Minor League Baseball today will unveil the second iteration of its Copa de la Diversión (Fun Cup) Hispanic marketing initiative, with the 2019 rollout more than doubling last year’s inaugural effort.
A key component of the affiliated minors’ ongoing “It’s Fun to be a Fan” marketing campaign, the Copa initiative will see 72 clubs today announce temporary Hispanic-themed nicknames and visual identities that will be used during the 2019 season, up from 33 teams last year. This year’s Copa effort will encompass 397 total games, also up sharply from 163 in 2019.
The marked increase in the program’s scale stems heavily from initial results that saw Copa games in 2018 generate a 12.6 percent attendance jump compared to their calendar equivalents in 2017, and 24 percent higher average attendance compared to non-Copa games during the season. Retail sales of Copa-themed merchandise also beat preseason goals by more than 700 percent as caps from the program in particular became some of the hottest merchandise in all of Minor League Baseball licensed gear.
The Copa campaign is also a key element in Minor League Baseball’s broader goal to expand its current annual attendance of more than 40 million to 50 million by 2026.
“We’re going both deeper and broader this year,” said Kurt Hunzeker, Minor League Baseball vice president of marketing strategy and research. “The data we’ve seen so far shows this is resonating extraordinarily well.”
Hunzeker said several steps have been crucial to achieving that resonance.
Among them have been requiring clubs to each stage multiple games in the program and not doing a single Hispanic Heritage theme night; choosing more authentic temporary nicknames and not just placing “Los” in front of their existing moniker; and working closely with local schools, community groups and Hispanic chambers of commerce.
That latter point will be particularly highlighted during today’s daylong, social media-heavy rollout of the 2019 Copa team names, many of which will involve clubs making local announcements at elementary schools, Little League complexes and Hispanic business sites.
The Copa campaign, meanwhile, has generated its own sponsorship activity. Echo Inc., the brand controlled by Japanese manufacturer Yamabiko Corp., signed on last fall as the official outdoor power tool of both Minor League Baseball and the Copa program. The Lupus Foundation of America is aligned as Copa’s first philanthropic partner.
While the 2019 Copa program unfolds, Minor League Baseball also is well underway on planning for the 2020 version, with further expansions already in the works.
