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An Analysis of the World Baseball Classic As a Global Branding Promotional Strategy for Major League Baseball

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An Analysis of the World Baseball Classic As a Global Branding Promotional Strategy for Major League Baseball Taking the Ballgame Out to the World: An Analysis of the World Baseball Classic as a Global Branding Promotional Strategy for Major League Baseball Benjamin D. Goss KEYWORDS: AbsTRACT baseball, Major League Baseball, World Baseball Classic, globalization, This paper analyzes the 2006 World Baseball Classic as a promotional strategy by Major League internationalization, Baseball to further its global branding pursuits. The WBC is qualified as a global sport event international sport that is a marketing function of MLB in its efforts to emerge as an international brand; elements of management, global brand, the WBC are examined in the context of a global brand strategy. WBC promotional execution global brand consumers, global media, global events, elements are studied in light of dimensions upon which consumers evaluate global brands. Four sport promotions, branding customer segments targeted through the WBC are characterized before the paper examines future strategy WBC marketing approaches in the context of cultural production. Goss, B. D. (2009). Taking the ballgame out to the world: An analysis of the world baseball classic as a global branding promotional strategy for Major League Baseball. Journal of Sport Administration & Supervision 1(1), 75-95. doi:10.3883/ v1i1_goss; published online April, 2009. Dr. Benjamin D. Goss is an WBC,” 2006; Fisher, 2006b). The tournament, assistant professor of management Overview of World Baseball Classic in the Department of Management which featured three rounds of competition, at Missouri State University in After years of planning, Major League Springfield, Missouri, USA. sold 737,112 tickets, was broadcast in He teaches sport, event, and Baseball (MLB) staged an international baseball nine languages, and was covered by 5,354 sponsorship management courses tournament known as the World Baseball in the Entertainment Management credentialed media members (Bloom, 2006; program. Classic (WBC) from March 3-20, 2006. “Final WBC,” 2006). In the championship Formally approved by MLB owners in 2004, game, Japan defeated Cuba 10-6 to claim the World Baseball Classic, Inc., is a company title for the inaugural tournament that featured created by MLB and the Major League Baseball 16 competing teams (see Table 1). Players Association (MLBPA) labor union Financially, the WBC was deemed successful, to operate the WBC tournament, which is with MLB garnering an estimated $10-15 sanctioned by the International Baseball million past costs of $45-50 million, buoyed Federation and is supported by professional by $5 million in television rights fees paid to it baseball leagues and players associations around by ESPN only three months in advance of the the world (MLB.com, 2006). According to tournament (Fatsis, 2006). Half of the profits Paul Archey, MLB’s senior vice president of went to the MLBPA, and half went to the international business operations, the purpose baseball federations of the participating nations of the WBC was to “build a platform where the in order of their tournament finish. Television best players in the game could play on behalf ratings for the tournament were deemed solid of their countries and get baseball better global in the U.S. and soared in Asian and Latin exposure” (Lefton, 2006). American nations, including a 36 share in Japan The WBC staged 39 games at seven for that country’s semifinal game with Korea international venues over 18 days (“Final (Bloom, 2006; Fatsis, 2006). © 2009 • Journal of Sport Administration & Supervision • Vol. 1, No. 1, April 2009 75 Global Branding Strategy Beyond the revenue generation capabilities of transition, including that of Rodrick (1997), the tournament and the worldwide excitement who defines the term as “the international that overrode initial waves of skepticism integration of markets for goods, services, and apathy, MLB’s vision for the WBC was and capital” (p. 1). One of the more widely to create a platform from which it could embraced definitions of the term is offered market itself and the sport of baseball on a by Friedman (1999), who defines globalization greater international level, according to MLB as “the integration of capital, technology, and Commissioner Allan H. “Bud” Selig (Bloom, information across national borders in a way 2008a). that is creating a single global market and, to The purpose of this paper is to analyze some degree, a global village” (dust jacket). the 2006 World Baseball Classic as a global Other characterizations of globalization include branding promotional strategy by Major historical and political shifting (Toulmin, League Baseball to further its global branding 1999), and even a multifaceted conglomeration