NOVEMBER | FEATURE
London Series. Our social platforms
provided engaging content on a
regular basis while marketing
campaigns provided introductions
to the team marks and key players.
As well as activity ahead of
the games, there were plenty of
opportunities for fans to learn more
about the sport, the players and
the teams while they were at the
stadium, at PLAY BALL PARK, at
London Yards and also during the
game itself, via specially created
videos, infographics and interactive
stations.
What expansion plans do you have
for the brand internationally and in
the UK/US?
We are keen to expand the footprint
of international games around
the world. When we look ahead
we do think that playing games
in European cities, in addition to
London, would be an important and
exciting step forward.
Europe is already an important
market for MLB and has been for
a number of years. We currently
have over 100,000 regular players
of organised baseball in Europe
and a player development pipeline
with more than 20 players under
contract to MLB teams coming
from Czech Republic, France,
Russia, Italy, Holland, Germany,
Lithuania, Moldova and Spain.
Our media footprint across
Europe continues to grow and we
have 12 media partners showing
games in 35 European countries.
In addition, Europe represents
MLB’s second largest international
consumer products region.
Approximately 30% of international
16
consumer products revenue in 2018
came from Europe.
In terms of London, the city has
consistently embraced a range of
sporting events and it is logical
geographically for us to come
here first as we build our presence
in Europe. We are consistently
looking to build new relationships
with fans and partners all over the
world and bringing such an iconic
rivalry to a global city like London
provided us with a great platform
to continue that process.
Case study: London Yards
Brits and baseball do mix
» » Client name: Major League
Baseball
» » Project name: London Yards
» » Organiser: Imagination
Snapshot
London Yards was a three-day
festival celebrating all things
baseball that ran from the 28-30
June 2019 at the Truman Brewery.
It involved digital and physical
baseball activations, screenings
of the London Series, ballpark-
inspired food and drink, and live
music and DJs.
Challenge: reaching a new
demographic
In 2019, Major League Baseball
made history by playing their
first-ever regular season games
in Europe between the New York
Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
Demand for tickets was huge,
and the games sold out instantly.
However, MLB knew that the
true value of London Series was
reaching out beyond those avid
baseball fans in the stadium.
Launching in a new market
meant MLB could communicate
in new ways and speak to a new
generation of baseball fans. Our
brief was to create a London Series
fan festival that engaged a new,
millennial audience.
Solution
To engage this group we had to
create an experience that was
authentic to baseball but also
appealed to the cultural passion
points of our audience, and had
depth and reach. The festival was
full of events, from the world’s
first indoor Home Run Derby that
was live streamed on Twitter, to
performances from UK grime artist
Lady Leshurr supported by Sony,
‘47 and Highsnobeity, and there
were a number of activations from
the Spin Cycle baseball game to the
VR batting cages. On top of this, a
great array of food inspired by the
teams and the culinary of heritage
Boston and New York was provided
by local street food vendors.
Impact Statistics
» » 46% were aged
18-34
» » 42% were casual
fans of the sport
» » 90% would
recommend the
event to a friend
» » 12.3m reach on
social media
» » 550k
engagements
» » MLB Network live
broadcast from
London Yards
viewed 1.3m
times on Twitter