MLB Hits a Homerun with Claritas’ AI-Powered Personalization
Challenge
Major League Baseball (MLB) aimed to increase attendance, concession sales, and fan engagement for the 2024 season. A key challenge was identifying how to leverage AI technology to enhance audience targeting, creative messaging, and campaign performance.
Solution
MLB partnered with Claritas and MMA Global to develop and implement the campaign using Claritas’ suite of AI Optimization solutions. The MLB campaign, which ran from April 25 to May 31, showed varied results across different teams. The collaboration measured the lift from AI-driven campaigns versus traditional methods, aiming to improve marketing productivity and ROI. The Giants achieved a significant lift of 133%, while the Orioles and Rays saw lifts of 94% and 90%, respectively. The Blue Jays experienced a 38% lift, partly due to a late start in AI activation. The Braves had a 23% lift, with an ROI of $14.71 per dollar spent on AI. The campaign utilized different creative versions and AI for real-time optimization, resulting in diverse performance outcomes.
Due to the success of the initial 7-club test, MLB is looking to scale the program to the remaining 23 clubs.
THE CLARITAS EFFECT
7Clubs participated in pilot program. Regional scaling and results.
20,000Total creative variations activated. Led to significant time and cost savings on resources.
+65%Lift in KPI (ticket sales) over control. AI optimization drives increased performance.
INTELLIGENCE YOU CAN USE
AI can generate personalized content, such as ad copy, imagery mix and email subject lines, that is tailored to the individual needs and interests of each customer. This personalized approach makes marketing messages more relevant and engaging, leading to improved customer experiences and increased brand loyalty. Additionally, AI optimizes audiences by identifying key consumer segments with the strongest conversion rates.
The Evolution of DCO
Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) platforms are great but require significant effort to set up and manage. AI Personalization is an evolved version of DCO, moving beyond traditional decision trees and if/then logic. It leverages significant creative variation for AI to learn, providing real-time AI decision making via data signals and generating cohorts on the fly. This advanced approach ensures a more efficient and effective marketing strategy.