As soccer fever has taken over North America this summer, we’re seeing global brands connect to the cultural moment in many ways. Some have created new fans for life. Others will not be remembered after the final whistle. But why?
When the Century 21 brand signed on to become an official partner of Major League Soccer (the other MLS), the goal, pun intended, wasn’t simply to put our logo in front of soccer fans.
Yes, the partnership delivers national exposure through in-stadium signage, Apple TV placements and digital campaigns. We’ve even brought the brand to life with billboards near host cities for the world’s biggest soccer tournament, turning our yard sign into the sport’s instantly recognizable corner flag.
That exposure does drive results, but the real value goes deeper.
This partnership gives the Century 21 brand a way to show up within a vibrant, growing soccer culture, one built around families, connection and community. And that’s where local brokerages can take a cue from national sponsorships to build meaningful connections and positive brand associations in the community.
And at the local level, you have one distinct advantage: you’re closer to the people you’re serving.
National brands can drive awareness. Local agents bring it to life. That’s why local sponsorships shouldn’t be treated as smaller versions of national campaigns. In many cases, they’re more powerful.
On June 19, a Century 21 North Homes tent went up across the street from Seattle Center, right on the main walking route between two World Cup watch parties drawing thousands of fans for the USA versus Australia match.
For 12 hours, agents handed out 750 branded stadium backpacks loaded with agent information and a map of nearby watch parties, ran a raffle for a 65-inch TV, tied balloons onto kids’ wrists and broadcast the game on a big screen for anyone who wanted to stop and watch.
“The energy was infectious,” is how the team described it afterward.
This wasn’t a simple sponsorship. It was a brand showing up where its community already was, on its terms and creating an engaging experience.
Turn neighbors into fans
Sponsorship creates visibility but experiences create value.
One of my favorite examples comes from Century 21 BHJ Realty, which partnered with its local YMCA to host a community soccer festival inspired by our MLS relationship. More than 350 children participated, local businesses donated food, volunteers from across the community helped run the event, and every child went home with a branded soccer ball.
One lucky family even won tickets to see the Colorado Rapids, their local MLS club, play in person.
What made it work wasn’t the branding; it was the way it made them feel.
Hundreds of families walked away with a positive, lasting impression because the brokerage created something meaningful for its community. That’s very different from hanging a banner on a fence.
Be selective and intentional
Local sponsorship requests can often be overwhelming for brokerage leaders. I encourage you to look at these opportunities through a different lens.
Instead of asking how big your logo will be or how many people will see it, ask a different set of questions:
- How will people engage with us?
- What experience can we help create?
- What will they remember afterward?
That’s exactly the question Century 21 North Homes answered with its Seattle pop-up. They asked what they could build that fans would actually want to stop for and built a 12-hour activation around the answer: a place to watch the match, a reason for kids to grab a balloon, a backpack worth keeping.
The soccer tournament gave them the moment. The experience is what made it theirs.
Build relationships, not just leads
One of the biggest mistakes with sponsorships is treating them like lead-generation tactics, when in fact, they are the opening. They create access. The real value comes from what you do with it.
Here’s my guidance: show up, participate and be present.
If you sponsor a school event, attend and hand out the awards. If it’s a walk-a-thon, walk alongside participants. If it’s youth sports, spend time on the sidelines meeting families.
We try to make that easy at the national level, too. Through our MLS partnership, brokerages across the network can bring their teams to matches, and a lot of offices have turned that into more than a perk. Some use it as an office culture event, a night out that builds camaraderie outside the four walls of the brokerage.
Others use it as a recruiting event, a relaxed way to get to know a prospective agent before either side has to talk splits.
The strongest opportunities are the ones your agents actually want to engage in, because that’s where genuine connection happens.
The event isn’t the finish line
Too often, sponsorships are treated as one-day efforts when in reality, they’re just the starting point.
Promote your involvement on social media ahead of time. Highlight the organizers and volunteers and help them build momentum for the event.
Then keep the story going. Every sponsorship leaves you with a list: the families who entered your raffle, the neighbors who left their contact information at your tent, the prospective agents who came through as recruiting leads. That list is your path to important relationship-building opportunities.
Build a simple, multi-touch follow-up around it, including a thank-you message within a day or two of the event and a check-in a few weeks later that has nothing to do with real estate at all.
That’s the difference between a contact and a connection, and it’s the difference between a sponsorship that ends when the tent comes down and one that keeps paying off for months.
Think about it this way — the sponsorship is your investment, but the relationship is the return.
Tori Keichinger is vice president and head of marketing for Century 21. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