pursuits. This strategy will be examined in of connective processes that involve every light of marketing theories concerning sport aspect of life on the planet and that have been event scope (Shani & Sandler, 1996), a four- unfolding over the entire course of human step global brand strategy (Gillespie, Jeannet, evolution (Anderson, 2004). & Hennessey, 2007), consumer evaluations of However, consensus among later expert global brands, global consumer segments (Holt, writings on globalization indicates that the Quelch, & Taylor, 2004), cultural production phenomenon cannot be accurately characterized (Venkatesh & Meamber, 2006). by singularly oriented definitions of the term. Waters (1995) defines globalization as “a social Table 1 process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements recede and National Teams Participating in the Inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic By Pool in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding” (p. 3) and offered discussion Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D of three distinct yet equally important arenas of social life in which discussion of globalization China Canada Cuba Australia could be contextualized: the economy, the Chinese Mexico Netherlands Dominican Taipei Republic polity, and the culture. In seeking to build on Waters’ (1995) conceptualization and widen Japan South Africa Panama Italy the definitive scope for the term, Anderson Korea United States Puerto Rico Venezuela (2004) offers a brief but broadly reaching list Source: “Final WBC,” 2006 of human processes that have been accelerating because of globalization: human mobility, information technology, communications Overview of Globalization technology, organizations, and international trade/investment. Anderson (2004) further Because of its complex and multifaceted postulates that these processes are each nature, precisely defining the term globalization evolving concurrently, frequently overlapping, becomes difficult and can be approached from and often are reinforcing one other, creating an numerous perspectives (Anderson, 2004). environment that is simultaneously problematic Some of the more prominent perspectives of and promising. globalization involve concepts of economic 76 © 2009 • Journal of Sport Administration & Supervision • Vol. 1, No. 1, April 2009 Goss MLB & Globalization anymore. It can’t just be about the United States” (King, 2006, ¶ 50). MLB is no stranger to far-reaching global Reasons for MLB’s focus on global growth business initiatives in recent decades. Typical are numerous yet are not unique to major of their era-specific organizational strategy and professional sport properties. First, as pioneering efforts to comb and farm the globe sport crosses international boundaries with for baseball talent, the Los Angeles Dodgers increasing regularity due to the influx of franchise sent a contingent of executives worldwide talent, global television audiences, and coaches to China in 1980 (Henson, and greater access to licensed merchandise, 2008c). While its 2008 season-opening series globalization has become a top priority of all between the defending World Series champion major U.S. sports properties (Barr & Hums, Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics drew 1998; Fullerton, 2007; Gladden & Lizandra, considerable attention, the series was the third 1998). These sports properties seek growth time MLB opened its season in Tokyo (also outside American borders both to showcase done in 2000 and 2004), and the fifth non-U.S. their sports to international audiences, thereby opening series, including Monterrey, Mexico in encouraging international participation; and to 1999 and San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2001 (MLB. increase consumption of their own particular com, 2007). However, aside from location, product(s) (Fay, 2003; Gladden & Lizandra, these initiatives lacked strong local connections, 1998; Lizandra & Vail, 2005). Efforts to exploit presence past one or two games, and perpetuity. such opportunities typically involve movement Prior to the WBC, many pundits and in three primary areas: development of the live certain MLB stakeholder groups widely audience size and/or experience, development and vocally expressed pessimism about the of the media-based audience size and/or event, calling it a futile attempt by MLB experience, and the expansion of related to create an international tournament merchandise, sporting goods, and licensed equivalent to the Fédération Internationale items (Fullerton, 2007). de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup Concurrent to the previous general discussion soccer tournament (Bloom, 2006; Fisher, of the phenomenon of globalization, Gladden 2005). However, Selig and other MLB senior and Lizandra (1998) indicate that sport is officials persisted in their establishment of subjected to many of the same forces that the event as a tool
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