There’s just over a month left in the Major League Baseball regular season, and folks in many markets are tuning in to see if their team can make a run to the playoffs, and perhaps even the World Series.

One way to reach them, of course, is through TV spots on local broadcasts, but another way to target baseball viewers, along with those in the stadium, is placing your client's message behind home plate.

It's wonderful exposure in itself, and there's always a chance an exciting play will be picked up and replayed over and over again to national sports audiences, with your client's ad clearly in view.

To find out how to get your client’s message behind home plate, read on.

This is one in a Media Life series on buying out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts

What
Advertising behind home plate at Major League Baseball games.

Who
MLB teams handle the bulk of stadium ad sales, including behind-the-plate signage, themselves. But there are also agencies specializing in sports media that will arrange to place the advertiser in stadiums across a number of markets.

How it works
Behind-the-plate ads are displayed on panels behind home plate and the batter, catcher and umpire and in direct view of the TV camera when it's trained on the player who's up at bat.

Behind-the-plate signage can be used effectively by local advertisers, but an advantage for regional and national marketers is that their messages will be seen by viewers in both the home market and the market of the visiting team, since away games are typically carried by the local station that has broadcast rights.

In a typical nine-inning game, there are 18 advertising units available behind home plate, one for each half-inning. So one advertiser will be seen during the top of the first inning, then the sign will scroll to a new advertiser for the bottom of the first, and so on.

Most behind-the-plate ads are sold on a season-long basis for a flat rate, usually as part of a package that includes other stadium advertising. Pricing begins in the low six figures for a full season. The advertiser’s message will rotate to different innings throughout the season.

But sometimes advertisers can come in for shorter periods, such as a half season or a month, when inventory is available.

The caveat to advertising behind home plate is that the ads won’t be seen during nationally televised games, including the playoffs and World Series. During those games the ad space belongs to the TV networks, which insert ads digitally.

Markets
Behind-the-plate ads are available in every Major League Baseball market.

Numbers
MLB regular season paid attendance in 2008 was 78,624,324, down just over 1 percent from 79,502,524 in 2007. The top team was the New York Yankees, with an average of 53,069 per game, while the Florida Marlins ranked No. 30 with 16,688 per game.

How it is measured
Impressions are calculated based on stadium attendance data and TV ratings. Teams can also provide data on how much airtime a marketer’s ad received during a telecast.

What product categories do well
Frequent baseball advertisers include beer, retail, fast food, lottery, telecommunications, colleges and universities, financial and insurance.

Demographics
Demographic data, available from the teams, varies by market. 

In San Francisco, 56.5 percent of Giants fans are male, and they have an average household income of $108,000 compared to $89,000 for the Bay Area.

Making the buy
Pricing for ad signage behind home plate varies widely based on a number of factors. A key factor is what other signage is included in the total ad package, such as on-field promotions, scoreboard ads and sponsored seating areas.

Pricing will also vary by market and local interest in the team. Ads in Boston, a large market with a perennially competitive team, will obviously cost more than, say, Kansas City, a smaller market with a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 1985.

Who’s already using ads behind home plate
Recent or current behind-the-plate advertisers include Sony, TCF Bank, Miller beer, AT&T, KFC, Maryland Lottery, Chick-fil-A and Best Buy.

What they’re saying
“Attendance is factored in, but the biggest impact is the TV side of it. You look at the amount of time and exposure the sign gets, and apply ratings data to that. It’s more difficult to measure, but an attractive feature is the ads are integrated into the game, so there’s no DVR threat. And you also have highlights after the game itself.”--Jo hn Haegele chief executive officer at Van Wagner Sports Group, which places advertisers in stadiums across multiple markets

Web site info
Van Wagner
http://www.vanwagner.com/sports

Baltimore Orioles
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/bal/sponsorship/signage/index.jsp

Milwaukee Brewers
http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/mil/sponsorship/ballpark_signage/index.jsp

Toronto Blue Jays
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/corporate_partners/behind_home_plate_signage.jsp

San Francisco Giants
http://giants.mlb.com/sf/sponsorship/ballpark_signage/index.jsp

New York Yankees
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/sponsorship/index.jsp

Los Angeles Dodgers
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/la/sponsorship/contact/index.jsp

Cleveland Indians
http://mlb.mlb.com/cle/advertising/index.html

Oakland Athletics
http://www.mlb.com/oak/sponsorship/demographics/index.jsp

Tampa Bay Rays
http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/tb/sponsorship/demographics_index.jsp