Title	HOME RUN DERBY
Brand	MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Product/Service	MLB LONDON SERIES 2019
Category	D04. Digital Installations
Entrant	IMAGINATION London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation	IMAGINATION London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production	IMAGINATION London, UNITED KINGDOM

Name	Company	Position
Jiri Bures	Imagination	Creative Director
Wesley Richardson	Imagination	Design Director 2D
Brendon Cleaver	Imagination	Designer
Colin Rivett	Imagination	Design Director 3D
Nick Blenkarne	Imagination	Creative Strategy Lead
Alex Beazley-Long	Imagination	Creative Strategist
Adam Kimsey	Imagination	User Experience Designer
George Schon	Imagination	Digital Creative Lead
Chris Green	Imagination	Sound Designer
Max Hatamian	Imagination	Technology Director
Mark Holland	Imagination	Developer
Matt Rose	Imagination	Production Director
Ben Raby	Imagination	Production Manager
Andrew Davies	Imagination	Production Manager
Rob Day	Imagination	Client Services Director
Hannah Patrick	Imagination	Client Services
Kiley Leong	Imagination	Project Director
Ruth Burton	Imagination	Digital Producer

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

When MLB brought their first ever regular season games to Europe, they wanted to make sure that fans new and old could fully experience baseball. Home runs are undeniably the most exciting and visceral part of the sport, so we designed the world’s first Home Run Derby, allowing new fans to hit home runs like they were pros. We combined ball tracking technology with good old fashioned bats and balls so that balls hit within a cage could be hit out of the park, digitally.

background

In 2019, Major League Baseball made history by playing their first ever regular season games in Europe. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees faced off at London Stadium in Stratford. Demand for tickets was huge, and the games sold out instantly. However, MLB knew that the true value of London Series was reaching out beyond those avid baseball fans in the stadium. Increasing the popularity of the sport amongst younger fans, along with growing the game globally, are important objectives for the league. Launching in a new market meant MLB could communicate in new ways and speak to a new generation of baseball fans so we designed and hosted a London Series fan festival that engaged a millennial audience. Part of our brief was to create a baseball activation that harnessed digital technology in an urban environment to allow a new audience to experience the sport.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Dingers. Taters. Dongs. Homers. Whatever you want to call them, there is no denying that the most exciting play in baseball is a Home Run. The ultimate crowd spectacle, hitting one is the dream of any fan so we knew that showcasing them would help to win over a new audience. But Home Runs need ballparks, and there are precious few of them (well, none) in the heart of Shoreditch. So we knew we had to get creative to stage the world’s first Home Run Derby in an urban environment. As well as creating an incredible immersive experience for participants, we built the activation with online reach and broadcast in mind as well, maximising its value and our opportunity to engage with the target audience. The Home Run Derby was a batting cage with a difference as the classic pitcher vs batter duel was reimagined as man vs machine.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The audience we were looking to engage with were ‘New Gen Fans’, a broad but incredibly valuable target group for MLB in Europe. They are 18-34, 51% female and have a high interest in sports, but are not currently followers of baseball. They represent the future fans of Major League Baseball but would not be attending the games at the stadium, so they needed to experience baseball in different ways. As well as being a unique experience for a new generation of baseball fans, the Home Run Derby was a platform for content creation for MLB. Before London Yards was open to the public, we hosted a VIP event where influencers experienced the cage. MLB Network filmed a long form piece of content documenting the influencer event that was pushed out via Twitter Live. This ensured that we were reaching our target audience online as well as in person.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The cage was a diamond form measuring 14m long, 8.5m wide and 4m high. A ribbed structure lined with responsive LED lighting and a faceted surface with black gloss cladding to reflect the lighting states. An automated pitching machine was 13m from home plate and stood in front of a 16m x 4m LED wall. Terraced seating surrounded the cage to create intimate viewing angles for 150 people. Participants faced off against a pitching machine and tried to hit as many Home Runs as possible. MLB ball tracking technology measured the exit velocity and angle of the ball and could accurately predict the outcome for each hit in a Major League ballpark. During their game, the LED screen would react with animations depending on their outcome of their hit. We were inspired by video games, with a playful, glitchy aesthetic and a bespoke soundscape.

List the results (30% of vote)

- 694 plays over 3 days - MLB Network live broadcast of the Home Run Derby viewed 1.3m times on Twitter - Influencer event generated unique reach of 800k and 450k engagements