Royals looking to strengthen bond with Hispanic community

The Royals are "looking to reconnect with the Hispanic community” in K.C., and their most recent effort came last week via a booth at the Guadalupe Centers' annual Cinco de Mayo festival in the city's Westside neighborhood, according to Joseph Hernandez of the K.C. STAR. With Royals infield coach José Alguacil at the festival, the team “was handing out free tickets and shirts and encouraging fans to follow their rebranded Spanish social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.” A few of the players, such as CF Dairon Blanco, are “inspiring classrooms with a heavy Spanish-speaking population at Kansas City Public Schools to keep learning.” It is “all a part of their ‘Nos Vemos En El K’ initiative,” with the help from Fresco Marketing. According to Fresco Marketing manager Sinhue Mendoza, the team “gave away 1,000 free tickets to fans during the three-day festival.” Mendoza said that 2024 “began with the Royals and Fresco Marketing partnering on the season’s pump-up Spanish commercial that ran on Univision for the Super Bowl, but the partnership has been in the works for quite a while.” Locals “strongly identify with the Royals,” presenting an “opportunity to cultivate a dedicated fan base.” Fans prefer “Los Royals” over “Los Reales,” so the team “rebranded its Spanish social media accounts to reflect their wants.” The community “loves catcher Salvador Perez.” They see an opportunity to promote other Hispanic players on the team, like IF Maikel Garcia and C Freddy Fermín. The tagline “Nos Vemos En El K” was presented to the Royals by Fresco, and Royals Group Dir of Marketing Scott Lichtenauer said that it “resonated with the team.” According to a study, Hispanics make up 10% of the population in the K.C. metro area but are “only 5% of the Royals’ fan base.” So, the team “saw an opportunity to bridge the gap and establish a stronger connection” (K.C. STAR, 5/9).