Grad Students Help New Jersey Neighborhood Become a World Cup Destination
A project developed as part of a SC&I course is being used to make Newark’s historic Ironbound a must-visit spot for FIFA fans
As New Jersey prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup next month, Newark’s historic Ironbound neighborhood is hoping to draw some of the more than one million visitors expected in the area with the help of Rutgers students.
Graduate students in the master of communication and media program helped develop a social media campaign to turn the famed Portuguese neighborhood—celebrated as one of New Jersey's top dining and cultural spots located less than 10 miles away from where the games will be held—into a must visit destination.
Students worked with the Ironbound Business Improvement District (IBID) on the plan to draw an influx of visitors when the games, including the July 19 Grand Final, are held in East Rutherford at MetLife Stadium, branded as New York New Jersey Stadium for the tournament
“A project like this gives students a chance to work with a real client and directly contribute to a meaningful challenge,” said Carlos Ferreira, a professor with the Rutgers School of Communication and Information who partnered with IBID Executive Director Vince Baglivo on the project. “I want the students to feel their contribution truly matters during this historic moment for New Jersey.”
Students developed the theme “Taste the Game” for the marketing campaign. Now Ferreira is building on their work to create short videos and content that can be shared to draw an influx of visitors. This week the business improvement district started sharing the reels on Instagram and the logo will also appear on hoodies and t-shirts.
The Student’s Ambitious Goal
To kick off the project last fall, Ferreira brought the class to visit the Ironbound for dinner, pastries, and a firsthand look at the neighborhood. The spring class continued working with the business improvement district on the campaign.
The students set an ambitious objective.
“By July 21, 2026, we want to increase Ironbound visitor traffic by 20% compared to summer 2025, and bring at least 50,000 visitors during the World Cup,” said Longyu Zhang, who graduated with her master’s degree following the fall class. “If Ironbound can capture even 5% of the 1.2 million anticipated visitors to the region, we can achieve our goal.”
To help develop their plan, students analyzed competing New Jersey destinations: Liberty State Park, Hoboken, Jersey City and New York City. Fellow graduate student Markus Inumerable, who is pursuing a master of communication and media degree, saw a clear opportunity: “The goal is to position the Ironbound as a more flavorful and more deeply rooted cultural experience—not just an urban stop.”
Experiencing the Ironbound — and Turning It Into Strategy
The class trip revealed the neighborhood’s unique spirit.
“We watched this amazing performance by this guy playing Spanish Flamenco,” Inumerable said. “Honestly, I felt like I was in Spain.”
That moment shaped the tone of their content.
“If we marketed the Ironbound as a place where international experiences can happen in the U.S., it would be very welcoming—especially for people wanting a glimpse of home,” he said.
Inumerable also identified a key logistical advantage.
“Many international visitors may not realize that MetLife Stadium is in New Jersey … but that challenge becomes our strategy,” he said. “We want to promote the Ironbound as the closest international soccer neighborhood to the stadium.”
#TasteTheGame: Connecting Food and Football
Yuran Zhou led development of the signature campaign’s hashtag, #TasteTheGame.
“It will connect soccer's emotion with Ironbound’s food cultures,” the graduate student said. “Food is a strong part of Portuguese and Brazilian identities, so it becomes a natural way to tell our stories.”
She proposed restaurant partnerships, match-day menus, cultural group collaborations, and even interactive wall art with local artists and musicians. The team also visited SPT TV, which offers Portuguese-language television programming in the Ironbound, exploring additional media amplification.
Humanizing the Ironbound
For grad student Elvis Maravillas, storytelling was the heart of the campaign.
“The content plan is to portray the Ironbound as a warm, authentic, welcoming place and position it as the true hometown district of the World Cup,” he said.
Inspired by how nearby Elizabeth residents personify their city by referring to it with the pronoun “she,” Maravillas suggested giving the Ironbound its own persona — “like a brother or sister you’re visiting.”
That idea shaped content such as fashion reels (“soccer fans are famous for wearing insane getups,” Maravillas said), nightlife clips, emotional game reactions, small-business spotlights and celebrations of the neighborhood’s tight-knit community.
Measuring Real Impact
For Haiji Xiao, who also receives his master’s degree this spring, using analytics was essential. “Our strategy is only meaningful if we can show clear, measurable outcomes,” Xiao said.
These measurements included:
- Social impressions and reach
- Engagement metrics: saves, shares, comments, stories
- Website click-throughs on restaurant maps and guides
- Foot-traffic data from partnering restaurants
- Watch-party attendance
- Increases in Google and Yelp reviews
- User-generated content using #Ironbound and #TasteTheGame
“These measures allow us to see if our campaign is not only inspiring interest, but actually driving people into the neighborhood,” Xiao said.
A Satisfied Client
When students presented their campaign, Baglivo, the IBID executive director, offered enthusiastic praise.
“’Taste the Game’ is really great stuff—that’s engagement,” he told them. “Your analysis of the areas of competition is spot on.”
Baglivo added that authenticity is the Ironbound’s greatest strength. “We offer real deal stuff — the food, the music, the culture. Everything is real. It’s not made up.”
In the end, Baglivo summed up his reaction to their efforts: “I’m blown away.”
