Ben Ladkin [#28]: 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