Big League World Series – Pro Bono Campaign

How big is the Big League World Series? More than 7,000 baseball leagues with more than 2 million players participate around the world–in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and Canada–for the chance to become world champions. And for this one weekend, 11 teams representing 137 countries meet in Easley, South Carolina.

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Client

Big League World Series, a championship baseball tournament for the best 16- to 18-year-old players in the world, sponsored by Little League International.

Challenge

Have you traveled to Upstate South Carolina in the summer? Families can choose from an award-winning downtown, the Blue Ridge Mountains, a short drive to the beach and many, many lakes and waterfalls. JMG had to build awareness of the Big League World Series (on a miniscule budget) by letting the Upstate know that this isn't your average baseball tournament–and these players aren't your average 16- to-18-year-olds. The lakes, mountains and waterfalls will be there next weekend. This tournament won't.

Solution

As usual, JMG couldn’t settle for all the traditional solutions – don’t take it personally. So for the 2012 promo campaign, JMG pushed the envelope by gaining sponsorship from a local bank and splitting the billboard space to feature BLWS messaging with an eye-catching cutout solution, pun intended. And not to outdo ourselves, we revamped the entire poster campaign that we have run in 200+ Upstate businesses as well. This new, tough look continues to showcase “Tomorrow’s Stars Today” as they lead the way for American youth to become the future major league stars.

Execution

The heroes of the posters were, of course, the players in action. They were complemented by headlines that spoke of their unique talents, dreams and aspirations. You get one chance a year to see these great talents, and they're right here in the Upstate.

Results

Tournament attendance has surpassed 15,000 fans each of the last five years, with more than 4,000 people attending the Big League World Series Fan Fest that kicks off the event.