Creative Market Expansion Strategy: Don’t Fall for the Excuse of ‘Not Selling Your Soul for Money’

Inspiration for Creative Activities from Baseball

Though I’ve never been much of an athlete, I adore baseball-themed anime and manga like Star of the Giants (Kyojin no Hoshi), Little Giant (Ritoru Kyojin-kun), Captain, and Hit-and-Run. As a child, I often played baseball with friends in empty lots. So, if asked to name my favorite sport, it’s undoubtedly baseball.

In 2023, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) concluded dramatically with Samurai Japan’s victory. Watching the broadcasts on Amazon Prime, I was thrilled for the first time since the tournament’s inaugural event.

As a viewer consuming the “broadcast” content, I enjoyed the games immensely. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but admire the meticulously crafted strategies behind this content.

Rather than seeing this as unique to sports business, we can extract universal lessons here. By creating systems that allow people to engage in activities that satisfy others while continuing these endeavors, we can make our creative ventures more sustainable.

The Strategic Depth of American Sports Business

The WBC is organized by Major League Baseball (MLB) and its affiliates—a business collective that gathers the world’s best players annually to compete for the championship while monetizing the process as content.

Having followed YouTube’s Dave Channel by former pro baseball player Dave Okubo, I’ve heard insights about MLB’s business model. To put it bluntly, the precision of MLB’s strategies far exceeds Japan’s professional baseball leagues.

Japanese leagues operate on a “win and popularity will follow” mindset, similar to an old-school craftsman saying, “If you make something good, money will come.” Unfortunately, this approach doesn’t work in today’s market.

MLB, in contrast, prioritizes the human element. For instance:

• Recruiting local players boosts support from fans in their home regions, enhancing ticket and merchandise sales.
• Broadening recruitment internationally expands the market—where a player’s country of origin becomes a motivation for audiences to buy broadcasting rights.

This strategy explains why MLB recruits foreign players strategically. Their presence invites viewership from their home countries, as seen with Japanese stars like Nomo, Ichiro, and Ohtani. Japan’s broadcasters reportedly pay billions of yen for MLB content featuring these athletes.

Avoiding a “Noble but Stagnant” Creative Mindset

Shifting focus to creative industries, I see parallels. Simply creating “good works” and hoping they’re noticed is akin to Japan’s traditional approach—noble but unsustainable.

Incorporating people into a project as actors, staff, or participants creates intrinsic motivation for them to support and view the final work. Their involvement often extends this motivation to their circles, driving further engagement—just like cheering for your country’s player in an international match.

Yes, some may criticize this as a “cheap tactic” or argue that creators should rely solely on the quality of their content. But creators must ensure the audience feels their time was well-spent. This involves more than improving quality; it requires crafting experiences that engage and satisfy viewers on multiple levels.

Takeaways for Creators

Beyond focusing on content improvement, consider strategies like:

• Expanding participant involvement to generate viewing motivation.
• Incorporating relatable or satisfying elements like familiar names, places, or faces.

By blending quality content with thoughtful strategies for engagement, creators can achieve greater satisfaction for both themselves and their audiences.

I hope this proves helpful!