How MLB Can Market Itself Year-Round
Published May 17, 2008
Devise something for the winter months at a destination location to create some buzz. Pro-football and basketball have turned their drafts into events. Baseball owners annually hold winter meetings during the second week of December. This would be a perfect time to host an event to showcase MLB and its relationship with the fans. On Opening Day, start promoting the venture so people make plans. At the event, get the players involved in an All-Star softball game and other types of non-contact activities. Set up player autograph booths. It is very important to make this extravaganza free. In attendance, have big named musicians, TV celebrities and movie stars that love baseball. Showcase these entertainment icons. Insure that there is something for every age bracket. The objective is to generate excitement and spotlight the sport in the off-season. Sports TV and sports talk radio will love it. Make it an annual event.
Attendance continues to rise and yet there are still some pundits that act as if baseball is a step away from a glue factory. It's believed that baseball's lack of growth among youth and African Americans is a direct reflection of societies flaws and the game itself. Some experts have suggested that increases of single parent households are partly to blame. The premise being that the lack of fathers playing catch with their sons has created a potential future crisis for MLB. Another myth for baseball's problems are the deliberate pace and length of games. Both theories are absurd.
Americans of all ages will buy anything packaged and advertised correctly. Lest we forget the Pet Rock, Cabbage Patch Dolls, $150 Air Jordan gym shoes, Beanie Babies, paid cable TV, and bottled water. MLB just needs to blend old traditions with new ones and market to the masses.
- How MLB Can Market Itself Year-Round
- Published: May 17, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Baseball, Culture: Advertising and Marketing
- Writer: Radio Coach Sam Weaver
- Radio Coach Sam Weaver's BC Writer page
- Radio Coach Sam Weaver's personal site
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Juliann,youth mirror our culture. Just like their parents, young athletes are more into instant results than hero-worshipping. Kids drink Gatorade because of the advertised benefits. It is the nature of man to look for an edge. MLB is either full of crap or trying to make sure that they keep their anti-trust status. The message to youth should be to obey then the law and the rules. We are also taught to stretch right up to the edge. It is the thought process that founded this country and is the American way. I am a realist. That is an optimist with experience. MLB has got some of the right ideas, but keeps missing the mark. For example, many teams make podcasts of games possible, but do not target the age brackets that might take advantage of them. I am also a baseball fan, and you and I do share the same hopes that Commissioner Bud Selig and baseball gets its marketing act together.
Juliann,youth mirror our culture. Just like their parents, young athletes are more into instant results than hero-worshipping. Kids drink Gatorade because of the advertised benefits. It is the nature of man to look for an edge. MLB is either full of crap or trying to make sure that they keep their anti-trust status. The message to youth should be to obey then the law and the rules. We are also taught to stretch right up to the edge. It is the thought process that founded this country and is the American way. I am a realist. That is an optimist with experience. MLB has got some of the right ideas, but keeps missing the mark. For example, many teams make podcasts of games possible, but do not target the age brackets that might take advantage of them. I am also a baseball fan, and you and I do share the same hopes that Commissioner Bud Selig and baseball gets its marketing act together.
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Sam,
I love baseball, the Tigers and Phillies are my favorites.
If you mean steroids have been good for baseball as a way of exposing people to the sport who otherwise would ignore it, I agree. However, I think the negative publicity has been harmful to young people who look up to these sports figures and use them as their role models. It seems to me the message then is "It's okay to do whatever you want, illegal or not, just don't get caught. If you do, don't admit anything."
Now the marketing piece of your article makes perfect sense. Football has done a great job of this,baseball not so good. As everyone knows marketing is critical to the success of any product whether it be baseball or crocs.