community spirit in Nashville and create countless memories for our beloved city.
We said goodbye to MLS2Nashville, and hello to Nashville SC. And today, the Snapshot team cheers from the seats in GEODIS Park with lots of enthusiasm and a ton of pride.
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