Last week during his “State of the Game” presser at the MLB All-Star Game in Washington, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred was asked about the lack of celebrity exposure Mike Trout has had. His answer came down to this: the marketing of players is a two way street these days, dedication and performance of the field is a major part, but the time and effort and willingness for an individual to build his or her own personal brand also has to be there.
The response was met with a firestorm from some who again waxed on about how baseball needs to continue to change. Even Astros pitcher Lance McCullers took a shot at MLB for not marketing its players (although ironically McCullers criticism was actually pretty balanced for those who LISTENED to the interview, which can be heard here).
For his part, Trout responded very even handedly, as he, in fact, remains uninterested from all accounts in doing many of the things those in the limelight do to enhance their image or grow their brand. Quiet leadership led by performance, is Trout’s route of choice.
Healthy debate and look to always improve is what makes businesses of any kind progress, so the debate over the marketing of players is not a bad thing at all. In reality, MLB under Manfred has been amazingly progressive in the way it has approached finding new audiences and engaging in new activities. In a game full of over a hundred years of tradition, change comes slowly, but given the resources MLB has continued to build on, change indeed is steady. Can more be done? Of course? Is the marketing of players the biggest issue MLB or the sport of baseball faces in a fast-paced, ADD-infused world? No.
Those who look at THE LEAGUE as the impetus for exposure are only half right, or maybe even one third or less right. The building of personal brand has to start at home, and it is certainly time consuming and is not without its fits and starts. It also may not bring big financial return right away, and when athletes are led in many cases by advisors whose job is to bring in dollars first, the time invested unbundling brand without a check might not be easy.
Throughout the discussions this week there was a lot of comparison to leagues like the NBA, and even the oft-maligned NFL as to how they take initiative in marketing players. That’s a really tough comparison for many reasons. The NBA under David Stern and now Adam Silver have aggressively taken the stance that all content, free content, should be shareable, while other leagues like MLB have looked to protect that content. Although that has changed slightly in recent years, the NBA being first with a sport that is truly global had a lead that doesn’t have to be overcome, but can be matched or augmented, thus making it easier for players to share content if they like. But again, that takes effort, as any sharing in special has to be well timed, well thought out and authentic to work. If a person does not want to take that time, it’s tough to build brand in social.
Another issue is just time. Even with its long season, the NBA does not play every day, like MLB does. There are breaks in the schedule (and the NFL has a very structured week with its own access points , and as we know plays during an 18 week schedule) that MLB does not have in its day in, day out schedule. That 162 game run, as well as spring training, provides very few windows for players to dedicate time to personal brand outside of the endless hours they need to spend at the ballpark. Can you work on it during downtime when not on the field, and is there a great amount of insider content that could be shared, yes, but it probably can’t distract from your day job of being an elite athlete.
It takes a village.
Are there players in MLB who have dedicated time and seen ROI? For sure. Buster Posey, Curtis Granderson, CC Sabathia, Brandon McCarthy, Jose Bautista are just a few who come to mind. The Tigers Shane Green and Nicholas Castellanos recently started a podcast, an idea of the team. That’s a great way to get involved and share authentic info. We also have written about the efforts Latino players like Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa are doing to grow brand.
They are also players for the most part who have spent time building success on field, and have let that success turn into community and commercial success down the line. In addition to maturity and wins, they also seem to have an amazing grasp of another critical skill we all need: TIME MANAGEMENT.
Next is the rest of the village; those who must help augment the athlete time, provide key opportunities and build best practices. Those people in the village involve teams, the MLBPA, agents, marketing, charitable foundation people and the others who can help contribute to brand storytelling. That storytelling also doesn’t happen in an instant, it takes time (there’s that word again) and effort. Some are great at it, some don’t see value. So who can help make sure that time and effort are being maximized? The athlete. He is in a great position of power and has the ability to drive interest while asking for help in building brand. There needs to be authenticity, again, and trust, but getting the right people, good people, aligned to say this is what I want to do, and here is why I want to do it, is the best first step.
It takes a village.
All this leads, hopefully to healthy debate and solution. While McCullers called MLB the worst marketed league, it’s nowhere near true. There is actually no “worst,” and many of the efforts MLB under Manfred and his team have been making are amazing and probably worthy of more credit than they get. The marketing “problems” MLB has are also problems hundreds of organizations wish they had, and they come with the legacy of a mature business. What is important, as is the true with any healthy brand, is to have stakeholders listening and working together, even when the dollar is not the first and only thing. LISTENING is a skill we all need more of, and with listening, and working together, all sides will grow.
Can MLB spend more money to market and storytell jointly with all parties? Sure. Are their players willing to make the commitment to grow personal brand who are worthwhile? Absolutely. Is it something that EVERY player needs to do? No. Also there is the issue of amplification of efforts. Communicating all the good up and down the chain and making sure that good news is shared is a tough thing to do with so many parties involved but it is, essential to make sure the word gets out.
Let’s look back to the NBA for a minute. Arguably the greatest player in the past 20 years may have been Tim Duncan. One of the most marketing averse people on the planet. Did that slow the league? Nope. They found their spots and worked where they could and found other stories to tell. So if Mike Trout is the MLB version of Tim Duncan, so be it. Let’s all collectively, find ways with the vast tools that exist to grow the game even more.
It takes a village, and it is a big complicated and expensive village, but one with great value….and one with amazing stories being told, and more to come.
