Contemporary baseball historians have enshrined Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier as the most significant social juncture in America's national pastime. Despite recent meretricious exploitations of Robinson's legacy for promotional gains, this cultural breakthrough crystallized an emerging awareness among franchise owners to profit from African-American consumers. This new market created a mutually beneficial relationship immediately - black fans would finally be able to cheer on their favorite black athletes while owners would realize greater revenue streams as a result. The Robinson era, duly credited to Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, provided the impetus to an existing condition in Major League Baseball of primarily servicing its top two sub-cultures.
Now baseball MLB franchises and their athletes have become household names in the U.S., league executives will attempt to immerse themselves in new business ventures worldwide. However, most progress in professional baseball has been gradual at best. The league recently began its quest for baseball expansion by staging virtual MLB contests for its strong fan base in Mexico.
The San Diego Padres, who have assumed a leadership role in exemplifying effective public relations with their Mexican fans, returned to the 26,000-capacity stadium in Monterrey and inaugurated the 1999 season against the Colorado Rockies on April 4th. The matchup was televised to nearly 200 countries and considered a tremendous success. Padres president Larry Lucchino and company believe this single-game spectacle, headlined as "Apertura Internacional" (International Opening), represents the official investiture of MLB in Mexico.
However, professional baseball is no stranger to the refuge of Mexican athleticism. The phenomenon of "Fernandomania" was the incipient dividend of the Los Angeles Dodgers' investment in left-handed pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who quickly became one of the most celebrated athletes in both the U.S. and Mexico. In current context, athletes such as Colorado Rockies third baseman Vinny Castilla and Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Francisco Cordova have assumed center stage as Mexico's favorite sons. The value of these cultural sport icons has not only enriched the game of baseball for fans, but it has also improved the business of baseball for corporate sponsors.
Some leading advertisers in the U.S. have already identified the Mexican market as another prime environment to cultivate professional sports sponsorships. The potential growth of fan attendance, merchandise consumption, and television viewership has created ample incentive for large multinational companies to emulate their American spending habits in Mexico. If the team should be located in Mexico City, then advertising dollars will flow copiously from top MNCs who traditionally sponsor professional sports in the United States. As the leading distribution center nationwide, Mexico City can attract major retail outlets like Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and Home Mart to be major endorsers of Mexican baseball.
For every advantage to MLB integration, however, there are certain precautionary measures to consider before launching this international campaign.
While the industrial boom and demographic expansion has quickly converted a once stagnant Mexico into an exuberant and urbanized economy, there is substantial evidence of incompatible consumer spending habits to concern MLB investors. Everyday buying power, although recovering, remains relatively low.
Despite a growing population of nearly 50 percent under 20 years of age, the emergent Mexican consumer remains tentative in purchase decisions. Mexican families, having household income dwarfed by those in the United States, do not identify with liberal spending habits on recreational activities. Market segments within Monterrey and Mexico City are incomparable to even small MLB markets like Cincinnati and Milwaukee in terms of consumption patterns. And if the market does not bear reasonable revenue streams, especially from gate/stadium receipts, then MLB owners and administrators will be greatly disappointed as consumer demand falls in the long run.
When pricing tickets for middle to low-income families, a Mexican franchise must take buying behavior into consideration. Low-income people, who tend to make purchases from the informal sector (i.e. street vendors and home operators), are unaccustomed to sophisticated goods and services. It is conceivable that most Mexican families will avoid the commercialism of Major League Baseball, and thus, resorting to more affordable alternatives. Despite the apparent economic (and even the less obvious social and psychological) benefits associated with a new franchise and stadium, Mexican fans will guard their pocketbooks judiciously.
And so, the marketing arm of MLB must proceed with sufficient discretion and compassion.
Just as Branch Rickey identified the rising of African-American fans, MLB owners today must be receptive to Hispanic consumers. The spirit of America's national pastime has undoubtedly transcended into the everyday Mexican conscience. Perhaps the coming of professional baseball in Mexico will lead, once again, to a scenario in which everyone can benefit.
[Originally Printed: Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal, 5/4/99]
2007 LineDrives.com, Michael Wissot
Michael Wissot is a managing partner at SymAction Communications, a corporate communications and market research firm. He serves as an adjunct professor of communication at Pepperdine University and a political analyst for KABC talk radio in Los Angeles. Wissot an expert in crisis management, messaging, public relations and Internet communications previously worked as Vice President of Luntz Research, a premier public affairs firm. He has moderated focus groups and conducted surveys for Fortune 100 companies and leading industry associations. Wissot, a former aide to U.S. Senator John McCain, has contributed to high-level messaging projects for President George W. Bush, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and several other world leaders and CEOs. He served three years as CEO of Dentistry.com, a leading dentist-matching company. Wissot received a BA from James Madison University, a MBA from The University of Arizona, and a MIM from Thunderbird.
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