The benefits of Brand Beckham

I keep hearing that the Beckham experiment has been a fiasco. A wretched 14-car pileup. The worst idea since the glass hammer.

But I don’t think anybody who says so knows what they are talking about.

If you’re only counting results, yes, it has been a failure. Two seasons in the books for Becks, and the Galaxy has yet sip from playoff waters. And that really is amazing, considering how forgiving is Major League Soccer’s post-season structure. You have to really, really stink to miss the playoffs two years running.

But Brand Beckham certainly wasn’t imported to fill up the Galaxy trophy case, and it would be naïve to believe so. There are 100 players globally who could have done more than Beckham in terms of competitive achievement.

Beckham’s strategic acquisition was all about money and awareness. Specifically, it was about making a bunch of money for AEG (the Galaxy ownership group) and adding to Major League Soccer’s somewhat stagnant stores of general market awareness.

AEG and the Galaxy have made a return on the investment in merchandise sales and sponsorship deals. So the bill has been covered and then some.

For the league, simply put, a whole bunch of people know about MLS today who didn’t know about it in January of 2007 as the Beckham tsunami first began gathering over U.S. shores.

His presence has added all manner of value to MLS, and not just in the ticket sales boost attached to his visits to MLS markets. Think of what all that added awareness and publicity does for the league when TV contracts are negotiated. Think about the added value for sponsors, who respond with bigger checks.

Think about all that robust expansion. Even in these days of penny pinching and belt tightening, interest remains high in several markets still hoping to climb aboard the MLS Express.  Safe to say that when David Beckham appears on NBC’s morning show, it’s not hurting all that potential ownership interest.

So, Beckham’s presence has accomplished exactly what it was intended to. In terms of driving general market awareness, stamp this one "mission accomplished."