Ben Ladkin: Fuelling European Interest in Major League Baseball

On today's episode, I'm joined by Ben Ladkin, Managing Director
of MLB Europe.





Although now representing a major American sports league, Ben's
journey in sport began at Arsenal, where he spent 11 years,
eventually leading the media group and building their digital and
social media presence during the dot com era.





Now at Major League Baseball (MLB), he operates across three key
pillars: content, events, and participation. While the content
pillar aligns closely with his past experience, he has embraced
the new challenges of organising major events like the London
Series (which took place earlier this month) as well as fostering
baseball participation in Europe.





This has required tapping into popular U.S. sports already
capturing mind-share in Europe, finding alignment with popular
global sports such as cricket, and tapping into culture and the
wider export of Americana.





Timestamps 


2:00 - Ben’s Journey 


6:00 - How London Differs from other MLB International
Markets 


8:00 - Tapping into Cricket Fandom


12:00 - Incorporating Education into Content


14:00 - Strategy and Ambitions Across the Wider European Market


17:00 - Tapping in to Merchandise and Music


24:00 - Who Gets to Play in the London Series? 


25:00 - Special Edition Merch


28:00 - Ballpark Food and Exporting Americana


31:00 - Future Plans and 365 Engagement Strategies
  


Additional Links


Can Cricket SUPERSTAR Harry Brook learn how to hit a baseball in
just 1 day?! 


Jos Buttler swaps cricket for baseball to advertise the World
Tour in London


Rob McElhenney brought baseball to a Wrexham match


Official MLB MLB London Series x Titi Collection


Connect with Ben on LinkedIn - Here 


Connect with Andy on LinkedIn - Here