Client
LAFC
Industry
Sports
Tags
Brand Management, Performance Marketing
Building LAFC's Korean Marketing Engine across Naver, Content, and Influencer Channels
Localised Content Production
Introduction
LAFC, a Major League Soccer club based in Los Angeles, experienced a surge in Korean fan interest following Son Heung-min's arrival, with brand-related searches on Naver exceeding 600,000 per month and outpacing established European clubs among Korean football audiences. The club recognised a rare window: organic fan curiosity was already there, but no Korean marketing infrastructure existed to capture it.
To convert this momentum into lasting engagement and revenue, LAFC partnered with expand k to run its Korean brand management and performance marketing. The engagement covers the full local marketing cycle, from keyword research and landing page localisation to Naver campaign management, content creation, and influencer marketing, ahead of the 2026 MLS Season and Jersey Launch.
Challenges & Objectives
Korean fans discover, research, and validate purchases on Naver, a platform structure fundamentally different from the channels global sports brands typically operate. LAFC's search demand was heavily concentrated on Naver rather than Google, meaning the club's existing digital presence could not reach fans at the moment of highest intent.
The objectives were threefold: to improve the Korean customer journey into a seamless path from first discovery to purchase; to grow membership and merchandise sales through conversion-focused campaigns; and to increase fan engagement across all key touchpoints, turning organic curiosity into an active, loyal Korean fanbase.
Activities
expand k built LAFC's Korean marketing operation from the ground up. KR keyword research mapped brand, retail, and ticket and membership demand across Naver and Google, shaping both campaign structure and content direction. Landing pages were localised for Korean fans, and Naver Search Ads and Naver Display Ads were launched to capture high-intent queries around the club, its players, and the 2026 jersey.
Alongside paid campaigns, expand k produced and managed sponsored Naver Blog content to build organic search presence across fan-driven queries, and ran KR influencer marketing including UGC creation and YouTube creator collaborations to deepen engagement with Korea's football community.
Results
The engagement established LAFC's first dedicated Korean marketing operation, connecting fan discovery on Naver to the club's merchandise, ticket, and membership touchpoints through a localised, always-on structure. With campaigns live across search, display, content, and influencer channels, the club is positioned to capture Korea's fastest-growing football fandom at the moment demand is peaking.
expand k turned LAFC's organic Korean momentum into a structured marketing engine, giving the club a durable foundation for fan growth and commercial expansion in Korea.
