Since 2023, Pacific League Marketing Corporation (PLM), a joint capital investment company by 6 professional baseball teams belonging to the Pacific League in Japan, has concentrated on a targeted campaign to promote the Pacific League’s six team in Taiwan. This article, written by PLM’s overseas group manager TAKAGI Ryu, will share the background of the collaboration with a Taiwan professional baseball team, the Fubon Guardians, its collaboration details, the positive insights we gained, and the future.
The Background of the Collaboration with Fubon Guardians
The story goes back to the July of 2023. As outlined in the article last year, PLM took part in the booth exhibition at the games hosted by the Rakuten Monkeys, another professional baseball team in Taiwan. The following day, I had a chance to exchange greetings with Ms. Joyce Chen, representing the Fubon Guardians and President of Fubon Sports & Entertainment Co., Ltd, in Taipei. The conversation was only 30 minutes long, but we shared common interests, such as previously studying in the U.S.. After we agreed to explore what we could do together in 2024, I headed home.
In February 2024, Ms. Chen shared plans for a Japan-themed event day in a June official professional baseball game in Taiwan. In the course of considering the details of the event at a rapid pace, we decided to anchor our June 2024 promotion around social contribution activities in Taiwan by enhancing Taiwanese baseball culture, community support, and educational initiatives, intending to cultivate a strong local presence for the six Pacific League teams.
Details of the collaboration between Fubon Guardians and PLM
In our discussions with the Fubon Guardians, we agreed on the first initiative to organize a baseball clinic at the Fubon’s main stadium for two local elementary school teams. Three Japanese coaches, currently active from the Fubon Guardians and a former Pacific League player, provided hands-on instructions to children before an official night game.
Besides the baseball clinic, a press conference was hosted by the Fubon Guardians and attended by around ten local media outlets. The media coverage in Taiwan spotlighted not only the announcement of the visit of a former Pacific League player, but also the press conference and the clinic itself. Following the event, a behind-the-scenes video was also shared on the social media platforms of the Fubon Guardians and DAZN Taiwan. We drew and carried out an effective media strategy to communicate the event to even fans who could not attend the event day.
Despite the geographical proximity of Japan and Taiwan, Taiwanese media seldom feature the Pacific League’s six teams. The visibility gained through this collaboration via an owned media of the Fubon Guardians, partner channels, and mass media set a significant step for future initiatives of PLM.
We also launched two fan engagement activities featuring the Pacific League’s six team uniforms. First, we set up a photo booth, a big hit from the 2023 Rakuten Monkeys event, where fans could take photos in their uniforms and cheering gear. Second, the Fubon Guardians’ cheerleaders wore the uniforms of the six Pacific League teams and performed a dance throughout an official game.
In baseball games in Taiwan, it is customary for fans to root for their teams with continuous background music playing while cheerleaders perform unique dances for each player. The sight of cheerleaders in the Pacific League uniforms captivated fans at the stadium and watching through cable TV and online broadcasts. Taiwanese channels broadcasting the Fubon Guardians games are not usually showing the Pacific League games. Therefore, the cheerleader performance in these uniforms introduced the league to a broader audience, providing us valuable opportunities to connect with potential new fans in Taiwan.
The Impact of the Collaboration with Fubon Guardians
In 2024, the second year of the three-year international outreach plan that PLM began in 2023, our promotion focused on "strengthening relationships with Taiwanese professional baseball teams and maximizing PLM's impact on the community in Taiwan, starting from scratch." Looking back, the early agreement with the Fubon baseball team on the main concept of the significance and purpose of the promotion led to its expansion.
I will extend my heartfelt gratitude for the exceptional support from Ms. Chen, Mr. Wade, Ms. Spring, and coaches at the Fubon Guardians. Their commitment resulted in many Taiwanese fans visiting the stadium and the PLM booth on the promotion day. In addition, about 30 children experienced the baseball lesson, which was a great success.
The PLM booth, featuring a try-on of the six Pacific League uniforms and giveaways such as autographed balls and other merchandise, was a standout among all attractions, drawing close to 800 visitors over two days. Elementary school baseball instructors in Taiwan appreciated the baseball clinic. Organizing such a baseball clinic during the season is challenging in Japan, and even more so in Taiwan, making the Fubon Guardians' dedication all the more commendable. Once again, I extend my deepest respect to everyone at the Fubon Guardians for their unwavering commitment.
The Future Outlook for PLM's International Outreach
Our goal in Taiwan is to build a fan base for the six Pacific League teams over medium to long-term partnerships with the Fubon Guardians, other Taiwanese baseball teams, and the mass media in Taiwan. In 2024, we launched promotion to connect the Pacific league's content with Taiwanese fans, starting with Taiwanese players playing in Pacific League in Japan, and eventually increasing Taiwanese fan’s interest in Japanese players playing in Japan. We will plan to continue our promotional initiatives.
We also aim to foster mutual exchanges between Taiwan and Japan through PLM’s activities, extending beyond the viewership of the content of six Pacific League teams. This time, only PLM and a Taiwanese professional baseball team were involved. In the future, however, we aim to expand this framework by involving Japanese companies operating in Taiwan and Taiwanese companies expanding into Japan. Through this collaboration, we hope to make a greater social contribution in Taiwan and further establish the six Pacific League teams in the country.
In other countries, 2024 marks the fifth year of our expansion in North America, which began in 2020. In addition to Latin America and Caribbean, which we announced in May 2024, we aim to further expand our revenue by securing broadcasting rights sales in new countries and regions. Specifically, Korea, Australia, and Mexico are candidates, and we hope that more people will enjoy the baseball games of the six Pacific League teams of Japan. We will continue to build bridges between Japan and the rest of the world through sports, not only in Taiwan, and contribute to developing professional baseball and the whole sports world.
◇TAKAGI Ryu
Manager of Overseas Group, Media Rights Division
Pacific League Marketing Corporation
After graduating from a university and a graduate school in the United States, he spent four years at a U.S. auditing firm, focusing on financial auditing. Upon returning to Japan, he engaged in corporate valuation at a consulting firm. Subsequently, he joined Pacific League Marketing Corporation to realize his long-standing ambition of working in the sports business, a dream he harbored even before his time in the U.S. He is currently in charge of the sales of overseas broadcasting rights, their promotion, and career guidance for staffing and recruitment services.
*The affiliations and titles are as of August 2024, when the article was authored.
Note: This article was originally published in Japanese on Aug 29, 2024. The original article can be accessed here.
