Baseball is America’s oldest sport, with the oldest fanbase. As Major League Baseball launched in Europe, how could they convince millennials that an old man’s game could keep pace?

Whether it’s video games, rap battles or twitter beefs, rivalry is a huge part of millennials’ lives. Baseball is built on centuries-old rivalries that still divide today. For both, a collision of two cultures is always an unmissable spectacle. We just had to make it happen. Enter Battlegrounds: baseball’s historic rivalries reimagined for a new audience.

In Summer 2017, the Boston Red Sox and L.A. Dodgers battled it out in London in unexpected ways. It all started with a sporting mashup, as stars of cricket and rugby picked a side to bat for in a Home Run Challenge content series.

Then we took over Pop Brixton with Boston and L.A. culture. And a VR batting cage. Finally we staged Europe’s first ever Home Run Derby on the main stage of British Summer Time Festival in Hyde Park.

By dialling up the unique culture that goes along with baseball, the audience were able to get to know a new sport in a wholly more engaging and exciting way. The VR batting cage, which was played 1324 times, provided a novel and fun way to get hands on.

The experience brought much value for MLB, from the positive consumer press, to the number of under 34 year olds (80% of the 30,000 across all events) that were reached. It has set MLB on the path to form long-standing relationships with this target audience.