I recently visited the “MLB Pocha” located in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, with a professional MLB commentator and the representative of MLB’s domestic marketing agency. MLB Pocha was a pop-up store opened for three days over the weekend by Major League Baseball (MLB) to provide domestic baseball fans with an opportunity to experience various baseball entertainment.

MLB conceived the idea of a food stall, Korea’s unique food culture, and operated a pop-up store in Y173 in Seongsu-dong, which is popular with the 2030 MZ generation. Combining MLB’s entertainment with the atmosphere of a Korean food stall, the interior of “MLB Pocha” was filled with MLB-themed items, and a celebrity chef served special dishes inspired by MLB’s top stars.

All of my companions were “a man in his 50s,” but only the 2030 MZ generation could be seen on the street while getting off at Seongsu Station and walking about 700m. Since we are familiar with the culture of pojangmachas, we visited with fondness for the word “pocha,” which was faithful to the concept of the younger generation. As it was operated in a pop-up store, it was not an environment where you could cook various dishes like a regular restaurant, so snacks were limited to burgers and alcoholic beverages were limited to canned beer.

Nevertheless, baseball stars such as Dustin Nippert, Kim Byung-hyun, and Lee Dae-eun, as well as many celebrities and influencers from the past, continued to visit. Inside the “MLB Pocha,” most of the 2030 MZ generation wearing Major League team uniforms were found, and it was hard to find people in their 40s, let alone their 50s. Our group did not stay for long and moved for 10 minutes on foot to have a glass of soju at the “familiar” bar.

I thought of sports pubs through “MLB Pocha.” Sports pubs appeared near Jamsil Baseball Stadium or in Seoul in the late 1990s when I was the front desk of the LG Twins, but they did not attract much attention. F&B (food and beverage) culture in the U.S. or Europe arrived in Korea, but the atmosphere of sports pubs was unfamiliar to the public at that time.

Then, a decade ago, sports pubs have been taking their place in Korea. Especially as professional baseball is gaining popularity, it is said that it is difficult to reserve a seat if there is a post-season game. As sports pubs have settled down in Korea, “MLB Pocha” seems to have become a familiar environment for the 2030 MZ generation.

This year’s KBO League attracted 10 million spectators, marking the highest-ever box office hit. At the center of the event was “2030 Women Power.” As they became the mainstream of the baseball stadium, the former “50s old men” became mainstream (舊) or non-mainstream. In the past, old men occupied a place near the stadium’s cheering squad, but now it is up to the 2030 MZ generation.

In the case of SSG Landers Field in Incheon, visitors can find old men in their 50s on the fourth floor. Originally, the four-story ordinary seat used to be used as a space for “old men at Dowon Baseball Stadium” and the elderly. In the past, admission tickets for senior citizens were free. However, the fee is now around 5,000 won. As a result, the number of seniors who watch baseball has decreased.

Playgrounds of old men in their 50s, such as tennis courts and billiard halls, as well as baseball stadiums, are occupied by the younger generation one by one. Old men in their 50s, who are becoming marginalized over time, can now only meet in mountains and bars.

The professional baseball league has been striving to attract audiences for women and their families for more than a decade. The SK Wyverns (current SSG Landers) installed powder rooms and feeding rooms exclusively for women in 2010 for the first time in a Korean baseball stadium. They were part of efforts to attract female spectators between their 20s and 30s who prefer clean facilities, and such attempts are now paying off.
I was in charge of the project to replace the outfield seats that were quiet at Incheon Munhak Baseball Stadium with the barbecue zone (right) in 2009 and the green zone (left) in 2010. It was a prime example of the differentiation of seats in the KBO League, and now it is a popular spot in the baseball stadium.

With this concept, why don’t we make one side of the stands of the baseball stadium into an “old man zone” where only old men can enter? It is to provide food for old men in addition to the interior and cheering songs that have the atmosphere of the early days of professional baseball. Retro-marketing works periodically in Korean society and culture, and “old man marketing” is also worth trying with unique professional baseball marketing. 토토사이트 추천

The fact that the baseball stadium in the past was the exclusive property of the old men is being discussed often as they and women in their 20s and 30s in opposition are leading the success of professional baseball this year. With the old men being alienated from the ballpark, I think that “old men’s marketing” for them can be a new niche market and profit model.