It’s been a stressful few months in (and out of) the bullpen — but fortunately, the MLB lockout that could have left brands stranded ended last month, just in time for Opening Day. Baseball fans can rejoice, grab a soda pop and hotdog, and watch their favorite teams play ball starting April 7th. And after 99 days of uncertainty, advertisers can finally exhale and focus on crafting World Series-level campaigns.
If you are new to the baseball fandom, you should know that they are a passionate group. But they are also not a monolith and have different interests and motivations. When I looked inside the Resonate Ignite Platform, I found 3 fascinating nuances between the Average Joe MLB Fan and the Diehard MLB Fan. Here’s what I found.
1. While they form a sizable part of the MLB fandom, fewer women consider themselves Diehard Fans.
Women always make up a fascinating segment in the professional sports fandom, especially when discussing media and entertainment. According to Catalyst, women direct 83% of all consumption in the United States in buying power and influence. In the Audience Introduction Report, we can see a snapshot of who our Diehard and Regular MLB Fans are. While 41% of women consider themselves MLB Fans, only 18% consider themselves Diehard Fans.
Demographics are a great starting point, but there’s so much more to our sports fans than their age and if they have children. Let’s dive deeper into the minds and hearts of our baseball-loving consumers.
2. Diehard MLB Fans and Regular Fans have very different values and motivations.
Personal values are critical to helping you connect with customers and prospects in a way that’s authentic for you and authentic to the values that drive those consumers. For example, our Diehard MLB Fans can be considered more authoritative, while our Regular Fans are more dutiful. And while both value dependability, our Diehard Fans prioritize pleasure-seeking while our Regular Fans value caring for their family and friends more.
Top Personal Values of Diehard Fans (in blue)
Top Personal Values of Regular Fans (in red)
Whether you’re the media company airing the MLB games (and trying to win ad dollars) or an advertiser who needs a first-hand understanding of who you’ll be marketing to during commercial breaks, these values-driven insights are crucial to crafting better messaging and creative that resonates.
3. Diehard Fans are already at the Friday Night Baseball destination.
Apple and the MLB have teamed up to offer fans access to marquee games free from local broadcast restrictions on Apple TV+. The new Friday Night Baseball will include tons of live pre- and postgame shows as well as on-demand programming that will be available to fans. Our Diehard MLB Fans are more likely to use Apple TV+ already, so they are good to go!
Oh, and don’t worry, our Regular Fans with Apple products won’t be left out in the cold on April 8th. Access to Friday Night Baseball games will be free for a limited time.
BONUS: United by another one of America’s favorite pastimes
Beer has been closely associated with professional baseball since the game’s earliest days. Today, many consumers still consider them two of America’s favorite pastimes—and the league knows this.
According to Ad Age, the league convinced longtime sponsor Anheuser-Busch to allow for another MLB beer backer, securing another big-name advertiser and more money. Corona, who’s been knocking it out of the park with their Hollywood-star-packed, diversity-fueled advertising, is the league’s official imported brew this season.
While looking at the recent consumption habits of our audiences, I wasn’t surprised to find that both love premium domestic beers most. However, imported beers, like Corona, are close behind in terms of consumer preferences—and when they’re at bat, brands should sweat like the condensation of a cold beer on a hot summer day. I, for one, can’t wait to see what consumer-focused marketing strategies both brands have for this baseball season.
Stay tuned! We’ll be keeping up with the media and ad plays of the 2022 MLB season, doing more audience deep-dives, and analyzing commercials to see if advertisers know their audience. We do 😉.
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Categorized as: Consumer Insights, Media & Entertainment
