According to the Wall Street Journal, the Mets are working with Range Media Partners to go after a younger audience.
The initiative remains in development, but ideas include offering live comedy throughout games, updating existing spaces in the stadium where people can gather, adding more screens throughout the baseball park and making other technology upgrades. (WSJ)
The article says that goals include raising the Mets’ brand on social media (Hey Mets, start with not booing your own fans), “in film and in music” (hmmm), the fashion industry (interesting), and to connect the team closer to the “hometown” which I am not sure means New York City, Queens, Flushing or what, my guess is NYC especially coming off the 1986 documentary.
Jeff Deline, the team’s CRO says ““I don’t think you’ll see many kids sit down and watch a baseball game from start to finish. They will watch the highlights on TikTok.”
So this could be actual progress, when the guy in charge of the money realizes that the sports is old, slow and boring and kids don’t care. Finally someone is paying attention!
Deline added, “By fifth grade, that’s when your affinity toward a brand is made,. Once they get past that age, they’re Mets fans for life.”
So let me comment on that Mr. Deline – a typical 5th grader is 10 years old. Assume you retain nothing before age 4. So that 10 year old’s memories are…..
Age 10: the fans got booed
Age 9: missed an 8 team playoff
Age 8: Pete Alonso! So today’s ten year old probably LOVES Pete Alonso even if I don’t.
Age 7: a 70 win team
Age 6: wild card
Age 5: vague memories of Cespedes, Matt Harvey and honestly possibly Daniel Murphy’s Murphtober.
So, as much as I might not like it, building your brand around Pete Alonso might make sense. From a REVENUE standpoint, maybe telling Pete to chill out with the vulgarity would make sense as a CRO like you probably notices that Pete should probably have more ad deals than he has.
Anyway, very good article in the Journal which is paywalled but if you can get your hands on it, it’s the best Mets read in a while.
Oh, Mr. Deline – maybe less of this…
