MLB All-Star Game Is Big Opportunity for Marketers

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is gaining on the Superbowl. No, not in terms of explosive tackles á la Pete Rose, when he absolutely leveled Ray Fosse in the 1970 match-up and ended the poor man’s career. For better or worse, such intensity has left the mid-summer Classic. Instead, it is in the realm of advertising where the All-Star game is making ground. Last weeks game attracted approximately 14.5 million viewers, making it the most watched AL-NL matchup since 2002. That, combined with Fox’s year long campaign to highlight the historic nature of the venue—Yankee stadium, the House that Ruth Built, will close after this season—made this a mouth watering opportunity for advertisers.

Live events with big followings are always major vehicles for advertisers to showcase their brands. With seventy ad slots available, companies such as MasterCard, Chevrolet, Pepsi, and Bank of America shelled out an average of 15% to 20% more for ads this year than for last years match-up in San Francisco. A 30-second spot fetched around $550,000, up from $425,000 yielding an approximate total of $38,500,000. Add to that the $100 million spent on promotions such as seat cushions, parades and a Bon Jovi concert in Central Park, and you have a Patton like marketing assault.

The growth can be attributed to the “scale, history and tradition” of the event, said MLB head of business development Tim Brosnam. “New York is one of the largest cities in the world, has the biggest TV market and Yankee Stadium has one of the largest capacities.”

Sports purists often complain that too much commercialization hurts the intrinsic sporting value of the event. They say it shifts the focus from the realm of sport and relegates it to the jurisdiction of simple entertainment. Perhaps, but this year’s midsummer classic delivered entertainment and good baseball. Fans were treated to the feel-good story of Josh Hamilton who turned the Home Run Derby into a record breaking spectacle. The next night, not to be outdone, both the NL and AL teamed duked it out in an exciting 15 inning duel. Baseball’s purists may not have been thrilled, but you can be sure the advertisers were.